Wedderburn Wills 4 (K-Z)

 

[Found at Chancery Lane, London, in August 1996.] This document seems to be a �death-bed deposition�, rather than a Will. The original appears to have been written rather hurriedly, as if time were running out. - It was written on 4th December 1793 and Katharine died that same month. - The Dundee Register of Burials shows that Mrs. Catharine Wedderburn of Pearsie, wife of Dr. James Stewart, was buried on 21st December 1793. - W.B. Vol. II, p. 356. (A note says that Catharine�s maiden name was adhered to in this entry �according to an old custom, then ceasing to be prevalent�.) There was a delay in the granting of probate of the Will of John Webster (the �Last Will aftermentioned� referred to below) and Administration of Katharine�s �Will� was therefore not granted to her husband until 27th October 1795.  [Katharine is the second daughter of Robert Wedderburn of Pearsie and Isobel Edward. According to the W.B., she was born on 6th June 1750, though the Angus IGI shows that her baptism, as �daughter of Robert Wedderburn�, took place at Kingoldrum on 28 May 1750. (This discrepancy is explained by the fact that through the �New Calendar Act� of 1751, by which the Gregorian replaced the Julian calendar, eleven days were �lost� between the 2nd and 14th September 1752. - In England the new year was also changed, in 1852, from 25th March to 1st January, although this had taken place in Scotland in 1600.)  Katharine is said to have married Dr. Robert Stewart �about 1780�. (On W.B. p. 324,  footnote�, it states that Katharine �is named as unmarried in her father�s disposition of Jan. 1779� and �See for other references to her, her mother�s will 1787; her brother�s arbitration in 1791 and the will of James Webster in 1789�. - There is no mention of the Will of John Webster in the W.B.)]  Katherine otherwise Catherine Stewart otherwise Steward otherwise Wedderburn  I Catharine Wedderburn Alias Stewart wife of Robert Stewart surgeon in Dundee designed in the Last Will aftermentioned physician in Dundee ffor the love and ffavour and affection which I have and do bear to the said Robert Stewart my husband and for certain onerous Causes and considerations Proving and to the Franking hereof do hereby with and under the reservation power and ffaculty aftermentioned afsign and dispone to the said Robert Stewart his heirs executors or afsignees.....the sum of five hundred pounds sterling legate and left to me by the Last Will of John Webster late of the City of London Distiller deceased bearing Date the first Day of ffebruary one thousand seven hundred and ninety two proved at London the fourteenth Day of September One thousand Seven hundred and Ninety three before the Worshipful John ffisher Doctor of Laws with the whole interest that may be due thereon at the time of my death and in all time thereafter and in and to the said Last Will itself so far as respects the said sum of ffive hundred Pounds Sterling so left to me ?haill ?heads ?Tenor and contents thereof turning and transferring my right of the promifses to and in favour of the said Robert Stewart and his foresaids with full power to him and foresaids immediately after my death or how soon the said sum becomes due after my death to uplift and receive the same from the Executors and Administrators of the said Last Will and if need be to pursue? therefore and the Interest that may be due thereon and upon payment to grant Discharges /which/ shall be sufficient to the Receiver and generally every other thing then relevant to do which I would do myself if then in Life Reserving always hereby to /me/ my Liferent of the promises during all the days of my Lifetime and Power and Liberty to me at any time in my life even on Death bed to alter ?burden or change these presents in whole or in part as I shall think proper which if not altered by me by a Writing under my hand the same shall remain sufficient Evident altho found lying by me or in the custody of any Person at the time of my death with this not [sic] delivery whereof I have dispensed and hereby dispense forever and I Consent to the Registration hereof in the Books of Council and Sefsion or others Competent for /its/ preservation and thereto Constitute my ?Prors  --- in Witnefs whereof I Subscribe these Presents written upon this and the two preceding pages of Stampt paper by John Miller Clerk to John Ogilvie - Writer - in Dundee before these Witnefses the said John Ogilvie and William Hutchison - his apprentice at Dundee the fourth day of December one thousand seven hundred and ninety three years before the said Witnefses Viz: the said John Ogilvie and William Hutchison = Katherine Stewart  = John Ogilvie Witnefs = William Hutchison Witnefs  On the twenty seventh day of October in the year our Lord One thousand Seven hundred and Ninety ffive Administration with the Will annexed of /all and singular/ the Goods Chattels and Credits of Katherine otherwise Catherine Stewart otherwise Steward other/wise/ Wedderburn late of Dundee in North Britain /deceased/ was granted to Robert Stewart the Lawful husband /of the said deceased/ having been first Sworn by Commifsion Duly to Administer Executor No Executor or Residuary Legatee being named in the said Will

 

The attached Will is that of Robert Weatherburn b. c1791 who died at Berwick upon Tweed on 23/1/1871:  In his Will, written on 25/5/1870, Robert Weatherburn bequeathed his many properties in and around Berwick upon Tweed to his surviving children and the seven grandchildren who are named in it.  Robert appears to be the 4th son of William Weatherburn, Customs Officer, b. c1752, and his wife Margaret (their marriage not found) but, although the baptisms of William�s and Margaret�s other children are to be found in the IGI, Robert�s is not.  Robert �Nesbitt� Weatherburn m. Rebecca Taite (b. c1791) on 21/1/1810 at Coldstream, Berwickshire. (An �irregular� marriage found in the Church of Scotland records by Bob W. of Dorset.) Robert & Rebecca had at least three sons and two daughters. Their e.s., William, was baptised at Coldstream on 5/25 Nov. (?) 1810. (Robert was shown then as a Mason.) He was admitted a Freeman of B-on-T on 31/12/1812 as �3rd s. of William� (William�s e.s. William, b. 1780, having died in 1788). - In the Freemen�s Roll of 1842 the Robert �admitted 1812� is shown as a Watchmaker and in the Roll of 1859 he is shown as a Fishmonger.  At the time of his death he was a retired Innkeeper.  