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. The wills are either from the Suffolk Record Office (ERO), the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC), or the Norfolk Record Office (NRO).
- Simpson, Joseph, saymaker of Great Waldingfield, 1683
- Simpson, Mordecai, single man of Sudbury, 1669
- [Simpson] Sympson, Mordecai, yeoman, of Shimpling, 1763
- Smyth, Daniell, gentleman of Walton, 1639
- Stratton, John, gentleman of Shotley, 1627
- Stratton, Thomas of Shotley, 1596
Simpson, Joseph, saymaker of Great Waldingfield, 1683
- wife Anne
- son Henry Simpson
- son Joseph Simpson
- daughter Lyddah Pegg wife of Henry Pegg
- son Mordecah Simpson
- son Thomas Simpson
- dau Mary wife of Thomas Sargent
- son John Simpson
- dau Rebecca wife of James Sparke
Leaves property, money, and looms.
Executors: wife Anne, son Henry.
Witnesses: John Olive, William Andrewes.
Written 16 Oct 1676, probate 20 Dec 1683.
The probate is written in Latin and is rather messy, so it’s hard to read. It looks as if Anne had died before the will was proved, so only Henry probates it.
SRO
Transcriber’s notes: Joseph Simpson of Wissington married Ann Collins of Stoke-by-Nayland in her home parish on 14 April 1640. Their eldest son, Joseph, was baptised in Nayland in 1641, then they moved to Great Waldingfield where most of their other children’s baptisms can be found. Mordecai Sympson of Shimpling, will below, was his grandson. Joseph appears to be my 9 x gt-grandfather.
Simpson, Mordecai, single man of Sudbury, 1669
Noncupative will.
Mordecai Simpson, a single man living in Sudbury, expressed his wished while he was ill and dying.
- Henry Barrett son of Edmund Barrett of Great Cornard: 50 shillings (abode originally entered as Sudbury, then changed. Father’s name originally entered as Edward, then changed).
- Mary Reeve and Henry Reeve, Mordecai’s brother and sister, 50 shilling each.
- Mary Gage daughter of John Gage: 50 shillings.
- Featherbed to sister Mary Reeve on her mother’s death.
Executor: Edmund Barrett (again, entered as Edward, then changed).
In the presence of John Aliston the elder x, and John Ellyston the younger.
Written 12 Sep 1669, probate 19 April 1670.
SRO
Transcriber’s notes: Mordecai Simpson is such an unusual name that presumably this testator is related to the other Mordecai Simpsons in the same area of Suffolk. Perhaps he was Joseph Simpson of Great Waldingfield’s brother?
[Simpson] Sympson, Mordecai, yeoman, of Shimpling, 1763
- cousin Thomas Sympson
- Anne Sympson, widow, mother of cousin Thomas
- cousin Mordecai Sympson
- Anne wife of George Evered
- Mary wife of Robert North
- sister Poole: has three children
- sister Mary wife of John Drewry
- cousin Mordecai Reynolds
- Sarah wife of John Boreham
- cousin Francis Reynolds, grandson of Sarah wife of Francis Reynolds
- brother Thomas Sympson has four children [named above, but not identified as such]
- sister Reynolds’s two children and her grandson Francis
Executors: cousin Mordecai Reynolds, sister Mary wife of John Drewry.
Witnesses: Hezekiah Finch x, John Ponder, Elizabeth Steed x.
Written 28 Dec 1762, probate 7 April 1763
NCC, Roper 90
Smyth, Daniell, gentleman of Walton, 1639
- To be buried in the chancel at Walton where his father and brother were buried.
- Wife Bridget: lands and houses in Walton and Felixstowe Priory, for life, then to sons Daniel and Jeremy
- Eldest son Daniell, under 21
- Youngest son Jeremy, under 21
- All goods and chattels to Bridget, then to her sons.
- Poor of Walton 40 shillings
- Sister Barber 40 shillings
- Nephew and niece Charles and Audrey, children of his brother Smyth, 20 shillings each.
Executor: wife
Written 15 Aug 1530, probate 11 Jan 1639/8.
SRO
Transcriber’s notes: The testator’s wife Bridget was the daughter of Anthony Mannock and Bridget Hopton/Pannell. The probate says, in Latin, that his widow was Margaret, not Bridget. It looks as if Bridget predeceased her husband. There is a record of a marriage licence, dated 24 Sep 1636, between Daniel Smith and Margaret Joblett, a widow of Walton, to marry at Felixstowe. I couldn’t see Daniel’s burial in Walton in the Suffolk Family History Society’s burials CD, which includes burials in Walton for that period. The church has been drastically made over, so it seems that any memorials for the Smyths that once existed no longer do so.
