The Last Will and Testament of George is the will of Sir George Wentworth (ca. 1609-1660) of Wentworth-Woodhouse, York, England. Sir George was a knight and Member of Parliament (1640-1644), and the brother of Sir Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Stafford (1593-1641). He was a Royalist in the English Civil War, and was appointed General of Charles I's forces in Ireland, where he may have met his wife. Her father, Frances Ruishe had property near Castle Jordan in County Meath, and left his two daughters property formerly of the Manor of Sarrein in Kent that is discussed at length in the will.
The will details the inheritance Sir George left to his three younger children William, Ruishe, and Elizabeth Wentworth; the eldest son, Sir Thomas Wentworth, is not mentioned by name, but only as the 'eldest son.' The executors of the will are Sir George's wife Dame Anne Wentworth, William Chadwell, and George Saville (Sir George Savile, his great nephew).
The will states that the three younger children will receive payment taken from the sale of one third of Sir George's share of the farm of Pococke in Sarre, Kent, in England, which he expects to raise 2500 pounds. The executors are instructed to sell the farm within three years to provide portions of 1000 pounds each to William, the older of the two sons and to Elizabeth, and 500 pounds to Ruishee. The sons are to inherit on their 21st birthdays, and the daughter on her eighteenth birthday or marriage. The will also outlines that George Wentworth’s other possessions shall be sold by the executors to pay his debts, complete the amount due his younger children, or be put into the estate.
A codicil dated one year later, in Dublin, amends the will in several respects. Due to the death of Anne Wentworth and William Chadwell, Sir George adds his friend and 'servant' Francis Colley as an executor. He also increases by 500 pounds each the funds he provides to the three children because “the portions provided by my will for my younger children seem to me to be too small for them.”
The will is 47 lines, plus annotations regarding the witnessing of the document. The codicil is 22 lines. Both documents include administrative information on the back (verso)
Local Note
Donated by Patricia-Ann Lee, emerita professor of History, these legal documents, dating from the 16th-18th centuries and written on parchment and rag paper, record grants of property to individuals and groups in Great Britain.
Beginning in the fall of 2022, students from Jordana Dym’s “Archival Storytelling” class set out to transcribe this and other documents in the collection, learning Secretary Hand in the process, and have prepared updated cataloging information (now reflected in this record) in a process that is ongoing. Please visit Lost In Transcription, Found In Translation: Histories Of Inheritance In 17th Century Legal Documents for more information about their work.
Additionally, a detailed finding aid and a formatted version of the transcription and translation are available for download (see "Files" below).