Robert�s & Rebecca�s known children are William bap. 1810, �Mariner, of Shields�, who was admitted a Freeman of B-on-T on 26/2/1835 (in the 1881 Census his birth-place is shown as Blyth, Northumberland); Elizabeth (who m. Alexander Watson and had two sons, Alexander Watson & Robert Weatherburn Watson); Alexander, b. c1820, Hatter�s Furrier in Newcastle, who was admitted a Freeman of B-on-T on 14/12/1841; Margaret, b. c1823 (who m. John Leonard) & Robert Nesbitt, b. c1824, Fishmonger in Tweedmouth, who was admitted a Freeman of B-on-T as �3rd surviving s. of Robert� on 26/9/1845. - A Rebecca Weatherburn who m. Peter Burt on 11/4/1835 at St. Hilda�s, South Shields (George Bell�s Marriage transcripts) is perhaps another daughter. - An Isabella Weatherburn �spinster, formerly of B-on-T, late of Upper Holborn, Middlesex�, died in London in 1864. Letters of Administration of her personal estate etc. were granted to Robert W., fishmonger of Berwick-on-Tweed, the brother, on 18/7/1865. (Note 1 (c) W.B. p. 522) - Isabella could be another daughter of Robert & Rebecca but, as Robert�s Will was not written until 25/5/1870, she is not mentioned. (She cannot be �Isabel�, William�s & Margaret W.�s daughter bap. 1789 as, according to the Will of their ygst. son William, bap. 1794, who died in 1870, she m. a man named �Steel�. If, however, Robert is not William�s son, but was �adopted�, Isabella may be his sister. - The eldest children of Robert Wedderburn �the-B.P.� & his wife Elizabeth (n�e Ryan, m. 1781) had twins, Robert & Elizabeth, bap. at the Lying-In Hospital, Endell St., London, on 27/7/1786 as �Wetherburnes�. (Nothing more is known about them but, if they didn�t die young, perhaps they were brought up by relatives?) Isabella Weatherburn�s death does not appear in the Myddleton House Deaths� Index, so it has not been possible to discover her age when she died in 1864. - The Deaths� Index� however, shows that Robert was 80 when he died in 1871 - so the idea that he may have been born in 1786 is pure �speculation�!) - Rebecca died at B-on-T in the Dec. qtr. of 1863  In the 1841 Census (in which adults� ages are usually �rounded down� to the nearest 5 years), Robert, then a Watchmaker �aged 49�, was living at �Sandygate� B-on-T, with Rebecca �aged 50�; Alexander �aged 20�; Margaret �aged 18� & Robert �aged 17�, and a grandson, Alexander Watson, �aged 4�. (Alexander, s. of Alexander Watson & Elizabeth �Wetherburn� was bap. at B-on-T on 6/9/1836. He and his uncle Robert Nesbitt W., b. c1824, became fishmongers, Alexander in Castlegate, B-on-T, and Robert in Tweedmouth.)  In the 1881 Census, e.s. William �aged 71� was living at 13 Hatters Lane with his second wife Elizabeth and their 5 children. Also living at 13 Hatters Lane, with their wives and families, were William�s sons John (b. c1851) & John Stapleton Weatherburn (b. c1853) and living at No. 14 was the wife of his son Edward Hall Weatherburn (b. c1846). Alexander Watson, �aged 42�, a house proprietor �of no occupation� was living at 40 Tweed St., B-on-T with his aunt Margaret Leonard and her three children, all of them unmarried. Robert�s grandson Robert Weatherburn Watson (b. c1837/38 in B-on-T), was a Customs Officer in Liverpool. He and Alexander Watson are two of the executors. (Under the terms of the Will, if Alexander Watson died �without issue surviving�, Robert Weatherburn Watson was required to assume the surname �Weatherburn� before inheriting the shop in Castlegate which was left to Alexander. - This must have happened as Robert�s wife, Harriet Elizabeth Watson Weatherburn, died in Lancashire on 6/2/1901.)  When Robert�s Will was proved, the total value of his estate was stated to be �under �300�  *********

 

This Will of Thomas Weatherburn who died in Edinburgh on 1st August 1882 is shown in the list of �Wedderburn Wills� in W.B. Vol. II (p. 521) as a �Scotch Confirmation�. [It had to be obtained from the Scottish Record Office].  �A.W.� states: �In this entry Weatherburn would seem to be an error for Wedderburn, and the entry is therefore placed here and not in Note I�. [�Note I� lists the Wills of a few Weatherburns.] He does not explain why he considers the spelling of the surname to be �an error� but, in view of the name of one of the witnesses (Samuel Neil, whose address is the same as Thomas�s), perhaps he knew of - or suspected - a connection between Thomas and a �mystery� John Wedderburn, tenant-farmer in Camno, Perthshire, who, �according to �J.W.�s  Memoir and MS.�, married Agnes (or Ann) Neil in 1771. (See W.B. pp. 223-5)  In �Tay Valley People� (produced by the Tay Valley Family History Society), it shows that in 1806 a �J. Wedderburn� was the tenant at Mill-farm of Camno. The farm was advertised �to let�, along with 30 others, and a notice stated: �Mr. Watson, the factor at Belmont Castle, by Meigle, will show the boundaries of the several farms..�Offers may be transmitted to the Proprietor at Portland Place, London.�  Living in Portland Place, London, about that time was John Wedderburn (b. 1743), the senior partner in Wedderburn & Co. at 35 Leadenhall Street. Isobel Read (b. 1766, d. of John Read, brother of Alexander Read of Turfbeg) and her husband David Lyon, were also living in Portland Place around that time. In 1817, their d. Isabella Lyon m. John Wedderburn�s elder son, James Wedderburn (b. 1788 in Jamaica). James and his younger brother John Wedderburn �of Auchterhouse� were partners in the firm until 1830. The latter was �A.W�s� great-grandfather.  (W.B. pp. 343-348 - & see �Notes� attached, below, re other possible connections.)  Testamentary Record from the Scottish Record Office:  (Vol. 90, p. 476-7)   This is the last Will and                                  See Record Testament of  Thomas Weatherburn;                        of  Inventories        8LothianRoad, Edinburgh                        Vol 217 p 34                July 27th 1882                                           5 Septr. 1882 I do hereby Will and Bequeath to my Wife Sarah Chisholm or Weatherburn all my property and personal Effects whatsoever belonging to me or due to me including the proceeds of any Insurance policy that may belong to me at the time of my death, and do hereby appoint Mr. Alexander Mather Junior 19 Viewforth Place Edinburgh my sole Executor. I also desire the sum of �2 to be given by my Wife Sarah Chisholm or Weatherburn to Mrs Jane Wauchope who has nursed me in my illness (signed) Thomas Weatherburn, Witness Samuel Neil, 8 Lothian Road Edinr. Witness John Beveridge 8 Spencers Place, Edinbr.  