Stratton, John, gentleman of Shotley, 1627
- Sick in body.
- Poor of Shotley £3
- Out of the manor of Thurcalton alias Surcalton in Shotley, occupied by Thomas Cample, to wife Anne £50 a year.
- Son John is a minor. When 21, remainder of rents due from the manor after £50 a year deducted for wife Anne to John. And after her death, the manor to John.
- Manor of Kirton Hall, where I now dwell, in occupation of me, Richard Throward, Christopher Wilton and John Wilton. Kirton Hall to be sold, to pay debts and legacies:
- To sons William and Anthony, £100 each when 21
- To daughters Anne (the eldest daughter), Elizabeth, Mary and Dorothy, £100 each when 18
- Money leftover from the sale to son John.
- All goods and chattels to be sold, except to wife Anne: a silver can, 6 silver spoons, a little silver salt, two feather beds, half the linen and half the pewter.
- Brother Benjamin Stratton £6 13sh 4d and a mourning cloak.
- Brother Joseph Stratton 40sh for a ring, and a mourning cloak.
- Son John: velvet-lined cloak, seal ring, white hatched sword, and a mourning cloak.
- Wife Anne: a mourning gown
- All servants 5sh each
- Kinswoman Margaret Harrison 20sh.
Executor: wife Anne
Supervisor: Mr Thomas Clench of Holbrook.
Witnesses: John Havell senr, John Wilton
Written 24 Sep 1621, probate 19 May 1627
Transcriber’s notes: John Stratton was buried at Shotley on 4 May 1627. The transcription of the register says he was of “Fordley”, Essex, but other sources say he lived for a time in Ardleigh, Essex. Fordley might be a misreading of Ardleigh. John’s wife Anne was born Anne Derehaugh. She was the daughter of Thomas Derehaugh of Badingham. John and Anne are, apparently, ancestors of US politician John Kerry. The will of John’s father, Thomas Stratton, is below.
Stratton, Thomas of Shotley, 1596
- Of Kyrketon, Suffolk [presumably Kirton Hall]
- Wife Dorothy to enjoy Kirton Manor for life, as per her jointure, and lands in Shotley, and all household stuff in the house in Dedham “where I now do remain.” A silver pot that was her sister’s, one silver salt, six silver spoons that were her father’s, a silver bowl, and five of my milk beasts.
- Manor of Thurkoulton asl Shurkelton and all lands and tenements occupied by Thomas Crickman and Robert Runtinge in Shotley, and 6 acres occupied by John Sparke “which I had to me and my heirs of Sir Philip Parker”, to my cousin John Morgan, gentleman of St Clement’s, Ipswich, until my son John is 21. John Morgan to use the lands for education and upbringing of Thomas’ children. If wife Dorothy died before John is 21, John Morgan to manage her lands.
- Son Benjamin: £10 annuity for life
- Daughter Mary £50 on her marriage, and £5 a year for life
- Daughter Elizabeth £50 when 21
- Granddaughter Sarah Beriffe, “my daughter’s child”, £20 when 21.
- Son Joseph £100 when 21 (and to receive £5 per year from the age of 14)
- Sister Elizabeth Hankyn 20sh for a ring.
- Nephews, the sons of sister Elizabeth Hankyn: Roger, Thomas and John 40sh each when 21.
- Servants Elizabeth Squire and Kathryne Sallowes 6sh 8d each.
- Poor of Shotley £5
- Poor of Dedham 20sh.
- Executors: wife Dorothy and John Morgan.
- Remainder of lands in Suffolk to eldest son when 21, in trust in the meanwhile to John Morgan.
- To cousin John Collett a black colt on Dedham Heath, and a mourning cloak
- To wife and eldest daughter Mary: a mourning gown each
- To son John: a cloak
- Mourning cloak to cousin John Morgan, and a coat to his man.
- Anne Morgan, wife of my cousin Morgan, 20sh for a ring “as a gentle token of my remembrance.”
- Wife: my grey ambling colt at Shotley.
- Mr Dr Chapman 40sh
- Sister Elizabeth Hankyn £10 in ten years after my death.
- Servant Thomas Bate: the end of the house he now lives in for life.
Witnesses: John Collett and William Debnam.
Written 15 Apr 1596, probate 4 Nov 1596
PCC
Transcriber’s notes: Thomas was buried at Shotley on 1st June 1596. His daughter Cecily had married William Beriffe of Brightlingsea, a widower, at Shotley on 9 April 1594. His son Benjamin, who is mentioned in both this will and that of John Stratton, was buried at Shotley on 23 May 1627. There are several burials and baptisms for the Strattons in Shotley at this period.