Will of Thomas Sheppard, farmer, 1872 (proved 1874)

Principal Probate Registry

This is the last Will and Testament of me Thomas Sheppard of Winslow in the County of Bucks, Farmer made this nineteenth day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy two I appoint my late wifes nephew Benjamin Warr of Addington in the said County of Bucks Farmer and my nephew William Robert Sheppard of Finmere in the County of Oxford Farmer joint Executors of this my Will I give and devise the messuage or tenement at Winslow aforesaid wherein I now reside with the outbuildings yard garden and appurtenances thereto belonging and all other (if any) my messuages lands tenements and hereditaments whatsoever and wheresoever with their appurtenances to my late wifes sister Mary Ann Warr and her assigns for her life And upon the decease of the said Mary Ann Warr I give and devise all my said messuages . . .  unto my late wifes sister Martha Warr and her assigns for her life And upon the decease of the survivor of the said Mary Ann Warr and Martha Warr I give and devise all my said messuages . . .  unto the said Benjamin Warr and William Robert Sheppard their heirs and assigns Upon trust as soon as conveniently may be to sell and dispose of the said hereditaments by public auction or private contract in one or more lot or lots and under any special or other conditions or stipulations as to the title with liberty to buy in the same at any auction and to rescind or vary the terms of any contract that may be entered into And to resell the hereditaments so bought in or the contract for the sale whereof may have been rescinded in manner aforesaid without being answerable for any loss or diminution in price And to stand possessed of the monies arising from the sale of the said hereditaments and from the rents and profits thereof after first paying and discharging the debts charges and expenses incident to the sale Upon trust for the said William Robert Sheppard and for John Sheppard and Mary Ann Sheppard children of my brother Samuel Sheppard and for Benjamin Sear the only child of my sister Elizabeth Sear in equal shares I give and bequeath all my household goods and furniture plate linen glass china books apparel and household consumable articles or such of them as I shall not have given away in my lifetime to the said Mary Ann Warr for her own use and benefit absolutely I give and bequeath to my brother John Sheppard the legacy or sum of one hundred pounds to be paid within three calendar months after my decease I give and bequeath to the said Mary Ann Warr all interest and arrears of interest that may be due and owing to me at the time of my decease And as to all my monies and securities for money and all other my personal estate and effects not hereinbefore bequeathed and remaining after payment of my just debts and my funeral and testamentary expenses and the legacy hereinbefore bequeathed I give and bequeath unto the said Benjamin Warr and William Robert Sheppard Upon trust to pay the interest and income thereof from the day of my decease unto the said Mary Ann Warr during her life and upon the decease of the said Mary Ann Warr I direct each of my Executors to retain the sum of fifty pounds as a legacy which I give and bequeath to him accordingly And then out of my residuary personal estate to pay the sum of one  hundred pounds to each of my nephews and nieces namely the said William Robert Sheppard John Sheppard and Mary Ann Sheppard (children of my said brother Samuel Sheppard) Hannah Mary Sheppard Elizabeth Sheppard and John Sheppard (children of my said brother John Sheppard) and the said Benjamin Sear (son of my said sister Elizabeth Sear) And I give and bequeath the said legacies accordingly And I direct that case of the death in my lifetime of any one or more of my before named legatees the share or respective shares of the monies arising from sale as aforesaid and the legacy or respective legacies to which he she or they respectively would have been entitled if living at my decease shall be paid
[p.2] to his her or their respective child or children living at my decease (equally if more than one) And in case of the death of any one of my before named legatees leaving no child living at my death but leaving a Widow then living the share of every such legatee \so dying/ as last aforesaid shall be paid to his Widow And in case of the death of any one or more of my before named legatees without leaving a child or a Widow the share or legacy or both hereby bequeathed or directed to be paid to every such legatee so dying as last aforesaid shall fall into the residue of my estate And as to the residue of the trust monies remaining after payment thereout of the legacies hereinbefore bequeathed I direct the same to be held Upon trust for Elizabeth Warr Jane the wife of John Watts Martha Warr and Susannah Warr (children of my late wife’s brother John Warr deceased) and Ann Johnson the wife of John Briggs Pollitt and Ellen Sophia the wife <of> Edward Grace (children of my late wife’s brother Benjamin Warr) in equal parts and shares And in the case of the death in my lifetime of any one or more of them the said Elizabeth Warr Jane Watts . . .  the share or respective shares of any one or more of them so dying in my lifetime shall be paid to the survivors or survivor of them the said Elizabeth Warr Jane Watts . . . And I declare that every receipt that shall be given by the trustees or trustee . . . of this my Will shall be a sufficient discharge to any person or persons to whom such receipt shall be given for the monies therein expressed to be received and shall exonerate the person . . . paying . . .  from all liability to see to the application of such money and from all responsibility on account of the misapplication or non application of the same or any part thereof And I declare that the trustees . . . of this my Will shall be at liberty to lay out and invest or continue invested the monies held under the trusts of this my Will in or upon such stocks funds debentures or other real or personal securities as they or he shall think proper and at their . . . discretion . . . vary . . . the stocks . . . upon which the trust monies . . . may be invested  And I further declare that in case the trustees hereby appointed . . . shall die in my lifetime or shall at my death be resident abroad or . . . desire to be discharged from or shall neglect or refuse or become incapable to act in the trusts of . . . my Will . . . before the same shall be fully performed then . . . it shall be lawful for the surviving trustee . . . to appoint any person to supply the place of the trustee so dying renouncing declining . . . and every such new trustee shall have and may exercise the same powers and authorities as if he had been appointed a trustee by this my Will And I give devise and bequeath to the said Benjamin Warr and William Robert Sheppard their heirs executors administrators and assigns all estates vested in me as a trustee or mortgagee to be held upon and for the trusts intents and purposes for which the same may be held by me In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand the day and year first before written
Thomas Sheppard [signature] Signed by the said Thomas Sheppard and declared by him to be his Will in the presence of us who being present at the same time have
[p.3] in his presence and in the presence of each other subscribed our names as Witnesses thereto Geo Nelson [signature] Solicitor, Buckingham. Henry Waters [signature] Clerk to Messrs Hearn & Co, Solicitors, Buckingham.
Proved at London 20th of May 1874, by the Oaths of Benjamin Warr (Nephew of Testators late wife) and William Robert Sheppard the Nephew the Executors to whom Ad(ministrati)on was granted.

ON the 20th day of May 1874, the Will of Thomas Sheppard late of  Winslow in the County of Buckingham Farmer deceased, who died the 20th day of January 1874, at Winslow aforesaid was proved in the Principal Registry of Her Majesty’s Court of Probate, by the Oaths of Benjamin Warr of  Addington in the said County Farmer (Nephew of Testator’s late Wife) and William Robert Sheppard of Finmere in the County of Oxford Farmer the Nephew Executors named in the Will they having been first sworn duly to administer.
Effects under £2000.
No Leaseholds

Notes

Thomas Sheppard was aged 71 when he died. The 1871 Census shows him living at 186 High Street with his sister-in-law Mary Ann Warr. He was born at Pattishall, Northants, and apparently only came to Winslow when he retired. In 1861 he was a farmer at Finmere, living with his wife Maria and sister-in-law. He seems to have bought the house in 1863 when Richard Harrison retired from business as stone and marble mason.

Mary Ann Warr died in 1883 (see her will), after which the contents of the house were put up for sale and the house was let.

Benjamin Sear the nephew does not seem to have been part of the Sear family of Winslow.