Edinburgh 4th September 1882. Referred to in my deposition of this date (signed) A. Mather Junr. James G.Currie.                    Record of Inventories - Vol 217 p 34, 5th Septr. 1882                                                             Thomas Weatherburn                                                                  Stamp �1:10/-                                                                     Testate                                  (see overleaf) At  Edinburgh The Fifth day of September Eighteen hundred and eighty two the following Inventory of the Personal Estate of the deceased Thomas Weatherburn & Deed relative to the disposal thereof was presented by Mr. Alexander Mather Junr. Executor Inventory of the Personal Estate and Effects wheresoever situated of Thomas Weatherburn 8 Lothian Road Edinburgh who died Testate on the 1st day of August 1882 at Edinburgh:                                 1 Scotland 1. Household Furniture and other Effects in the House    �10:0:0d 2.  Money in Bank, viz:-     Sum in Policy of Insurance with the City of Glasgow     Insurance Coy No. 10,163 with Bonuses thereon           110:9:2d                                                                                        �120 :9:2d                   (Signed) A. Mather Junr.                         �      James G.Currie   At Edinburgh on the Fourth day of September Eighteen Hundred and  eighty two In presence of James Geddes Currie Depute Commissary Clerk of Edinburgh Appeared Alexander Mather Junior 19 Viewforth Place Edinburgh who being solemnly sworn and examined Depones that the said Thomas Weatherburn died Testate on the 1st day of August 1882 at Edinburgh and had at the time of death his ordinary or principal domicile in Edinburgh That the Deponent is the Executor of the said deceased Thomas Weatherburn and has entered upon the possession and management of his Estate as Executor nominated by him in a Last Will and Testament dated the 27th day of July 1882 now exhibited and signed by the Deponent and the said Deputy Commissary Clerk as relative hereto. That the Deponent does not know of any other Will or Testamentary Settlement or Writing relative to the disposal of the deceased�s Personal Estate or Effects or any part thereof. That the foregoing Inventory signed by the Deponent and the said Deputy Commissary Clerk as relative hereto, is a full and complete Inventory of the Personal Estate and Effects of the said deceased Thomas Weatherburn wheresoever situated and belonging or due to him beneficially at the time of death, in so far as the same has come to the knowledge of the Deponent: That the value at this date of the said Personal Estate and Effects including the proceeds accrued thereon down to this date, does not exceed Three hundred pounds Sterling; That Confirmation of the said Personal Estate and Effects in Scotland is required in favour of the Deponent. All which is truth as the Deponent shall answer to God.                         (Signed) A. Mather  Junr.                               �     James G.Currie                          Compeared also John Scott,                        Law Agent 51 Castle Street                       Edinburgh                       and James Watt Davidson                       Law Clerk 51 Castle Street Edinburgh who being sworn and examined severally Depone I know the within named Deponent and that he is the Executor named by the said deceased Thomas Weatherburn in the Testamentary Writing exhibited by him. All which is truth as the Deponents shall answer to God.                    (Signed)         John Scott,   J. W. Davidson,   James G. Currie NOTES 1. John Wedderburn, tenant-farmer in Camno was said to be a brother of Charles Wedderburn �of Perth�, who was bap. at Dyce, Aberdeenshire, in 1741 - though he told �J.W.� that he was born in 1739. According to the IGI, Charles had a brother Thomas baptised at Dyce in 1739. Could Thomas Weatherburn be a descendant of this Thomas - i.e. closely connected with the Wedderburns of Camno, about whom there is a mystery? 2. Thomas Weatherburn�s wife was Sarah Chisholm.  It may also be purely coincidental that, in 1915, the 6th Earl of Rosslyn, co. Midlothian, Francis Edward Scudamore St. Clair-Erskine (b. 16/11/1892, sometime Capt. K.R.R.C., and Lieut. R.N.V.R) m. Margaret Sheila Mackellar Chisholm daughter of Harry Chisholm, of Sydney, N.S. Wales. [They were divorced in 1926 and Margaret died on 13/10/1969.] The 1st Earl of Rosslyn, Alexander Wedderburn (b. 1733) - the first Scot to �sit on the Woolsack� - was the elder son of Peter Wedderburn, Lord (Justice) Chesterhall, and a grandson of Sir Peter Wedderburn, Lord (Justice) Gosford, whose son John, b. 1657, was �disgraced� and is said to have drowned in 1688. (Did he really die then?)  On Alexander�s death, in January 1805, his sister�s elder son, Sir James St.-Clair Erskine (b. 1762), succeeded to the title as 2nd Earl of Rosslyn. His s., James Alexander St. Clair Erskine (b. 1802) succeeded as 3rd Earl in 1837, and on his death, in 1866, his younger son, Robert Francis St. Clair-Erskine (b. 1833), became the 4th Earl.  This 4th Earl of Rosslyn was a Masonic �Grand Master�: In �The Pocket Book of Freemasonry� (p. 56) it says: �A letter of 1697 tells that the Lairds of Rosslyn �are obliged to receive the masons� word which is a secret signall [sic] masons have thro�out the world to know one another by. They allege �tis as old as Babel, when they could not understand one another and they conversed by signs. Others would have it no older than Solomon.� On p. 168-9 (on �Freemasonry in Scotland�) it quotes �The St. Clair Charters of 1601 and 1628�.  Earlier, as appears in the booklet �The Three United Trades of Dundee; Masons, Wrights & Saddlers�, the Kyds and Patersons of Craigie (who married �Wedderburn� daughters) were �Masons� in Dundee in the late 1600�s. [It says that, in Scotland, there was a close connection between �working masons� and �speculative� masons - i.e. those who became Freemasons.] - On p. 53 of �The Three United Trades of Dundee� it says that in 1743 a group of operative masons elected William Chalmers, a merchant, as Grand Master; a William Chalmers, mason, was a witness at the marriage of Adam Smith in Aberdeen in 1793 (perhaps he was the son of the one in Aberdeen?) and, in his Will written in 1807, the Rev. Dr. Thomas Webster named a William Chalmers of Dundee as one of the Trustees. - Coincidence?

