From the Probate Files: William Richardson - Anne Arundel County, Maryland - 1698

I wasn't able to locate a scan of eighth great grandfather  William Richardson Senior's will but here's a transcript of it:

[Descendants of Richard & Elizabeth (Ewen) Talbott of Popular Knowle, West River, Anne Arundel County, Maryland' 

Ida M. Snirk, author. Genealogical Publishing Com, 2009. Source: Google books.]

Although William stated in this 1691 document that he was "sick and weak of body" he didn't die for another 7-1/2 years as it wasn't  presented for probate until 1698.

He made specific bequests of land to his two younger sons Daniel and Joseph, a smaller tract to his daughter Sophia, and his eldest son William (Junior) was granted permission to use land that was part of his widow Elizabeth's plantation known as Watkins his Hope "always provided that he makes use be not prejudicial to his mother." Since no tract of land was left to William by this will I think it's almost certain that William, who seems to have been his only child to have attained his majority, had already been provided for.

William remembered his step-children, leaving a cow calf to each of them. He also bequeathed a heifer to his daughter-in-law. The remainder of his estate after all the bequests was to be divided into three parts with his widow receiving her choice of them and the rest being divided into four parts shared equally between his four children.

Five pounds "Sterling money" was left to "the stock in Friends called Quakers" within three years of his decease.

I think the most interesting part of his will is what his intentions were for "the three negro children* that I have given and bequeathed to my children, called by the names of Chargoe, Mary and Susan, shall serve until they attain the ages of fifty years and then be set free." I wonder if that happened.

*Daughter Sophia was bequeathed Mary, C[h]argoe was left to son Joseph and Susan was to be given to his grandson William Richardson.



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: William Richardson (? - 1697) Planter & Quaker Minister

My most recent research has brought me very far up the family tree to William Richardson, my maternal eighth great grandfather.

[Extract from "Descendants of Richard & Elizabeth (Ewen) Talbott of Popular Knowle, West River, Anne Arundel County, Maryland."

Ida M. Shirk, author; Genealogical Publishing Com, 2009.]

 I wasn't able to find a creditable birth date for William but he has to have been at least 5 years younger than his bride, Elizabeth Ewen Talbott who already had four children by her first husband. She and William had eight children - four sons, William*, Daniel, Joseph (died as a child) another Joseph, & four daughters, Sophia Elizabeth, Sapphira, Elizabeth, and Sarah.

As you can see from the extract above, William was an ardent Quaker and monthly and weekly meeting of the Friends were held in his house in the West River.** He served as a member of the Lower House of the General Assembly of Maryland in 1678. He's described as a friend of William Penn who visited him in 1682.**
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[Maryland State Roads Commission Marker-photo found on Waymark.com]

 He died in 1697 leaving a substantial estate. I'll cover his will and probate in a future post.



*I descend from William Jr.

[Ancestry.com]

**The West River Quaker Meeting was the most important Meeting in the Chesapeake region and the site of the first gathering of all the Quakers in Maryland.
***The purpose of the conference referred to by the road marker was to set the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.