Essex wills – F

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Some wills have been transcribed in full, whereas others are a paraphrased transcription. If they are paraphrased, they contain the names of all those mentioned in the will, with the gist of what they were (or were not!) bequeathed, but to find the full details, such as the names of property, requests as to how they were to be buried etc., please contact the relevant archive.

Wills:

Firman, James, husbandman of Great Holland, 1786

  • Wife Ann
  • Son James, U21, to be apprenticed
  • Daughter Ann, U21

Executors: wife Ann, Henry Pudney of Great Clacton.

Witnesses: Cyprian Colchester, Joseph Baker, John Glading

Written: 6 June 1786. Probate 4 July 1786

ERO

Transcriber’s notes: James married Ann Pudney at Great Holland in 1772. She was the daughter of John Pudney. Their son was born the following year. James’ wish that his son be apprenticed appears to have been actioned as there’s a record that on 15 Dec 1787, a boy called James Firman was apprenticed to Robert Cooper, a carpenter who lived in Kirby-le-Soken. He then married Esther Howard at Kirby-le-Soken in 1795.

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Firman, John, gentleman of Witham, 1791

  • Wife Elizabeth
  • Daughter Elizabeth, wife of John Wright esqr.
  • Servant Sarah Vaughan
  • Property in Boxford, Hadleigh, Stoke, Assington, and Nayland in Suffolk, and in Witham, Wickham Bishops, and Little Totham in Essex.

Executors: John Humphreys of Witham, draper; son-in-law John Wright.

Witnesses: John Scott, James Dunn, Carter Scott.

Written: 30 April 1791. Probate 21 Nov 1791.

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Firman, Mary, single woman of Copford, 1845

  • Hannah wife of John Jarvis of Wickham Bishops, husbandman: the house house John currently lives in, which Mary bought in 1831.
  • William Firman of Copford, farmer: £200
  • Mary wife of Peter Moss of Dedham, farmer: £20. To Mary’s husband if she dies before the testator.
  • Elizabeth wife of John Bridge of Dedham, shoemaker: £25
  • William Fordham, son of the aforesaid William Firman of Copford: £10
  • Elizabeth Firman and Maria Firman, daughters of William Firman of Copford: £10 each
  • Eliza Tunbridge and Emma Tunbridge, his granddaughters: £10 each
  • Mary Meakins, widow, sister of Hannah Jarvis: £5
  • Mary wife of Arthur Cowlin: £5
  • Mary, John, James, children of Mary and Arthur Cowlin: £5 each
  • William Evans of Fordham, yeoman, and his daughter Susannah: £5 each.

Executors: William Firman the elder and Arthur Cowlin.

Witnesses: William W Francis, John Bennett.

Written: 2 May 1842. Probate 14 Feb 1845.

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Transcriber’s notes: this will has had me scratching my head because Mary doesn’t tell us how she’s related to any of the people in the will, if she is. There’s not much to go on, but the clues are there.