 

[This Will of the Reverend Dr. Thomas Webster was written on 5th January 1807 and proved at London on 11th July 1816. Admon was granted to James Graham Esquire, the sole Executor, who was required by the terms of Dr. Webster�s Will to take the surname of Webster. According to the Angus IGI, Thomas was bap. at Dundee on 26/7/1731, the son of George Webster and Beatrice Proctor. He is half-brother to Isabel Edward of Pearsie (Beatrice�s daughter by her first marriage, to David Edward. - See W.B. p. 322 and footnote 5 for details of the connection between the Websters and the Wedderburns.) The �Fasti Ecclesiae� says that Thomas was b. in 1731; graduated as M.A. from St. Andrew�s in 1750 and was ordained to Clunie, Perthshire on 23rd Sept. 1755. He married, on 8th June 1756, Elizabeth (Betty, according to the Perth IGI) Meik, d. of James Meik, portioner of West Banchory, and had a daughter, Katherine, born 14th Sept. 1757. His wife died on 23rd June 1758 and on 5th Feb 1759 Dr. Webster was presented by John, Earl of Strathmore, the Patron of the living, to Kinghorn, Fife. He was admitted there on 26th July 1759. His daughter Katherine died on 24th March 1772. On 24th Nov. 1779, the Rev. Dr. Webster was demitted from his living �having given offence to his parishioners by not opposing the Catholic Toleration Bill� and he went to live with his brothers at Clapham. (See his letter to Robert Wedderburn of Pearsie, dated 29th October 1779.) Thomas died at Bath on 6th July 1816.  N.B. In the Perth IGI it shows that James Meik married a Margaret Freer in 1729. Banns were called on 23rd November at Lethendy and Kinloch and the marriage took place (presumably) at Clunie on 23rd December. Thomas Meik, son of James Meik, was baptised on 10th August 1733 at Lethendy and Kinloch. From the bequests in the following Will, it seems that Margaret was widowed and subsequently married a man named Grant. - A Pat. Meik married Janet Anderson at Clunie on 1st August 1742.]  This is the last Will and testament of me Thomas Webster now residing in the City of Bath Doctor of Divinity ffirst my will and mind and I do hereby direct that all my just Debts Legacies or ffuneral and Testamentary Expences be fully paid & satisfied by my Executor herein named as soon as conveniently may be after my decease out of my personal Estate and whereas I reserved the sum of two thousand pounds Sterling or thereabouts with or by my late wife now I think proper to divide the like sum and do hereby accordingly give and bequeath the sum of two thousand pounds of lawful money of Great Britain as used in England between & among such of the relations of my said late wife as are hereinafter named or their respective Children in manner following that is to say I give and bequeath unto Helen Grant & which said Helen Grant is one of my late wife�s half-sisters the sum of two hundred and ffifty pounds part thereof for the sole and separate use and benefit independent and without being subject to the power Control Debts or Engagements or incumbrances of her husband to be paid unto the said Helen Grant or unto such person or persons for such uses ends Intents and Purposes as she the said Helen Grant shall by any Note or Notes in writing Signed by her notwithstanding her Coverture direct and appoint and I do hereby declare that the receipt of the said Helen Grant Signed by her alone & without her said husband or of such person or persons as she shall in manner aforesaid appoint to receive the same shall be a good and sufficient discharge to my Executor for the same but in case the said Helen Grant shall happen to die in my life time then I give and bequeath the said sum of two hundred and fifty pounds unto all and every the Child or Children of the said Helen Grant lawfully begotten or to be begotten who shall be living at the time of my decease to be equally divided between or among them if more than one share and share alike their his or her Executors adminrs and afsigns and if there shall be but one such Child then to such only Child his or her Executors adminrs and afsigns and if no such child then to the Executors or adminrs of the said Helen Grant and I give & bequeath unto Ann Grant which said Ann Grant is the other of my said late wifes half (p.2) Sisters the sum of two hundred and ffifty pounds other part thereof for her sole and separate use and benefit independent & without being subject to the power Control Debts Engagements or incumbrances of her husband and to be paid unto the said Ann Grant or unto such person or persons on such uses ends intents and purposes as she the said Ann Grant shall by any Note or Notes in Writing Signed by her notwithstanding her Coverture direct and appoint and for which the receipt of the said Ann Grant Signed by her alone and without her husband or of such person or persons as she shall in manner aforesaid appoint to receive the same shall be a sufficient discharge to my Executor but in case the said Ann Grant shall happen to die in my life time then I give and bequeath the last mentioned sum of two hundred and ffifty pounds unto all and every the Child or Children of the said Ann Grant lawfully begotten or to be begotten who shall be living at the time of my decease to be equally divided between or among them if more than one share and share alike then his or her Executors adminrs and afsigns and if there shall be but one such Child then to such only Child his or her Executors adminrs and afsigns and if no such Child then to the Executors or adminrs of the said Ann Grant and I give and bequeath the sum of ffive hundred pounds other part of the said sum of two thousand pounds unto between and amongst all and every Daughters of Thomas Meck (sic) late of Perth in Scotland deceased the late uncle of my said late wife who shall be living at the time of my decease to be equally divided between or among them if more than one share and share alike their respective Executors adminrs and afsigns and if but one Daughter then to such only Daughter her Executors adminrs and afsigns and if no such Daughter of the said Thomas Meck shall be living at my decease then I give and bequeath the said last mentioned sum of ffive hundred pounds unto the Extrs or adminrs of the said Thomas Meck provided always and I do declare my will to be that the bequests hereinbefore made to or in favor of the said several Daughters of the said Thomas Meck are so made to or in favor of them in the event /only/ of their being certified to be of irreproachable character by the Ministers of the respective parishes to which they shall belong any thing hereinbefore contained to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding and I give and bequeath the sum of ffive hundred pounds other part of the said sum of two thousand pounds unto and equally between and amongst all and every the Child and Children of Adam ffreer late of the County of Perth in Scotland aforesaid deceased another uncle of my late wife lawfully begotten who shall be living at the time of my decease to be equally divided between or among them if more than one share and share alike their respective Executors adminrs & afsigns and if but one such Child then to such only Child his or her Executors adminrs and afsigns and if no such Child (p.3) of the said Adam ffreere shall be living at my decease then I give and bequeath the last mentioned sum of ffive hundred pounds unto the Executors or adminrs of the said Adam ffreer and I give and bequeath the sum of ffive hundred pounds residue of the said sum of two thousand pounds unto and equally between and amongst all and