11-2146-0623_PhillisBownThomason_1852
In the name of God, I Phillis Bown THOMASON, widow of Edward THOMASON, Knight, now residing in the Borough of Warwick, and being of sound mind, and blessed be God for it, do hereby make this my last will and testament of me, the said Phillis Bown Thomason, that is to say, I give and bequeath to Henry Richard Yeoville, Architect, of the Borough of Birmingham, and to his brother George Yeoville, Artist, of the Borough of Birmingham, two out of the five natural or reputed natural children of my only son, Henry Botfield THOMASON, and their heirs, executors and administrators, all my freehold messuages and land at Great Malvern, in the County of Worcester, part of them in the occupation of J O Bridges, and other tenants, and my freehold estate at Great Malvern called Hayes Barr, namely, the house, stabling, out offices and land now or late in the occupation of Mr Yeend and Mrs Yeend, late Miss Belcher, and also those my freehold messuages, tenements and manufactory etc., in Church a Street, Birmingham, in the tenancy of George Thomas Whitgraves and George Richmond Collis, and also all that my messuage, warehouse, stable and outbuildings in Colmore Row and Church Street in the occupation of Langstone Parker, Surgeon, and also all that my messuage, tenement and outbuildings in Colmore Row in the occupation of Mr Barney, and also all that my messuage, dwelling house and outbuildings at the corner of Colmore Row and Church Street in the occupation of Mrs Dobson, and also all that my messuage, shopping, etc., in Colmore Row in the occupation of Mrs Granvers, and also all that my messuage and shopping in Great Charles Street in the occupation of Mrs Cobley, and also all that my messuage and shopping adjoining Mrs Cobley’s, now in the occupation of Mr Burgass, and also all that my messuages with the appurtenances at the corner of Caroline Street St.Paul’s now in the occupation of Mr (Duchemin), and also all those warehouses, shopping, etc., in Catherine Street St Paul’s, now in the occupation of Mrs Sarah Pit, and also all that my messuage and outbuildings situate at the corner of Great Charles Street and Newhall Street Birmingham, now in the occupation of Mr a Freer, Surgeon, and also all that my other real and personal estate and all monies, securities for money, shares in various companies, goods, chattels and all my other personal property and effects, of which I may be possessed or entitled to at the time of my decease, to hold the same unto the said Henry Richard Yeoville and his brother George Yeoville, their heirs, executors and administrators, upon the trusts following, that is to say: all the dwelling houses or tenements in Birmingham herein named are not to be sold, but kept at rental until the leases expire, and the rents and proceeds after paying the expenses of repairs to be divided into five shares to the five residuary legatees in manner hereinafter named, that is to say, all the other parts of my property in trust, except the houses above named, shall be as soon as conveniently may be after my decease sold if it is desirable so to do, either by auction or by private sale, except such specific articles as I may give or bequeath by my will or by my codicil or codicils to this my will, and the money received from the sales of my property shall, after the executors have paid off all my just debts and funeral expenses and all the trust and probate duty hereby created, shall out of the monies that have been reserved from rents, dividends, shares of companies and proceeds from any of my property which they may have thought proper to have sold, proceed to pay the following legacies, that is to say, to my sister Anne THOMPSON, wife of Benjamin THOMPSON, residing at No. 24, St Nicholas Church Yard, Newcastle on Tyne, the sum if fifty pounds; to my sister Elizabeth GORDON to pay her fifty pounds; also to my sister Emily WHATELEY to pay her the sum of fifty pounds – Benjamin Thompson of Newcastle on Tyne knows the direction to my sisters Mrs Elizabeth Gordon and Mrs Emily Whateley; I also give and bequeath to Sarah Braine, the faithful servant of my dear departed husband, if she be alive at the twelve months after my death, the sum of twenty pounds; I also give and bequeath to my husband’s niece now resident at Copenhagen the sum of three hundred pounds if she be alive at twelve months after my death, to be paid to the Reverend Charles COVEY in trust for her, and his receipt shall be an effectual discharge for the same; I also give and bequeath to the Rev. Charles Covey the sum of one hundred pounds if he shall be alive twelve months after my decease; and I direct and I hereby appoint that Henry Richard Yeoville and his brother George Yeoville shall be executors and shall stand possessed of all my monies and property of every sort and denomination except such articles as I have