  • First of all, Mary Firman, spinster, aged 86, died in Copford on 29 Jan 1845 of debility. The informant was Mary Cowlin of Copford, who was present at her death. Then we have a burial in West Bergholt on 6 Feb 1845 for Mary Firman of Copford, aged 86. Of all the many Mary Firmans and Firmins I’ve added to my tree, she only fits with Mary, daughter of William Firmin and Susannah Bacon, who was born in West Bergholt on 29 April 1757 (her baptism on 8 May 1757 gives her date of birth). William and Susannah had several children: Susannah 1739-1768, who married William Cant, William 1744-1746, William 1747-? (married Elizabeth Nevard and had five children), John 1750-1783 (doesn’t appear to have married), Benjamin 1754, and Mary. William and Susannah had married in Earls Colne on 23 July 1738.
  • William wrote his will on 17 Apr 1797, mentioning only his wife, and children Benjamin and Mary. That’s it – none of the other children get a mention, and no grandchildren.
  • A big clue in the will is Hannah Jarvis living in that house in Wickham Bishops. Hannah was Hannah Firmin when she married John in 1816, and several other Firmins/Firmans appear in the register. Hannah died in 1846 and her age at death matches with the baptism of Hannah daughter of Benjamin and Anne Firman in Wickham Bishops in 1787. Who is this Benjamin? He appears to have died in 1803 and the register doesn’t give his age, but seeing as William and Susannah’s son Benjamin doesn’t pop up around West Bergholt, it seems logical that he’d moved to Wickham Bishops. Leaving a house to someone seems like quite a large bequest, so it would make sense that Hannah Jarvis was the testator’s niece.
  • Mary Meakins, Hannah’s widowed sister, was left £5 by the testators. Benjamin and Anne’s daughter Mary was baptised at Wickham Bishops in 1788, and married James Meekin at Maldon All Saints in 1810. They had one son, William James, but he and both his children died before the testator’s will was written. I haven’t traced Mary beyond the will yet.
  • Benjamin and Anne had a son called William in 1790. He died in Wickham Bishops in May 1841 and his death certificate tells us he was a shoemaker. This ties in with the marriage in Wickham Bishops in March 1842 – two months before Mary Firman wrote her will – of Elizabeth Firman, whose father was William Firman, a shoemaker, who married John Bridge. Elizabeth was baptised in Goldhanger in 1819, the daughter of William and Elizabeth Firman, the same year as her brother William, but the 1841 census tells us she wasn’t born in Essex, and neither was Mary Firman, about the same age as her, who was living with Elizabeth on the 1841 census. A Mary Ann Firman was was born on Christmas Day 1814 and baptised at the church of St George in the East, Stepney, in 1817, the daughter of William Firman, a shoemaker, and Elizabeth. So it seems that Benjamin and Anne’s son William married an Elizabeth (marriage not yet found), moved to Stepney, had daughters Mary Ann and probably Elizabeth there, then moved to Goldhanger where their son William was born. William’s wife died the same year their son was born. After he died in May 1841, his daughter Mary Ann died in the September and was buried in Wickham Bishops. I haven’t traced their brother William yet.
  • So Elizabeth wife of John Bridge was likely to have been the testator’s great-niece. Elizabeth and John had one son, Firman Joseph Bridge in 1842, but he died the following year, and Elizabeth died in 1844, the couple not having had any further children. “Dedham” in the will seems to be a mistake, unless John and Elizabeth briefly moved there after their marriage, before returning to Wickham Bishops before their son’s baptism.
  • Mary wife of Peter Moss, farmer, of Dedham, is a mystery. She doesn’t seem to be obviously related to the testator. She was born Mary Crisp in Forham in about 1787, the daughter of Philip Crisp and Sarah Barrett. Although a Thomas Barrett married Mary Firman in Fordham in 1769, Sarah doesn’t appear to be their daughter. Peter Moss was from Little Cornard in Suffolk, and his parents don’t appear to be related to the testator either, at least not closely.
  • The other Firmans in the will seem as if they should be related to the testator, with William of Copford receiving £200 and his children and grandchildren receiving other legacies. This is especially the case when we realised that in 1841, the testator was living with William and his family in Copford. Presumably this arrangement carried on for some time, seeing as Mary’s there in 1841, and lived in Copford until her death in 1845. William was born in about 1788, the illegitimate son of Anne Tracey, and was named William Firman Tracey. Then Anne married William Firman (c. 1754 to 1838) in 1791. His will mentions his son William Firman, without referring to him as his “natural son” or naming him “William Firman Tracey”. William was the son of Thomas Firman (c1720-1784) and Mary Scott, and his brother Benjamin was married three times and had vast numbers of children, and left a complicated will. There are many cousin-marriages among the descendants of Thomas Firman and Mary Scott. Thomas Firman was the son of Thomas (d 1771) and Mary Firman (d 1766). Their marriage hasn’t come to light yet, and when Thomas died in 1771, he only named one child, Thomas, in his will. But I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a connection between the testator’s West Bergholt Firmins and William of Copford’s family. Another tie-in is Rachel Firmin (c1728-1816) who married John Seaman. There’s no sign yet of her baptism or any appearance in wills, but when Rachel’s son Samuel (my ancestor) married Anne Tracey (there’s that name again) in West Bergholt in 1772, a Mary Firmin was one of the witnesses. This seems very likely to have been the testator, suggesting she might’ve related to Rachel, but… how?
  • Eliza and Emma Tunbridge were the daughters of Benjamin Tunbridge and Emma Firman. Emma died in 1838. From Mary Firman’s will, we know that Emma must’ve been William of Copford’s daughter, but I haven’t found her baptism yet. Her siblings Elizabeth, Maria and William were all baptised at the Countess of Huntingdon’s Connexion chapel in Fordham. Maria and William married siblings John and Hannah Everett.
  • Arthur Cowlin married Mary Hudson in Stanway in 1803. Their son John married Tilitha, the daughter of Joseph Firmin in Fordham in 1841. Joseph was a descendant of Thomas Firman and Mary Scott. Evidently the Cowlins were close to the testator, to the point that Mary Cowlin registered the testator’s death. There is another very roundabout connection: Abigail Moore (1759-1803) was the first wife of John Archer of Fingringhoe. His sister, Mary, was the first wife of Benjamin Firmin (Thomas F and Mary Scott’s son). Abigail’s sister, Susanna, married John Quilter, and their daughter Susannah married a Daniel Cowlin – but I don’t know if or how he’s related to Arthur. It might just be a coincindence, of course!
  • William Evans’s daughter Susannah was baptised in Fordham in 1816. Her mother was Sarah. Their marriage might’ve been in Chappel in 1810, where the bride’s surname was Amos. They might’ve been friends, rather than relations, of the testator.
  • There is another Firmin/Firman family in Wickham Bishops, who were blacksmiths. William, born about 1764, and died in 1831, was married to Hannah and they had several children, although he doesn’t name any of them in the will. One of their children was William Golding or Golden Firman who also left a will. There are baptisms for their children but it looks like some might be missing, or the children were baptised elsewhere. William and Hannah’s marriage hasn’t been found yet. William might be the person of the same name who was apprenticed in 1778 to Barnabas Akers of “Totham”, which is near Wickham Bishops. This is a Poor Law document at the Essex Record Office, that might name William’s parents.
  • If you have managed to follow any of this and are still reading, I salute you!