every the Child & Children of John ffreer late of the said County of Perth dec�d another Uncle of my late wife lawfully begotten who shall be living at the time of my decease to be equally divided between or among them if more than one share and share alike their respective Executors adminrs and afsigns and if but one such Child shall be then living then to such only Child his or her Executors adminrs and afsigns and in case there shall be no such Child or Children of the said John ffreer lawfully begotten living at the time of my decease then I give and bequeath the said last mentioned sum of ffive hundred pounds unto the Executors or adminrs of the said John ffreer and I give and bequeath unto my servant Elizabeth Longdon one annuity or clear Yearly sum of lawful money of Great Britain as used in England for & during the term of her natural life and I also give & bequeath unto my servant James Burtt one annuity or clear yearly sum of twenty pounds of like lawful money aforesaid for and during the term of his natural life the said several Annuities to be paid & payable unto them the said Elizabeth Longdon and James Burtt respectively by yearly payments without any deduction or abatement on account of Taxes or on any other account or pretence whatsoever the first yearly payment thereof respectively to begin & be made at the expiration of one Calendar month from the time of my decease & to be from thenceforth paid yearly on the like day in every succeeding year during their respective natural lives provided always and I do hereby exprefsly declare my will and mind to be that the said annuities of thirty pounds and twenty pounds are so given unto them the said Elizabeth Longdon and James Burtt in the event of their being in my Service at the time of my decease & continuing to prove themselves faithful Servants until they shall be respectively discharged and of the propriety of their behaviour my Executor hereinafter named shall be the Sole and final Judge as well to entitle them to the said several annuities and also to the several Legacies hereinafter bequeathed to them and that the respective receipts of them the said Elizabeth Longdon and James Burtt only signed by them with their respective own proper hands shall be a good & sufficient discharge to my Executor hereinafter named for the said Annuities respectively and further that in case the said Elizabeth Longdon and James Burtt or either of them shall sell afsign make over or in anywise dispose of the Annuity so to them respectively given or any part thereof respectively either by way of Annuity Mortgage afsignments or any other mode of anticipation or other wish then the said Annuities respectively or such of them as shall be so sold afsigned made over or anticipated shall cease before?? and be no longer paid or payable it being meant and intended by me that the said Annuities respectively should be for the personal maintenance and support of them the said Elizabeth Longdon and James Burtt respectively and not alienated or disposed of by them or either of them and I give & (p.4) bequeath the sum of twenty pounds of lawful money aforesaid unto each of my other Servants who shall be living with me at the time of my decease and the further sum of ten pounds of like lawful money unto each of my Servants who shall be living with me at the time of my decease for Mourning and do direct and appoint my Executor hereinafter named to divide all my wearing apparel equally amongst all my said Servants and as to for and concerning all and every my Mefsuages ffarms Lands Tenements Heredits and real Estate whatsoever & whomsoever and all my Leasehold premises wheresoever and whatsoever whom I or any person or persons /In trust/ for me or to my use am is or are or shall or may at the time of my decease be seized pofsefsed or Interested in or entitled unto and also all and every my stocks ffunds monies Mortgages and securities for money and all the rest residue & remainder of my Goods Chattels Effects and personal Estate whatsoever & wheresoever and of what nature kind or quality soever the same may be I give and devise & bequeath the same & every part thereof and all my Estate and Interest therein respectively with their & every of their respective rights members & appirts unto Sir David Wedderburn of Balindean in the County of Perth Baronet Merchant in London George Paterson of Castle Huntley in the said County of Perth Esquire John Wedderburn Esquire of the City of London Merchant Andrew Wedderburn Esquire of the City of London Merchant Charles Wedderburn of Pearsie in the County of fforfar in North Britain Robert Graham Esquire of the City of London Merchant William Chalmers of Dundee in North Britain aforesaid Esquire and Alexander Duncan of Edinburgh in North Britain aforesaid Writer to Signet to hold the said real Estate Hereditaments and premises unto & to the use of them the said Sir David Wedderburn George Paterson John Wedderburn Andrew Wedderburn Charles Wedderburn Robert Graham William Chalmers & Alexander Duncan their heirs and afsigns according to the different natures and qualities thereof respectively and to hold the said Leasehold premises unto the said Sir David Wedderburn George Paterson John Wedderburn Andrew Wedderburn Charles Wedderburn Robert Graham William Chalmers & Alexander Duncan their Executors adminrs and afsigns for all such ?term Estate and Interest as shall be to ?come therein at the time of my decease by virtue of the lease or leases which the same are or may be held on subject to the rents Covenants and agreements by and with same lease or leases reserved & contained on their lefsors part and behalf to be paid kept and performed and to hold the said residue of my personal Estate and Effects unto and by them the said Sir David Wedderburn George Paterson John Wedderburn Andrew Wedderburn Charles Wedderburn Robert Graham William Chalmers & Alexander Duncan their Executors adminrs and afsigns absolutely upon the trusts nevertheless and to and for the intents and purposes and with under and subject to the powers /provisions/ and declarations hereinafter mentioned exprefsed and declared of and continuing the same real and personal Estates respectively that is to say upon trust that they the said Sir David Wedderburn George Paterson John Wedderburn Andrew Wedderburn (p.5) Charles Wedderburn Robert Graham William Chalmers & Alexander Duncan or the Survivors or Survivor of them or the heirs Executors or adminrs of such Survivor do and shall as soon as conveniently may be after my /decease/ make Sale & absolutely dispose of my said freehold Copyhold and Leasehold Estates and premises hereintofore devised and every part thereof either together or /in/ parcels and by public Auction or private Contract for the most money and best price that at the time or respective times of such Sale or Sales can be reasonably had or gotten for the same and do & shall make Sale and dispose of all such part and parts of my said personal Estate and Effects as shall not consist of monies or Securities for money and do and shall call receive and get in all such part or parts thereof as shall consist of monies or securities for money and do and shall lay out & invest the monies to arise & be produced by the Sale or Sales of and to called received and got in from my said real and personal Estates in the purchase of Stock in some or one of the public ffunds or upon Government Securities of and in that part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as is called England in the Joint Names of them the said Sir David Wedderburn George Paterson John