Will of Mary Moon

of Tonbridge, Kent

Whereas previous to my Marriage with the said William Moon he Entered into a Bond impowering me to dispose of the Sum of Two hundred pounds within two Years after his decease
Now by virtue of the said power and Authority I do hereby give and bequeath the said Sum of Two hundred pounds unto Charlotte Knight now living with Miss Dodson at Rye in the County of Sussex to be paid to her within two Years after the decease of my said Husband

and in case the said Charlotte Knight shall happen to depart this life before the said Legacy shall become payable, then I give and bequeath the said Sum of Two hundred pounds unto
Elizabeth the wife of Thomas French of South Malling in the County of Sussex Labourer;
William Norris of Chichester in the said County of Sussex, Innkeeper;
and Thomas Grey of Beeding in the County of Bucks, Labourer, equally to be divided between them Share and Share alike

All the rest of my Effects I give to the said Charlotte Knight and make her sole Executrix of this my Will
In Witness whereof I have thereunto set my Hand and Seal the twenty fourth day of September in the Year of our Lord One thousand Seven hundred and Eighty three
Mary Moon her Mark

Signed Sealed and Published by the said Mary Moon and for her last Will and Testament in the presence of us
Jos Smith; John Dyne Junr.; Thos. Londfield

This is a Codicil to be added to and taken as part of the last Will and Testament of me Mary Moon of the Parish of Tonbridge in the County of Kent which Will is published in my former Name of Mary Norris Widow and is in the behalf and favor of Charlotte the Wife of ____ Hammond Tea Dealer of Bow Lane, Cheapside, London

First I do hereby ratify and confirm my said Will in all respects save so far as any part thereof shall be evoked or altered by this present Codicil

I give and bequeath unto my Niece Hannah Lord the Wife of Thomas Lord of the Parish of Saint Martins, London the whole of the ready Money I may have by me at the time of my decease together with all Securities for Money and all Money that may be due to me from Mr. Phillip Moon as a Legacy payable by virtue of the Will of my late Husband William Moon deceased together with all my Wearing Apparel and all my Linen, Household Furniture of what nature and kind soever
excepting my blue painted Corner Cupboard which Cupboard I give to my Nephew Mr. Phillip Moon;
the aforesaid Hannah Lord performing and fulfilling all the Conditions and Covenants hereinafter mentioned out of the before recited Money hereby given to her

I give and bequeath unto Charlotte Hammond the Wife of ______ Hammond, Tea Dealer, Bow Lane, London, ten pounds to be paid her in one Month after my decease for Mourning by my Executrix hereinafter named

And I do hereby nominate constitute and appoint the aforesaid Hannah Lord the whole and sole Executrix to my former Will and this my present Codicil she performing all things herein contained paying all my Just Debts and Funeral Expences and the Expence of proving my Will
And my Will and Mind is that I should be Buried at Tonbridge in Kent close to my late Husband William Moon and my Funeral in every respect like his

In Witness whereof I the said Mary Moon have hereunto set my hand and Seal this twelfth day of February in the Year of our Lord One thousand Eight hundred and Six
Mary Moon her mark

Signed sealed published and declared by the above named Mary Moon as and for a Codicil to be added to and taken as part of her last Will and Testament in the presence of us who at her request in her presence and in the presence of each other have Subscribed our Names as Witness hereto
Ezra Seamer, Grocer, Tunbr[idge] Wells; Richard Waghorn

Appeared Personally John Hamman [Hammond in the Codicil] of Bow Lane in the Parish of Saint Mary Aldermary, London; Hannah Lord wife of Thomas Lord of Glasshouse Street, Vauxhall in the Parish of Saint Mary Lambeth in the County of Surrey; and Ezra Seamer of Tunbridge in the County of Kent, Grocer, and being sworn to depose the truth respectively made Oath and Deposed as follows