given away, either by my will or codicils, Henry Richard Yeoville and George Yeoville to be in trust for the five persons whom I shall hereinafter name, and the said Henry Richard Yeoville and George Yeoville are two out of the five persons to be residuary legatees by my will, that is to say, the five persons whom I have adopted, I believe to be the five children or reputed children of my only child, Henry Botfield THOMASON, and of my dear husband Edward Thomason, and the names of these five children are: Elizabeth StCLAIR, formerly Elizabeth Yeoville, Richard Henry Yeoville (sic), Adelaide YEOVILLE, George Yeoville, and Mary Ann YEOVILLE, and I hereby appoint the two brothers of this family to be my executors, and to stand in trust for one fifth for each of themselves and one fifth part for each of their three sisters out of what becomes to be the residue of my property after paying my debts, legacies and bequests named in my will or in my codicil that I may make, and these five named persons, and they shall be tenants in common subject nevertheless to one moiety or equal half share of their fifth part to their two older sisters, Elizabeth and Adelaide, and one fifth of the entire share of Mary Ann Yeoville to the trust hereinafter declared concerning the same, and I do hereby direct that the respective shares of the said Henry Richard Yeoville and George Yeoville, and also one undivided moiety or equal half part of the shares of the said Elizabeth StClair and her sister Adelaide Yeoville shall be paid to them as soon as conveniently may be after my decease, and I direct my said trustees to stand possessed of the remaining moiety or equal half part of the respective shares of the said Elizabeth StClair and her sister Adelaide Yeoville and for their children in such manner and form and with such accompanying powers, provisions and declarations as they the said trustees in their discretion shall think proper, and I direct that the expense attending every settlement thereby directed or authorised to be made shall be paid and deducted out of the share to which the same persons shall relate, and I direct my trustees to stand possessed of the share of the said Mary Ann Yeoville and of and in the said trust monies in trust to invest the same in their names in the public funds or government securities of the United Kingdom or on real or leasehold securities in England, and I empower them in their discretion to vary the investment from time to time for any other of the funds described, and I direct them during the minority of the said Mary Ann Yeoville to apply the whole or such part as they shall deem proper of the annual income of Mary Ann Yeoville’s share to be applied for her maintenance and education, and the accumulations of the unemployed income by investing the same in manner aforesaid, and to make the accumulations with the capital of Mary Ann Yeoville’s share due if she shall live to attain the age of twenty one years then the trustees shall pay to her one moiety or half part of her said trust monies and also pay her the accumulations thereof during her minority; and as to the remaining moiety or equal half part of and in the same monies, upon trust, to settle the same in such manner and at the like expense as is hereinbefore declared concerning Mary Ann Yeoville’s Money not to be subject to any husband but for her individual use as is in the case with her sisters, Elizabeth StClair and Adelaide Yeoville’s moiety, but in case the said Mary Ann Yeoville should die under the age of twenty one years without leaving any issues living at her death, for if she does not live but has issue, then her share of her property must go to her issue, but in case of her leaving no issue, then and in that case, that is if no issue of hers living at her death, then I direct her brothers, Henry Richard Yeoville and George Yeoville, my executors, to stand possessed of the share or shares original and accruing of the said Mary Ann Yeoville in trust for the said Henry Richard Yeoville and George Yeoville, Elizabeth St Clair and Adelaide Yeoville or such of them as shall be living at the time of her, Mary Ann’s decease or (…) in equal proportions as tenants in common and not as joint tenants, and it is proper that I shall name the companies I have shares in, which are alluded to in the former part of my will day at this time in January one thousand eight hundred and fifty, I have shares in the Birmingham and Staffordshire Gas Company, the Birmingham Banking Company, the Worcester Canal Company, the London and North Western Mail and the Birmingham Water Works, I have also a bond of Messrs Whitgrave & Collis which was at first four thousand pounds, two thousand pounds has been paid and two thousands are still owing to me by Messrs Whitgraves & Collis at the date of this my will; I have also a bond from Lady PINCHORN who is the