Wedderburn Andrew Wedderburn Charles Wedderburn Robert Graham William Chalmers & Alexander Duncan or in the names or names of the survivors or Survivor of them or the Executors or adminrs of such Survivor and do and shall stand and be pofsefsed and interested of and in the said Stocks ffunds and Securities and the Dividends Interest and annual proceeds thereof upon the trusts and for the Intents and purposes and with under and subject to the powers and provisions and declarations hereinaftermentioned exprefsed and declared of  and concerning the same that is to say upon trust that they the said Sir David Wedderburn George Paterson John Wedderburn Andrew Wedderburn Charles Wedderburn Robert Graham William Chalmers & Alexander Duncan and the Survivors or Survivor of them & the Executors and adminrs of such Survivor do and shall for the space or term of twenty years next after my decease or such before period as shall be requisite for the purposes after mentioned from time to time as the same shall become due and payable receive & take the Dividends Interest & annual proceeds of the said Stocks ffunds and Securities and lay out and invest the same in their Joint names or in the name or names of the Survivors or Survivor of the Executors or adminrs of such Survivor in the purchase of other Stocks ffunds /or/Securities of and in England and do and shall from time to time as the same shall become due and payable receive & take the Dividends Interest & annual proceeds in /the/ purchase of said Stocks ffunds or Securities of the like nature by way of accumulation and shall and do and shall from time to time accumulate & invest the Dividends Interest & annual proceeds of the said several Stocks ffunds and Securities /until the Stocks ffunds or Securities/ so to be purchased and invested and accumulated by the means (p.6) aforesaid will by Sale thereof produce the Sum of Sixty thousand Pounds of lawful Money of Great Britain as used in England and when and so soon as the said several Stocks ffunds and Securities shall by accumulations so amount unto or be of the Current value of sixty thousand pounds of lawful money aforesaid in case the same shall be within the said period of twenty years next after my decease have accumulated to that amount but if not at the Expiration of the said term of twenty years to be computed as aforesaid upon trust that they the said Sir David Wedderburn George Paterson John Wedderburn Andrew Wedderburn Charles Wedderburn Robert Graham William Chalmers & Alexander Duncan and the Survivors or Survivor of them & the Executors and adminrs of such Survivor do and shall make sale and dispose of the said Stocks or ffunds so to be purchased and which shall be accumulated as aforesaid and call receive and get in the Monies due and owing upon any such Government Security or Securities as aforesaid and do and shall lay out & invest the Monies to arise & be produced by such Sale or Sales and to be called received and got in as last mentioned in the Purchase of Lands & heritages situated in one or other of the said Counties of fforfar or Perth in North Britain taking the right to and title of the said Lands and heritages in the names of the trustees or trustee acting at the time and the title of the trustees or trustee being compleated that then they or he shall forthwith make Execute and deliver a Deed of Entail of the said Lands and Heritages to and in ffavour of my Grand Nephew James Graham Esquire of Leadenhall Street London Merchant and the heirs male of his body whom failing to his /next/ brother my Grand Nephew John Graham and the heirs male of his body whom failing to my Grand Niece Isabella Graham & the heirs male of her body whom failing to my Grand Niece Catherine Graham & the heirs male of her body whom failing to my Grand Niece /Isabel Stewart & the heirs male of her body whom failing to my Grand Niece/ Elizabeth Stewart and the heirs male of her body whom failing to my heirs and afsignees whatsoever which Deed of Entail shall contain an obligation upon the Institute & all the heirs of Taillie [sic] taking the Estate under the said Deed to afsume and carry out constantly to use the Name and arms of Webster and no other name whatever under an ?Irmitancy of the right of the Contra verrur in the case of neglect or refusal & the said Deed shall likewise contain prohibitions against altering the order of succefsion and alienating or burdening the Taillied Estate or any part thereof or contracting Debt or doing any deed whereby the Estate or any part thereof may be demitted or impaired from the subsequent heirs of taillie or their succefsion frustrated under an irmitancy of the right of the Contra verrur with devolving ?Clauses to the next heir in the order of succefsion in every case of Contravention & all other clauses usual in Deeds of strict Entail by the Law (p.7) and practice of Scotland with procuratory of resignation & precept of Seisin in favour of the Institute and heirs of Taillie under the sd. conditions but with power to the said Institute and heirs nevertheless to grant Tacks and Leases of the said Lands and Estate or any part thereof except the Mansion house Gardens and pleasure Grounds & the Land occupied therewith by the power demitted thereto for the time being if any such there be provided that such Tacks and Leases shall not be for a longer time than Nineteen Years from and after the date thereof or the expiration of the then current lease & that such leases shall contain the usual covenants for maintaining and keeping the premises thereby let in good and ?Tenantable repair and leaving the same at the expiration thereof and that no reversionary lease shall be granted whilst the Current Lease has more than two years to run nor shall any lease be granted for a lesser Rent than what was actually paid or was last paid for the lands or subjects let nor for lefs than Lands in the same Neighbourhood are Let for of an equal quality unlefs such rent cannot be had and a responsible Tenant procured in which case the Lands shall only be let by public auction and to the best avail and in no case shall any ffine or Grafsum be taken and the said Deed of Entail shall likewise give a power to the person or heir in pofsefsion to grant a Jointure to his wife to the extent of three hundred pounds sterling a year to affect the Rents of the Taillied Lands and Estate and likewise to grant provisions to younger Children to the extent of two years free Rent of the said Lands and Estate at the ?time after deducting all burdens excepting Jointure but which provisions shall only affect the Rents of the Estate and shall not be the ground of an adjudication or Eviction of the Estate itself but my will and mind further is and I do hereby declare that the said Deed of Entail shall further contain a proviso that the said Estate shall in no case be subject or liable to the said Jointure and provisions for younger Children in case the person in pofsefsion for the time being shall have of his own private fortune sufficient to pay the said sum of three hundred pounds a Year and the ffortune of the younger Children above mentioned but in the case of a deficiency for the above purposes the said Estate shall only be Subject and liable to such deficiency & be applied in aid of such private ffortune & that the said Deed of Entail shall further contain a clause not to cut Timber for sale without the consent of the Sheriff of the County for the time being in which case the person cutting Timber shall be bound to plant an equal number of young trees for and in lieu of such Timber to be cut down for