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Firman, William, farmer of West Bergholt, 1802

  • wife Susannah Firman
  • son Benjamin Firman
  • daughter Mary Firman

Executors: son Benjamin, daughter Mary.

Witnesses: Joseph Fisher, George Wright x.

Died at West Bergholt 14 March 1802.

Written 17 April 1797. Probate 17 July 1802.

ERO

Transcriber’s notes: seems to be the father of Mary Firman of Copford, whose will is above.

I haven’t been able to work out if or how William fits in with the other Firmans around West Bergholt, who his daughter evidently knew and was so close to that she was living with one of them in 1841. He married Susannah Bacon at Earls Colne in 1738. He was apparently 90 when he died in 1802, so was born in about 1712. I wonder his age could’ve been exaggerated – he might’ve been the son of Richard and Elizabeth Firman baptised in White Colne in 1826 aged, very precisely, “7 years, 8 months & 1 week.”

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Firmin, William, blacksmith of Wickham Bishops, 1831

  • wife Hannah

Executors: John Borrett of Wickham Bishops, shopkeeper; Samuel Bridge of Wickham Bishops, cordwainer.

Witnesses: William Wright, George Hern jnr, Wm Heard.

Died 31 March 1831 at Wickham Bishops.

Written 3 March 1831. Probate 30 April 1831.

ERO

Transcriber’s notes: William’s first appearance in the parish register at Wickham Bishops is uncertain. On 23 Jan 1789, Dorothy daughter of William and Dorothy Firman was baptised, then on 23 Dec 1790 Mary Anne daughter of William and Hannah was baptised. Was there enough time of him to lose Dorothy and marry Hannah, or is “Dorothy” an error and should read “Hannah” for that first baptism? There is a gap before William Golding is baptised in 1798, and another Dorothy in 1800. However, there was at least another daughter, Hannah, who is named in William Golding Firman’s will. Perhaps Phoebe and Sarah Firman were their daughters too, and were born in that eight year gap in baptisms.

Sarah married Porter Moss at Wickham Bishops in 1811; Mary Ann married William Bacon in 1813; Robert Ellis married Dorothy in 1819; Phoebe married John Webb of the Half-Moon Inn, Chelmsford, in 1820, and Hannah married him sometime after Phoebe’s death in 1827.

William was born in about 1764. He is possibly the boy apprenticed in 1778 to Barnabas Akers of Totham (this is a Poor Law document at ERO which might give more information on William’s family). His widow Hannah died in Maldon and was buried in Wickham Bishops on 9 March 1834; she was born in about 1757. I haven’t yet located their marriage.

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Firman, William Golding, blacksmith of Wickham Bishops, 1849

  • wife Mary
  • sister Hannah Webb, widow
  • daughter Mary Ann
  • daughter Sarah wife of William Combe

Witnesses: Thomas Bickmore of Kelvedon, Stephen Harris of Wickham Bishops.

Executors: wife, sister Hannah, friend Daniel Abbott of Chipping Hill, Witham, boot and shoemaker.

Died at Wickham Bishops 23 Oct 1848.

Written 4 Oct 1848. Probate 3 Jan 1749.

ERO

Transcriber’s notes: The son of William and Hannah Firman, baptised in Wickham Bishops in 1798. He married Mary Moss in 1820 and had two children: Mary Ann in 1821, and Sarah in 1822.

