Will of John Cooke

of Smarden, Kent

First of all I give and bequeath unto my daughter Margaret the wife of Peter Greene the sume of three score and ten pounds of good and lawfull money of England to be paid unto her by my Executor hereafter named within one month next after my decease
And if the said sume of three score and ten pounds or any part or parcell thereof shallbe behind and unpaid by the space of one whole month next after my decease Then it is my minde and will That then and from thenceforth it shall and may be lawfull to and for the said Margaret my daughter and her assignes or any of them into and upon all my messuages lands Tenements and hereditaments scituate and lying and being in Smarden aforesaid and Beathersden in the aforesaid County of Kent or any of them or into or upon any part or parcell of the same or any of them to enter and distrayne and the distresse and distresses then and thereto had or taken or any of them from thence lawfully to load beare to drive chase and carry away and the same to detaine withhold and keepe untill the said summe of three score and ten pounds and every part and parcell thereof together with all Costs and Charges shall be unto my said daughter Margaret or her assignes fully satisfied contented and paid

Also I give and bequeath unto Mary Cooke my youngest daughter the sume of one hundred pounds of good and lawfull English money to be paid unto her within one month next after my decease
And it is my minde and will that if the said sume of one hundred pounds or any part or parcell thereof shallbe behind and unpaid by the space of one whole month next after my decease That then and from thenceforth it shall and may be lawfull to and for my said daughter Mary Cooke and her assignes or any of them into and upon all my aforesaid Messuages lands Tenements and hereditaments scituate and lying and being in Smarden aforesaid and Bethersden aforesaid or any of them or into or upon any part or parcell of the same or any of them to enter and distrayne and the distresse and distresses then and thereto soe had or taken or any of them from thence lawfully to load beare drive chase and carry away and the same to detaine withhold and keepe untill the said summe of one hundred pounds and every part and parcell thereof together with all Costs and Charges shallbe unto my said daughter Mary Cooke or her assignes fully satisfied contented and paid

Also I give and bequeath unto my said daughter Mary Cooke one plain chest with all the linen pewter and things that are in it as it now standeth in the Chamber over the Milkehouse

Also I give and bequeath unto the aforesaid Peter Greene (my sonne in Lawe) all such debts some and somes of money whatsoever which hee oweth or is indebted unto mee by any way or meanes whatsoever upon Condicon That neither hee the said Peter Greene his Executors Administrators nor Assignes nor any of them shall in any wise molest she or trouble my Executor hereafter named for or concerning any debt or some of money due from mee to him or any Accompt or Reckoning betweene us for anything whatsoever

Also I give unto Mary Greene my grandchild (daughter of the said Peter Greene) the some of Fifty pounds of Llawful money of England to be paid unto the said Mary Greene when shee shall accomplish and be of the age of one and twenty yeares or within three monthes after her day of marriage which shall first come
And it is my minde and will that if the said sume of one Fifty pounds or any part or parcell thereof shallbe behind and unpaid after shee the said Mary Greene shalbe of the said age of one and twenty yeares or by the space of three monthes after her said day of marriage That then and from thenceforth it shall and may be lawfull to and for my said daughter Mary Greene and her assignes or any of them into and upon all my aforesaid Messuages lands Tenements and hereditaments scituate and lying and being in Smarden aforesaid and Beathersden aforesaid or any of them or into or upon any part or parcell of the same or any of them to enter and distrayne and the distresse and distresses then and thereto soe had or taken or any of them from thence lawfully to load beare drive chase and carry away and the same to detaine withhold and keepe untill the said summe of one Fifty pounds and every part and parcell thereof together with all Costs and Charges shallbe unto the said Mary Greene or her assignes fully satisfied contented and paid

Provided alwaies at if the said Mary Greene shall dye and depart this naturall life before the time before limited for the payment of the said sume of fifty pounds unto her according to the time intent and meaning of this my Will Then it is my mynde and will that the said Sume of Fifty pounds soe given and bequeathe To her shalbe paid to my grandchild John Green sonne of the said Peter Greene when he shall be of the age of one and twenty yeares (any matter or thing before in this my will conteyned to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding)

And if the said sume of Fifty pounds be not paid unto the said John Greene my grandchild at his said age of one and twenty yeares That then and from thenceforth it shall and may be lawfull to and for the said John Greene and his assignes or any of them shall have the like liberty and power to enter and distrayne in and upon the said Messuages lands Tenements and hereditaments as the said Mary Greene had or might have had if shee had lived untill the said summe of one Fifty pounds and every part and parcell thereof together with all Costs and Charges shallbe unto the said John Greene or his assignes fully satisfied contented and paid

