The last will and testament of an ancestor can provide you with a unique insight into family life and they are one of the most intimate and personal of all the official documents that we use when researching our family history. This month we will analyse a number of wills and associated documents and try to work out what the documents are telling us.
Tony Clayton discovered within the PCC (Prerogative Court of Canterbury )Wills of 1385-1858 the will of Edward Bryan of Clements, Annapolis, Nova Scotia, Canada, dated 21
January 1821. The following is an extract from the will itself: That the movables my present wife Elizabeth brought to me at marriage viz. 1 cow, 1 bed and 2 suits of bedding, 6 chairs, 2 iron pots, 1 tea kettle and spider, 1 table, 2 chests [chats?], 6 plates tea Cups & bowls, 4 knives and forks, 1 tea cannister, 2 tubs shall still be her property
In this will he declares himself to be ‘sick and weak of body’ and dies around 1831. The will is confirmed to be a copy of the original, by the Court of Annapolis on 31 August 1832 and was presented in England to the PCC, by which time the legal representative for the beneficiaries were deceased. An administration (with the will annexed) was duly granted 10 August 1833 to the executors, stipulating that letters of administration had to be applied for, from the Court of Annapolis. However, before that took place the remaining executor had renounced his position. The letters of administration (with will annexed) were granted by Annapolis on 19 October 1837.
Now I know that prior to the passing of the Married Women’s Property Act of 1882 only spinsters and widows were able