Phoebe Firman of Wickham Bishops married widower John Webb of the Half-Moon, Chelmsford, in 1820. Their marriage was announced in the Suffolk Chronicle. His first wife, Mary Willis, had died the year before. Phoebe and John had four children: Phoebe, John, Sarah Ann, and Martha, before she died in 1827 aged 32. Then in 1841, we find John Webb on the 1841 census at the Half-Moon with Hannah Webb, aged about 50, and two of John’s children (Mary Ann by his first wife and Sarah Ann by Phoebe). John died the following year and there’s a headstone at Chelmsford cathedral naming him and his first two wives. What became of Hannah? I don’t know, and I haven’t been able to find their marriage yet, but interestingly, Hannah Firman was one of the witnesses to John and Phoebe’s marriage. Marrying your late wife’s sister wasn’t allowed until the early 20th century, but it didn’t stop people from doing so; instead, they’d go somewhere far-flung where the vicar wouldn’t realise their relationship. John died intestate and his administrator was William Collings Wells, who seems to have been involved with Wells and Perry Brewery in Colchester.

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Fisher, Amos of Weeley, yeoman, 1660

  • To eldest son Amos Fisher: Freehold lands and tenements in Cilam [Syleham],
    Suffolk, now in occupation of John Buckingham, and a house called Coll.
  • To son Cornelius Fisher: copyhold lands and tenements in St. Osyth, Essex, and £100
  • To daughter Hannah Fisher: £120, and one year’s board
  • To wife Christian Fisher: the goods she brought with her on her marriage and £90? And ten shillings; the best cow in my yard, a white mare called ?Bragge, a quarter weight of cheese, half a firkin of butter, the use and benefit of a wainscot chamber and firewood for her use, until Michaelmas next.
  • To her son Robert Edwards: one ewe and one lamb.
  • To my brother-in-law Thomas Parish of Langenhoe (supervisor of this will): 30
    shillings
  • Rest and residue to my son John Fisher, he to be sole executor.

Witnesses: Robert Dancy?, William Chase x, Gavis Rout x

Written 8th February 1659/60, probate: 23rd August 1660

PCC will

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Fisher, Cardinall of Wix, yeoman, 1818

  • To wife Elizabeth Fisher: Cottage in Wix held of the Court of Park Hall, and all possessions – money, securities, bonds, etc., household furniture and goods, chattels, estate and effects.

Executor: John Cooper of Ramsey, farmer

Witnesses: John Allen, John Cowey, Jonas Cowey

Written: 23rd December 1811. Proved by his widow, Elizabeth Fisher, 27th January 1818, John Cooper having died in Cardinall Fisher’s lifetime. Full record at ERO contains grant of administration. She was bound with William Wymark, bricklayer of Mistley, to perform Cardinall’s will. She marked.

ERO ref: D/ACW 40/1/3

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Fisher, Parish of Wix, farmer, 1775

  • To daughters Ann Fisher and Sarah Fisher: £250 each when they reach 21. If either or
    both die before reaching 21, the legacy to be divided between all my surviving
    children by my late wife Sarah.
  • To my granddaughter Mary Fisher, daughter of my son Robert Fisher, late of
    Langenhoe, Essex, farmer, deceased, £2 when she reaches 21.
  • Rest and residue of my estate (after debts) to be divided between my two sons,
    Parish Fisher and Cardinall Fisher.
  • Parish Fisher to be the guardian of my granddaughter Mary until she is 21.

Executors: my brother-in-law Clarkeson Cardinall of Tendring, gentleman, and my son Parish Fisher. Clarkeson to receive £5 for his trouble.

Witnesses: Ann Peck, John Peck x, Daniel Chiles

Written: 3rd March 1775, proved: 14th October 1775

ERO ref: D/ACW 33/5/26

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Fisher, Parish, of Wix, gentleman, 1810

  • All real and personal estates (including estates in Wix and Great Oakley) to my son
    Francis Fisher, he to pay all my debts and the following legacies.
  • To son Edward Fisher: £400, to be paid one year after my death. If not paid, the
    estate in Great Oakley to be tied for its payment.
  • To my eldest son, Parish Fisher of Wrabness: £10
  • To my daughter Sarah, now the wife of John Cardinall esqr: £10
  • To my son Palmer Fisher: an annuity of £10 for life

Executors: my son Francis Fisher, and John Cardinall esqr. John Sherman to be trustee

Witnesses: Robert Bennett, Cardinall Fisher, George Elmer

Written: 8th March 1810, proved: 22nd December 1810

ERO ref: D/ACW 39/1/3

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