mother of my daughter-in-law, which bond Lady Pinchorn is paying off by instalments of thirty pounds every Christmas, and which I permit her to do so long as I live out, at my death, Lady Pinchorn must pay the remaining part of the bond, whatever is not paid at my death into the hands of my executors by instalments of thirty pounds at each Christmas until the whole bond is paid off, and I do hereby direct that all purchasers of my property shall pay the monies for the same to my trustees and executors, and it shall exempt them from all responsibility by showing them the receipt for the same; in respect to the application thereof, as the receipt of my executors shall be a good and sufficient discharge for the same, and I further declare that my trustees and executors shall be at liberty out of the trust monies to pay all expenses incident to the execution of this my will and testament, written on six sheets of paper, and I also think it right again to mention that I believe the five children therein named to be the natural children or reputed natural children of my son Henry Botfield Thomason, and therefore I have left to them all the freehold leasehold and personal property of every description and denomination which my dear husband in his will bequeathed to me, or property to which I may be in any ways entitled to, except things which I may have disposed of during my life or may have devised away by this my will or by any codicil or codicils to the above named five children, and I have named Henry Richard Yeoville and George Yeoville as my executors and trustees for themselves and for their three sisters, and I therefore set my signature to this my will and testament this month of January one thousand eight hundred and fifty – Phillis Bown Thomason – signed by me, the said testatrix, and by her published and declared to be her last will and testament in the presence of us who at her request and in her presence, and in the presence of each other, all being present at the same time, have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses – William Grubb, Edwin Gale
I Phillis Bown Thomason, the widow of the late Sir Edward Thomason, Knight, do write this and make it a codicil to my last will and testament, that is to say, I give and bequeath to Henry Richard Yeoville one of my iron chests which now contains the parchments, writings and papers relative to my property, that he may have the custody of the said parchments and papers as he is appointed to act with his brother George Yeoville as one of the executors of my last will, and also one of my residuary legatees, and he must, with his brother George Yeoville also appointed an executor of my last will, Act with him and as he is also one of the residuary legatees and he must with his brother have the care of the monies belonging to the trust, I also bequeath to George Yeoville my other iron chest for the purpose of his having in his custody my (niver) plate and my presents in diamonds, snuff boxes, etc., and all my jewellery of every description which I may not have disposed of during my lifetime by sale or otherwise, as he is appointed to act with his brother Henry Yeoville. I also bequeath to Henry Richard Yeoville my mahogany dining table which was formerly my son’s. I also give and bequeath to George Yeoville my mahogany library table which has two drawers and which was formerly my son’s; I also give and bequeath to Elizabeth St Clair, formerly Elizabeth Yeoville, my mahogany bedstead with the blue hanging and also the feather bed mattress, bolster, two pillows, four blankets and fringe quilt belonging thereto. I also give and bequeath to Mary Ann Yeoville my other brass bed and the (family) hanging, mattress, feather bed, bolster, 4 blankets and quilt belonging thereto. I also give and bequeath to Henry Richard Yeoville my silver tankard (it was formerly my son’s); I also give and bequeath to George Yeoville my silver sugar basin and cover and the silver label belonging to it. I also give to Henry Richard Yeoville my grand pianoforte; my music books must be divided among such of the two brothers and three sisters who practice on a pianoforte. I also give and bequeath to George Yeoville my seven bisque figures and groups with the seven glass covers for them, and the seven black stands for them (these seven were presented to me by the Marquis Genora of Florence. I have two bookcases; one of them is at Warwick and the other bookcase is at Peachfield House, but it must not be removed during the time Mr Budges is my tenant which he gives leave to that effect, I bequeath whichever of the two Henry Richard Yeoville makes choice of to him, and I bequeath the other of the two bookcases to George Yeoville; with respect to my books, I bequeath such part of them to be divided as Henry Richard Yeoville and George Yeoville wish to retain, the brotherstaking it in