And first the said John Hamman for himself deposeth and saith that that he and Charlotte Hamman his Wife were in great Intimacy with Mary Moon formerly Mary Norris Widow late of Tunbridge deceased for several Years before and down to the time of her death which happened on the first day if November now last past
that whilst she the deceased was the Wife of William Moon she did on or about the 24th Day of September 1783 by virtue of a certain power in her vested make and carry out her last Will and Testament in Writing by her then name of Mary Moon Wife of the said William Moon which said Will is hereunto annexed and begins thus:
“This is the last Will and Testament of me Mary Moon the Wife of William Moon of Tonbridge in the County of Kent Yeoman”
and ends thus:
“In Witness whereof I have thereunto set my Hand and Seal the twenty fourth day of September in the Year of our Lord One thousand Seven hundred and Eighty three” above written and thus X made her Mark

And this Deponent further saith that his said Wife was the sole Executrix and a Principal Legatee therein named and after its Execution she the deceased delivered the same into the hands of this Deponents Wife for Custody with whom it hath since remained until brought to this Proctor to obtain Probate
And he further saith that on the second day of the said Month of November he received a Letter from the said Ezra Seamer, one of his fellow Deponents acquainting him with the death of the said deceased and informing him that as he understood it he the Deponent was in the Possession of the deceased’s Will it would be necessary for the same to be produced as since the death of her Husband she had made a Codicil thereto and had appointed Mrs. Lord meaning the before named Hannah Lord Executrix
and wherein was also a Legacy to Mrs. Hamman this Deponent’s Wife and inviting him to the Funeral that thereupon he the Deponent went down to Tonbridge and attended the Funeral and was afterward shewn by his fellow Deponent the said Hannah Lord who had been and then was the Manager of the deceased’s Domestic Affairs the aforesaid Codicil

and this Deponent the said Hannah Lord for herself deposeth and saith that she is the next of kin and also the sole Executrix named in the said Codicil That she waited on the said deceased for some time before and to the time of her death as her confidential Friend and attendant that she was present at and heard the said deceased give instructions to Ezra Seamow to prepare the said Codicil and was present at the Execution thereof and the same was afterwards deposited in a Chest of the said deceased in her dwelling House at Tonbridge aforesaid where it remained until her death when the same was resorted to by her the Deponent

And this Deponent the said Ezra Seamer for himself deposed and says that he was a Neighbour of the said deceased and an Intimate acquaintance of the said deceased for several Years before and to the time of her death and in consequence thereof had a good deal (of?) the management of her Worldly Affairs by reason of her great Age and bodily Infirmities and that he was consulted and advised with as to the preparing the Codicil now in question that he accordingly drew the said Codicil and was a Subscribed Witness thereto and that he the Deponent understanding that the deceased’s former Name was Norris and that previous to her Marriage with William Moon her late Husband she was impowered by him to dispose of £200 by her Will
He the Deponent in Writing the said Codicil and this Error and mistake refer to the said Will as having been published by the said deceased in her former Name of Norris and he further says that from the Conversation which passed and the conferences he had with her he is fully convinced in his mind that the said Paper hereunto annexed is the Will referred to and none other and they these Deponents further respectively say that they have made Search for a Will in the Name of Norris but no such nor any other Testamentary paper has been found

Jno. Hamman; Hannah Lord; Ezra Seamer
On the twenty Eighth day of April 1809 the said Ezra Seamer was duly sworn to the truth of this Affidavit by virtue of the annexed Commission before me William Gordon Commissioner
On the Eighteenth day of May 1809 the said John Hamman and Hannah Lord (Wife of Thomas Lord) were duly sworn to the truth of this Affidavit before me John Danbury Surr[ogate] Prst. [Present] Henry Blake Not[ar]y Public

This Will was proved at London with a Codicil on the twenty seventh day of May in the Year of our Lord One thousand Eight hundred and nine before the Worshipful John Danberry, Doctor of Laws and Surrogate of the Right Honorable Sir John Nicoll, Knight, also Doctor of Laws, Master Keeper or Commissary of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury lawfully constituted by the Oath of Hannah Lord (Wife of Thomas Lord) the sole Executor named in the said Codicil to whom Administration was granted of all and singular the Goods Chattels and Credits of the deceased, she having been first sworn duly to administer.

Transcribed by Mrs. Shelagh Mason 27th May 2021

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