Sale aforesaid and in order that the Deed of Entail so to be granted by my said trustees may be properly framed agreeably to the forms of the Law of Scotland and according to the plain intendment of this my will I direct /that the/ said trustees shall previously to the Execution thereof submit the same to the perusal of His Majesty�s advocate or His Majesty�s Solicitor General for Scotland for the time being and obtain the approbation of the one or the other of them testified by their Signature to the Draft or a Copy of such Deed it being lawful to add any Clauses the said Counsel shall think proper not inconsistent with the preceding direction but to carry my Intentions into Effect which I do hereby declare generally to be that the Lands and Estates (p.8) so to be purchased shall be so settled as to continue with the persons & heirs before named and described unimpaired by any of them to the prejudice to the intended Succefsors in as far as the Laws will permit and when the said Deed is so Executed the Trustees shall cause the same to be presented to the Court of Sefsion in Scotland and under their authority duly recorded in the Register of Taillie & shall likewise cause the Title of the Institute under the said Entail to be compleated by Charter and Seizin containing all conditions and provisions of the Entail or by such other mode as may be pointed out by the Counsel aforesaid and the Trustees shall have right to deduct and retain from the proceeds of the Trust Estate all the Costs and Charges of the different acts and proceedings hereby directed and it is hereby declared that in case only a part of the Capital Sum of Sixty thousand pounds is laid out in the purchase of Lands as aforesaid at one time the same shall be settled in Entail immediately in manner hereinbefore mentioned and so from time to time until the whole of the money shall be laid out and applied as aforesaid and in the meantime and until such purchases shall be made the Interest or Dividends arising from the residue of the said Sum of sixty thousand pounds shall accumulate and the remainder of the said Capital Sum as well as such accumulation of Interest shall be laid out in manner aforesaid it being my will and intention that the person entitled to the ?life Estate above given shall receive the rents of the above Estates only and not the Interest of any sum of money which may remain unappropriated in manner aforesaid but it shall always be in the power of any of the persons who would be interested as heirs of Entail to compel a specific performance of the trust as to any parcels of Land purchased provided also and my will and /mind/ further is that in the mean time and until the said ffunds to be laid out in a purchase as aforesaid shall amount to the said sum of Sixty thousand pounds it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Sir David Wedderburn George Paterson John Wedderburn Andrew Wedderburn Charles Wedderburn Robert Graham William Chalmers & Alexander Duncan and the Survivors and Survivor of them & the Executors and adminrs of such Survivor at any time or times of the proper authority of the said Trustees or Trustee for the time being as the same shall happen to sell transfer and dispose of the said Stocks ffunds or Securities to be purchased as aforesaid or any part thereof or of their or his like own authority to lay out and invest the money to arise by any such Sale or transfer or any part thereof respectively in the names or name of them the said Sir David Wedderburn George Paterson John Wedderburn Andrew Wedderburn Charles Wedderburn Robert Graham William Chalmers & Alexander Duncan and the Survivors or Survivor of them & the Executors and adminrs or afsigns of such Survivor in other public Stocks or ffunds or in other Government Securities in England to be from time to time in like manner altered varied sold transferred & disposed of when and so often as occasion shall require and my will and mind further is that the said Sir David Wedderburn George Paterson John Wedderburn Andrew Wedderburn Charles Wedderburn Robert Graham William Chalmers (p.9) and Alexander Duncan and the Survivors and Survivor of them & the Executors and adminrs and afsigns of such survivor shall stand Pofsefsed of and Interested in all such new or other Stocks ffunds and Securities as aforesaid and the Dividends Interest & annual produce thereof and of every part thereof upon such and the same trusts and for such & the same Ends Intents and purposes as are hereinbefore exprefsed of and continuing the said Stocks ffunds and Securities to be purchased as aforesaid and the Interest Dividends and annual produce thereof and I do hereby nominate Constitute and appoint my said Grand Nephew James Graham sole Executor of this my will provided also and my will and mind further is that my said Executor and the said Sir David Wedderburn George Paterson John Wedderburn Andrew Wedderburn Charles Wedderburn Robert Graham William Chalmers and Alexander Duncan and each and every of them and the Executors adminrs and afsigns of each & every of them shall be charged and Chargeable only for such monies as they shall respectively actually receive by virtue aforesaid trusts and any one or more of them shall not be answerable or accountable for the other or others of them but each and every of them for his own acts receipts neglect or defaults only neither shall they or either or any of them be answerable for any Bank Banker Goldsmith Broker or other person with whom or in whose hands any part of the trust Monies shall or may be lodged or deposited for safe Custody or otherwise in the Execution of the any of the aforesaid trusts neither shall they my said Executor or the said trustees or either or any of them be answerable or accountable for the Insufficiency or deficiency of any of the Stocks ffunds or Securities in or upon which the said trust Monies or any part thereof shall or may be placed out or invested nor for any other lofs misfortune or damage which may happen in the Execution if any of the aforesaid trusts in relation thereto unlefs the same shall happen by or thro� their own wilful default or grofs negligence respectively and also that they my said Executor and the said trustees & each & every of them and the Executors adminrs and afsigns of them and each and every of them shall and may with or out of such monies as shall come to their respective hands by virtue of the aforesaid trusts retain to and reimburse himself and themselves respectively and also pay or allow to his or their Co Trustees all Costs Charges Damages and Expences which they or either or any of them shall or may suffer sustain expend disburse be at or be put unto in Execution of any of the aforesaid Trusts or in relation thereto In Witnefs whereof I Thomas Webster have to this my last will & testament contained in thirteen sheets of paper set my hand to the twelve first sheets thereof & my hand and Seal to this thirteenth and last sheet thereof this ffifth day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight hundred and Seven Thomas Webster  Signed Sealed published and declared by the said Thomas Webster the Testator as and for his last will & testament in the presence of us who in his (p.10) presence at his request and in the presence of each other have hereunto subscribed our names as Witnefses Edward Reynolds Bath  -   J Buchanan Bath - L S Parker Bath Proved at London 11 July 1816 before the Worshipful Charles Coote Doctor of Laws & ? by the Oath of James Graham Esquire the sole Executor to whom Admon was granted having been first duly sworn to adminr.