Also I give and bequeath unto my sonne John Cooke my messuage tenement or Mansion house where in I now dwell with the Barns and all the lands thereunto belonging And also all my messuages lands Woodlands Tenements and hereditaments scituate lying and being in Smarden and Bethersden aforesaid to be holden to the said John Cooke my sonne and to the heires of his bodye lawfully begotten forever

Provided alwaies and it is my minde and will That if my said sonne John Cooke shall dy without heires of his bodye lawfully begotten Then I give all and singular the said Messuage Lands Tenements and hereditaments scituate lying and being in Smarden and Bethersden unto John Cooke my grandchild sonne of my sonne Thomas Cooke to be holden to the said John Cooke my grandchild and to the heires of his body lawfully begotten forever

Also I give unto my said sonne John Cooke and to the heires of his body lawfully begotten All that my barne and hay house together with all the lands thereunto belonging scituate lying and being in Frittenden and Hedcorne in the aforesaid County of Kent upon condicon that my said sonne John Cooke shall pay unto my said grandchild John Cooke when he shal accomplish and be of the full age of one and twenty yeares or within six months after he shall attaine to the said age the full and inst. sume of three hundred pounds of good and lawfull money of England

Provided alwaies and it is my will that if the said sume of three hundred pounds or any part or parcell thereof shalbe behind or unpaid unto my said grandchild John Cooke by the space of six monthes next after hee shall be of the age of one and twenty yeares Then I give the said barne hay house and all the said lands scituate lying and being in Frittenden and Hedcorne aforesaid unto my said grandchild John Cooke to be holden to him and to his heires of his body lawfully begotten forever

Also I give unto my said daughter Margaret (the said wife of the said Peter Greene) all my messuages lands Tenements and hereditaments scituate lying and being in Tenterden in the aforesaid County and Kent for and during the whole time and term of her naturall life And after her decease then I give all the said messuages lands Tenements and hereditaments in Tenterden aforesaid unto the heires of the body of the said Margaret my daughter lawfully begotten and to be begotten forever

Also I give unto my said daughter Mary Cooke my Messuages lands Tenements and hereditaments scituate and lying and being in Egerton in the aforesaid County of Kent to be holde to the said Mary Cooke my daughter and to the heires of her body lawfully begotten forever

Also all other my goods and Chattells whatsoever not bequeathed in this my will (my debts legacies and funerall expenses being paid and discharged) I wholly give and bequeath to my said sonne John Cooke whom I make ordaine and appoint to be my full whole and sole Executor of this my last will and Testament

Provided alwaies and it is my minde and will and I doe hereby declare my true intent and meaning to be That if my said sonne John Cooke before named and appointed to be my Executor shall refuse or neglect to prove this my will by the space of three monthes next after my decease Then I doe hereby make and ordaine constitute and appoint Jacob Turner of Smarden aforesaid Clothier to be my full whole and sole Executor of this my last will and Testament And it is my minde and will that he the aforesaid Jacob Turner shall have full satisfacon out of the before menconed residue of my said goods and Chattells before given to my said sonne John Cooke for all his paines and expenses in and about this my will and the Execucon and performance thereof

And lastly I doe hereby frustrate nullifie and make void all other will and wills Testament and Testaments by me formerly made and declared and doe establish and declare this present writing only to be my last will and Testament

In Witnesse whereof to this my present will written in three sheetes of paper I have to every one of the said sheetes sett my hand and to the last of them have sett my seale
John Cooke Signed sealed and published in the presence of
Elizabeth Newman her marke - Robert Edmot - Esther Whitney her marke - Robert Adman with others

Probatum fuit 10th May 1665

Notes:
John Cook, Clothier of Biddenden, christened 20th February 1599 at Smarden (parents� names not given in early entries), married Mary Bishopenden, born 1610, daughter of Thomas of Smarden, at St. Margaret, Canterbury on 26th November 1629.
Mary dies and is buried at Smarden 29th February 1640, wife of John.
John dies and is buried at Smarden 21st March 1665.
Their children � all christened in Smarden:
29 Oct 1630 Thomas
18 Nov 1632 John
3 May 1635 Stephen (and is buried there 8th October 1642, s. of John Cooke)
23 Jul 1637 Margaret
Margaret Cooke married Peter Greene on 1st July 1658 at Cranbook.

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