turn to choose one sort and what books the bothers do not wish to retain must be sold to go to residue. I give and bequeath my diamond watch and the gold chain attached to it to Elizabeth St Clair, it was my son’s and she must never sell or part with either the watch or chain. I give and bequeath to Adelaide Yeoville my embossed gold watch and the embossed hook and chain. I also give and bequeath my small repeating watch to George Yeoville and a gold chain to it. I give and bequeath to Mary Ann Yeoville my plain gold watch and gold chain, and I give all my clothes laces and furs, etc., to be divided among Elizabeth St Clair and Adelaide Yeoville and Mar Ann Yeoville to be divided in as equal shares as circumstances admit, each sister taking in turn to choose first of one article at a time until all are divided among them, and be it noticed and remembered that, although I am particular in mentioning my various property, it is very probable and most likely that I shall give much or most part of them away before my death, although many articles may still remain in my possession at my request by courtesy until I die, and want them no more. If Adelaide prefer the plain watch and a gold chain instead of the embossed watch and hook, she is to have it and then Mary Ann must have the embossed gold watch and gold hook. The five brothers and sisters named herein I have adopted, they are my only dependants. I also give and bequeath to my sister Anne Thompson the family picture painted in oil of our parents and five of their children – Anne is the youngest of us in that picture; and I also give her the portraits of our Grandfather and Grandmother, these two pictures are hers for her life only, and at Anne Thompson’s death I bequeath them to Anne’s eldest daughter and to that daughter’s descendants. I also give and bequeath to the Rev. Charles Covey the oil portrait of my ever dear husband as an heirloom to continue in his family; I also give to Charles Covey the likeness of his Grandfather Thomason, I also give to Charles Covey another oil portrait intended for my husband, but it is so bad that, at the particular order of my husband and myself, Charles Covey must have it burnt and destroyed as soon as possible after the decease of my husband and of myself. I also give and bequeath to the Trustees of Queen’s College at Birmingham my shield of faith which was designed and caused to be manufactured by my ever dear husband; it is in a mahogany case wi5 a plate glass before it, and I bequeath it on condition that it shall be placed in the Chapel of Queen’s College over the communion table, and to remain as a fixture at the altar of Queen’s College Chapel. The shield is now in the care of Messrs Whitgraves and Collis in Church a Street, and those gentlemen must give it up and relinquish it to the Trustees of Queen’s College. This is the first codicil to my last will and testament, and to which I will set my handwriting – Phillis Bown Thomason – signed by the within named testatrix and by her published and declared to belong to her will and testament in the presence of us who at her request and in her presence and in the presence of each other all being present at the same time have hereunto subscribed our names – William Grubb, Edwin Gale
In the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, in the part of Dame Phillis Bown Thomason, widow, deceased
Appeared Personally: William Grubb of the Parish of Malvern in the County of Worcester and made oath that he is one of the subscribed witnesses to the papers writing thereunto annexed purporting to be and contain the last will and testament with a codicil thereto of Dame Phillis Bown Thomason, late of Warwick in the County of Warwick, widow, deceased, and referring to the said will and codicil, and observing the date of the said will, the same being as follows, to wit, ‘this month of January one thousand eight hundred and fifty, and the said codicil being without date, he the appearer further made oath that at the periods at which the said will and codicil were respectively executed, he the appearer was in the service of the said testatrix, but that the appearer cannot from any circumstance depose either from recollection or belief on what day in the said month of January one thousand eight hundred and fifty the said Will was executed by the said testatrix nor at what period the said codicil was executed by her save that the said codicil was executed by the said testatrix in the present year one thousand eight hundred and fifty one during the time she was resident at the residence in Warwick, and before she went in the month of April now last past to Malvern in the County of Worcester, where she died – William Grubb – on the first day of December one thousand eight hundred and fifty one, the said William Grubb was duly sworn to the truth hereof by virtue of the annexed Commission – before me: George Jenkins, Commissione