 

In   the   Name   of   God.   Amen. I William Weatherburn of Castlegate in the County of the Borough and Town of Berwick upon Tweed late an officer in Her Majesty�s Customs being in perfect health of mind and memory thanks be unto God but calling unto mind the mortality of my body and knowing that it is appointed unto all men ours to die do make and ordain this my last Will and Testament in manner following that is to say principally and first of all I give and commend my soul into the hands of Almighty God that gave it and my body I recommend to the earth to be buried in Berwick Cemetery in the same grave with my dearly beloved Wife at the direction of my servitors nothing doubting but at the eventual resurrection I shall receive the same again by the Almighty power of God but as touching the worldly estate wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me in this life I give and dispose of the same in the following manner and form I direct that all my just debts funeral and testamentary expenses be paid by my servitors hereinafter named as soon as conveniently may be after my decease I appoint my friends James Gray Wine and Spirit Merchant and Henry Lindsay Christison both of Berwick upon Tweed to be Trustees and Executors of this my Will and I bequeath to each of them the legacy or sum of Ten pounds as some small acknowledgement for the trouble they will have in carrying the trusts thereof into effect and bequeath to William Denman son of my nephew George Alexander Denman of Number Two Saint Mark�s Street Great Alie Street Aldgate London my watch and my gold chain and my silver chain to each of my nieces Mary Ann Wedderburn and Eliza Wedderburn daughters of my late brother Alexander I give and bequeath six silver teaspoons one pair of silver sugar tongs and one silver salt spoon and to my niece Caroline Taylor another of the daughters of my said brother my gold eyeglass and the gold chain attached thereto All the remainder of my furniture plate linen and other household goods and effects I give and bequeath to my said niece Mary Ann Wedderburn for her own use absolutely I devise and bequeath all my real and leasehold estates whatsoever and wheresoever situated (except estates vested in me as trustee or mortgagee) and I bequeath the residue of my personal estate to the said James Gray and Henry Lindsay Christison their heirs executors administrators and assigns respectively upon trust to sell my real and leasehold estates together or in parcels by public auction or private contract and to reinvest and get in my residuary personal estate and out of the money to arise from the said personal estate I direct them to pay to the Vicar of the Parish of Berwick upon Tweed the Mayor and Sheriff of Berwick upon Tweed and the Treasurer of the Corporation of Berwick upon Tweed respectively for the time being the sum of One thousand  pounds sterling upon trust that the said Vicar Mayor Sheriff and Treasurer do and shall invt. the said sum of One thousand pounds in the purchase of Government or other perpetual annuity and do and shall receive the same and pay and divide it half yearly or quarterly as the same may be received in equal proportions between and among fifteen aged sober poor respectable Widows of Freemen of the Corporation of Berwick upon Tweed and resident in the Town of Berwick. I direct my said trustees and executors to pay unto the Treasurer for the time being of United Presbyterian Home Fund the sum of Nineteen pounds To the Treasurer of the Foreign Mission Fund the sum of Thirty one pounds To the Treasurer for the time being of the Dist. Society of the United Presbyterian Church Church Street (whereof the Reverend Doctor Brown is the Pastor) the sum of Ten pounds To the Treasurer of the time being of the British and Foreign Bible Society the sum of Nineteen pounds To Margaret Weatherburn the Wife of Elias Weatherburn of the Greens Berwick upon Tweed aforesaid the sum of Ten pounds To Isabella Wares Widow of John Wares formerly of twenty one Saint James Square Edinburgh the sum of Ten pounds To my nephew Edward Hall of Number forty nine Villa Place Westgate Newcastle upon Tyne the sum of Fifty pounds and to my niece Margaret Steel Wife of Lachland Carmichael Chemist Queen Street Brisbane Queensland the sum of Fifty pounds I devise all estate vested in me as trustee or mortgagee to the said James Gray and Henry Lindsay Christison subject to the equities affecting the same respectively After payment of my said debts funeral and testamentary expenses the legacies hereby bequeathed and all expenses incident to the carrying of the trusts of this my Will into effect and direct my said trustees and executors to pay and divide all the remainder of the money raised by the sale of my said real and leasehold estates and the residue of my personal estate unto and equally among such of the aforementioned relatives as shall be living at my death that is to say my said nephew George Alexander Denman and his two sons George Denman and William Denman my three nieces the said Mary Ann Wedderburn Eliza Wedderburn and Caroline Taylor and Joseph Thomas Forbes Frith[?] Surgeon to Rotherhithe Parish London and I declare and direct that the legacies or other bequests given on this my Will to or in favour of married women shall be for the sole and separate use of such married women respectively and not from the debts control or managements of their respective husbands I direct that the trustees or trustee for the time being of this my Will shall be responsible only for so much money as shall come to their own respective hands and that they shall not be answerable for involuntary losses nor for the acts debts or defaults of each other and I expressly and specially declare that any trustee who shall pay over to his co-trustee or who shall do or concur in any act enabling him to receive any money with a view to the same being applied to the general purposes of my Will or for any definite or prescribed purpose authorised by my Will shall not be obliged to see to the due application thereof nor shall such trustee be subsequently rendered responsible by any express notice or intimation of the actual misapplication of the said moneys nevertheless I declare that this clause shall not in any manner be considered to restrict the power of any trustee to require from his co-trustee and account of the application of the moneys in his hands or to insist on his replacing any sum or sums which such trustee may have misapplied my sole intention being to relieve my trustees from the operation of the suit of equity which renders one trustee liable to make good moneys misapplied by his co-trustee being convinced that this exemption from legal responsibility will not induce them to abate their friendly vigilance And I empower my trustees or trustee for the time being to retain and allow to each them (sic) the costs and expenses incurred in the execution of the trusts or in relation thereto I revoke all other Wills and Testamentary Instruments by me at any time heretofore made and declare this only to be my last Will and Testament In witness whereof I the said Testator William Weatherburn have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of October one thousand eight hundred and sixty nine William Wedderburn signed by the above named William Weatherburn the Testator as and for this last Will and Testament in the joint presence of us present at the same time who in his presence and at his request and in the presence of each other have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses the words �his two sons George Denman and� having been first interlined on the errors page hereof - (signed) James C. Weddell Solr. Berwick upon Tweed - (signed) Robt. Weddell Solr. Berwick upon Tweed.  Proved at London 25th July 1870 by the Oaths of James Gray and Henry Lindsay Christison the Executors to whom Admon was granted.

 

Prepared by:

Peter Garwood
L'Eau Sal�e
Malauc�ne
84340 France


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