This is the transcribed will of Christopher Buckner of Longcombe (Combe), Oxfordshire, England, 1591 (Oxfordshire Record Office 3/3/7)
This will is a good example of the care with which a lot of testators of this period put into preventing division of the estate. He clearly doesn't want to cut his younger son Thomas off entirely, but it's evident that he wants most of it to remain with the elder son Nicholas. I suspect that he was not expecting Thomas to have any heirs, though we know from Thomas' 1610 will that he eventually had a daughter. Nicholas had 4 children survive him in 1620, Richard, Walter, Agnes, and Cicely . It is unclear who the godson Christopher Buckner (the younger) was, but it is likely that he was an elder son of Nicholas who died young. Interestingly, Nicholas also names a godson Christopher Buckner in his will, who was probably Walter's son. Eventually, Walter and his family were the last surviving patrilineal heirs of Christopher Buckner.
The language has more than the usual number of oddities. Some are fairly obvious spelling variants - "keyne" for "kine" - but there are others like "standers" which I've either entirely misread or are some very odd diction. "Measlen" = "maslin," a mix of grains.
There is also a rather long inventory given with the will, taken on 12 May "2591" [sic] (apparently, Hindu-Arabic numerals were still something of a novelty in Combe) by William Hulls, William Bowdon, Henrie Blackgrend, and Thomas Smyth. The total value was estimated at £78/16/8.
I've tried to preserve the line arrangement so anyone who wants can compare this to the original image. I don't claim perfection, and there are some things that can be interpreted different ways. The notation {ER} and such indicates a superscript abbreviation. These are common in period documents, though sometimes they can be a little idiosyncratic. I also tend to use modern u/v and i/j , but keep in mind that these were essentially the same letters during this period, so "verily" is really indistinguishable from "uerily" and "Jesus" from "Iesvs", though I do use the terminal j when it appears in the MS, especially in numerals where it is often essential for clarity.
Date of will: 5 or 12 May 1591
Probate: 5 June 1591
People named in the will:
Testamentum ultimu~ Christoferi Buckner senioris
De Combe in comitatu Oxon factu~ 12 die
maij 159i
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In the name of the livinge god amen: I Christofer Buckner thelder of Combe in the
countye of Oxon husmandm~: beinge sicke in bodie but of verile? good memorie I give
the lord most humble & hoewlie thankes therefore do make this my last will and
Testament in manner & forme followinge first I give & redelivere? my soule
into the handes of almightie god that gave it me hopinge by the Death
& passino of Jesus Christ to obteyne p{ar}don of all my sinnes & my bodie
I commit to the ground from whence it was taken willinge that
it may be buried in the Churchyerd of Combe Itm: I give to the
mother Churche in Oxon iiijd Itm: to Combe churche ij:s: Itm: I give
& bequeath to my wife Agnes Buckner & to my Eldest sonne
Nicholas Buckner (whom I make executors of this my last will
& Testament) my nowe Dwellinge house in Combe to enjoye the p{re}mis
set joyntlye & equallie together in everie respecte duringe the naturall
life of my seid wife Agnes Buckner & after her decease my
will is that all the premises beqeathed shall redound to my seid
sonne Nicholas & to his heires successivelye for ever Itm exceptinge
that my will and desire is that my sonne Thomas Buckner
shall have to him & to his heires of his owne bodie lawfullie begotten
a certeyne house in the towne of longe Combe wherein one John
Betts a glover dwelleth at the writinge herof: Itm: I give and be
queath unto my sonne Thomas Buckner the backside & close belon
ginge to the same house Itm I give him the croppe of a certeyne
Itm I give to him one Acre of measlen at Colma~ [c?]erte hedge for one crope no longer:
close of myne called Elmes close for one yere and no longer ^ Itm:
I give & bequeath unto him one half acre of lande in ten Acres
next to Fodderey waye beinge my free land Itm: I give to him my
seid sonne Thomas Buckner one halfe Acre at Gallowes wood
scituated & beinge betweene the plotts of weaysie[proper name?] of Combe aforeseid
thes thinges heretofore bequeathed to my sonne Thomas Buckner I
give tohim & to his heires for ever excepting lands[?] close^& this Acre of measlen wch he is to
have but one onlie yere anext after my buriall and no longer upon this
condition that he the seid Thomas Buckner shall neyther himselfe
nor any for him in his behalfe sell nor alienate the same
Itm: I give & bequeathe to him xxx sheepe at the runne~[?] Itm: I give
to him twoo^ younge Keyne both wth calfe at the makinge herof: Itm: I give
him one oxe bullocke of two yeres ould thes thinges to be delivered
him wthin one moneth after my Decease: Itm: I give & bequeath
to my executors of this my will & Testament a certeyne Tene
ment of mine in the towne of Combe wth a halfe yerde therto belon
ginge setto mee by m{r} Gigger gent: wth all and singuler Thapp{ur}te
nances to the same Tenement and halfe yerd land belonginge: Itm:
wheras I have another lease taken of o{r} most gratious Queene
Elizabeth (who~ god p{re}serve) that leaze I will that my sonne
Nicholas Buckner shall enjoy severallie Duringe that time
of the seid lease Itm: I will that the longe Table in my
Dwellinge howse & the cubberd ther be standers[?] co~tinuallie
to whom so ever shall enjoye the same howse Itm I give to my
Godsonne Christofer Buckner twoo sheepe & to everieone of
my sonne Nicholas his children: twoo sheepe: after my buriall
wthin one moneth to be Delivered them Itm: I give to John Redbeard
of Hanborowe a Ewe & a lambe :Itm: I give to my maid
servant Anne Hampton: a good[?] Ewe & lambe to be given
them wthin one moneth after my buriall
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As for all other thinges movable & unmovable unbequeathed I give them to
my aforeseid wife & Eldest sonne Nicholas whom I make my
sole & alone executours of this my last will & Testamente
all other wills being frusrate[?] whatsoever they s[o?]inges[?] my
Detts paid & my Discharges & funerall seemelye & orderlie
p{er}formed Itm: I give to everie godchild I have iiijd in money & to the
goodwife Warner xxijd thes to be given wthin one moneth after my
decease: In witnes wherof I the seid Christofer Buckner have
caused this my last will & Testament to be made and therto have
sette my hand & marke in the 33th d yere of the reigne of or most
gratious Queene Elizabeth that now is the vth[?] daye of May
1591
Itm: I give to the maker of my will: ijs:
Appointinge for my overseers {Thomas Harres: } allowinge them
Robert Maunsell: for their paines:
ijsviijd
Witnesses: John Walker { |
William Hulls signum Christoferi: -----+----- Buckner:
|
Probatum cora~ Venli viro Thoma Glaser
ll d Archmat[?]~ Oxon offc[?] et vto
Iuni[?] Ao Dni 1591 Comissa Adm
inisstracome[?] Executores in eadem
nminate in p{er}sona Nicholai Buckner
? Executor in eodem nmint in forma
iuris[?] iurat[?] Salvo[?] mav[?] commiso[?]