In the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, in the part of Dame Phillis Bown Thomason, widow, deceased
Appeared personally: Henry Richard Yeoville of All Saints Birmingham in the County of Warwick, Architect, George Yeoville of the same place, Architect, and Edwin Gale of the Parish of Budbrook near Warwick, in the County of Warwick, Coachman to Lord (…) and (…) to the paper writing thereunto annexed, purporting to be and contain the last will and testament and codicil thereto of Dame Phillis Bown Thomason of Warwick in the County of Warwick deceased, the said will being dated the month of January one thousand eight hundred and fifty and the said codicil being without date partly and severally made oath, and first the said Edwin Gale for himself made oath that he is one of the subscribed witnesses to the said will and codicil, and that at the periods when the said will and codicil were respectively executed by the testatrix in the said month of January one thousand eight hundred and fifty but the particular day of such month this appearer cannot remember, and the said Edwin Gale further made oath that he is unable from any circumstances to depose at what particular time the said codicil was executed by the said testatrix, save that the same was executed by her some time in the latter end of the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty residents in the early part of the present year one thousand eight hundred and fifty one prior to the time when she the said testatrix went from her residence at Warwick, to wit in the month of April last to Malvern, and this appearer Edwin Gale further made oath that he was, the time of the execution of the said codicil to have been in the latter end of the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty or the early part of one thousand eight hundred and fifty one from the fact that Henry Richard Yeoville and George Yeoville came on a visit to the said Phillis Bown Thomason at Warwick very shortly after she had executed the said codicil which was the last visit they made to the said Phillis Bown Thomason while she resided at Warwick, and the said Edwin Gale further made oath that there was not any other person present when the same testatrix executed the said will and codicil SA e the appearer and William Grubb the other subscribed witness thereto, and the appearer s, the said Henry Richard Yeoville and George Yeoville for themselves made oath that they are the executors named in the said will and codicil, and that they visited the said Phillis Bown Thomason at Warwick as deposed to by the said appearer Edwin Gale and that the date of such visit was on the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth day of January one thousand eight hundred and fifty one, and she then informed those deponents that she had been making a codicil to her will, allowing to the circumstances as changes it had very recently taken place and that after the death of the said testatrix they found the said will and codicil in a (Bu..an) in the house of the testatrix at Malvern aforesaid, in which she kept her papers of moment and concern and that they have made and caused to be made diligent search and enquiry for any other will, codicil or testamentary instrument made and executed by the testatrix but have not discovered any such and they verily believe that the said testatrix did not leave behind any papers of a testamentary character other than the said will and codicil, and the said Henry Richard Yeoville and George Yeoville further made oath that they have made and caused to be made diligent enquiry for the purpose of ascertaining the exact date at which the said will and codicil were respectively executed, but they have not been able to obtain any information whatever and they are ignorant of any circumstance by which the date of the execution of the said will and codicil can be more particularly fixed than that the said Will was executed sometime in the month of January one thousand eight hundred and fifty, and the said codicil sometime in the latter end of the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty or in the early part of the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty one, prior to the month of April last past, and the said Henry Richard Yeoville and George Yeoville made oath that the whole body, series and contents of the said will and codicil are in the handwriting of the said testatrix with which they are well acquainted having several times seen her write – Edwin Gale, Henry Richard Yeoville, George Yeoville – on the tenth day of December one thousand eight hundred and fifty one the said Henry Richard Yeoville, George Yeoville and Edwin Gale were sworn to the truth hereof by virtue of the annexed Commission – before me Henry Gales, Commissioner
Proved 1st January 1852