Descendants of Thomas Abere (c1520 - 1562)
References
BRO - Berkshire Record Office
WRO - Wiltshire Record Office
IGI - International Geographical Index
TAFOW - "The A'Bear Family of Wargrave" - Stephen Leach
TSBOW - "The Second Book of Wargrave" - Wargrave Local History Society
Some of the will transcriptions below are the work of David Nash Ford, to whom grateful thanks are expressed.
3 rd Generation
Thomas Abere / A Beare (c1520 – 1562)
Thomas seems to have been the only survivor of his branch. Thomas married in about 1538 at which time his father Thomas probably helped him and his wife make a start on their own. He and his wife seem to have had three children, namely twins Nicholas (1540 – 1544) and Reynold (1540 – 1541) and then Joan (1544 – 1544).
The Stanley A’Bear tree names his wife as Grace ?
Thomas’s father seems to have been building a house for his family in Kynghin, and when he died in 1544 had lands in Twyford, a village only two miles from Wargrave. Since Thomas junior was the sole survivor, he would have inherited all of his father’s estate, by which time he had lost his wife and all three children (who are named in the burials list).
The register of land ownership shows a number of properties and parcels of land owned for several generations by the family, and which descended to Thomas in 1545 upon the death of his father Thomas. These are:
A toft and court at Harehatch and another toft and courtyard called Childs Garden containing 1 acre and 1 rood. A Toft of Land called Saweland and 4 acres in Bycroft (permanent pasture). Three acres called Mattely Innings. Three crofts containing three acres and 2 acres in Southkenfield. A toft containing 12 acres called Corke in Woodrow and 2 acres in Southkenfield.
All these estates were kept and descended to his son in 1562.
The Lay Subsidy for Wargrave (1545/1546) includes a Thomas Aber. (Ref : pg 269 TSBOW)
In about 1548 Thomas married Clement ? They had five children, Mary (c 1552 - ?), Anne (1554 – 1570), Gilbert (1557 – 1575) John (1562 – 1639) and Francis (1563 - ?). In 1562 Thomas wrote his will, which reads as follows: (Ref : BRO / p74 TAFOW)
Berkshire, 25th December 1562
IN NOIE DEI AMEN, the xxvth day of December 1562 Ano Regni Elizabeth Regina quarto, I Thomas A Beare in the parish of Wargrave in ye county of Berks, being sick in body and in perfect and good remembrance God be thanked do make this my Last Will and Testament in manner and form as followeth. First and principally, I bequeath my soul to Almighty God our Lord Jesus Christ by whose death and passion my only trust is to be saved and my body to the earth according as God hath appointed. Item, I give to ye Church of Sarum iid. Also I give to ye poor men's box in our parish aforesaid ivd. Item, I give and bequeath unto Clement my wife my house that I dwell in with all the whole land and house that I have in ye parish of Wargrave aforesaid And one acre of mead ground lying and being in Heaton Mead for the term of xx years next following after my decease, making no spoil upon ye said houses nor of ye Woods. Item, I give and bequeath to Gilbert my son lawfully begotten £vi viiis ivd I will shall be delivered at his full age of xxi years. And I give to ye same Gilbert my son my whole team, that is to say my plough and cart with all ye whole tackling thereto belonging or appertaining which I will shall be delivered when xx years be fully ended after my decease if ye said Gilbert my son do fail before that he come to ye full age as above named, then my will is that his part and person to remain unto John A Bear my son lawfully begotten. And if they doeth fortune both to fail, my mind and will is that it shall then shall remain to the next heir. Also, I give to Gilbert my son one feather bed, bolster, coverlet, ii pairs of sheets and a bedstead. Item, I give and bequeath unto John my son £vi viiis ivd to be delivered at ye full age of xxi years. Item, I give to that child my wife go with all if it do live £vi viiis ivd. Item, I give unto Mary my daughter £vi viiis ivd to be delivered at ye day of her marriage or at xxi years of age. Item, I also give unto Anne my daughter £vi viiis ivd to be delivered at ye day of her marriage or at xxi years of age as above said. The residue of all my goods moveable and unmoveable not bequeathed I give unto Clement my wife whom 1 ordain and make my sole executrix of this my last will and testament performing my legacies and paying my debts provided that I constitute and make to be myne overseers Mr. Gilbert Garret, Robert Pyggott, Thomas Goonhill, Roger Pokok, Richard Webb, and Gilis Jaxson. A suji.
Thomas died shortly afterwards, and never saw his son Francis that Clement was carrying. His burial is listed as 25th December 1562, Christmas Day, the same day his will was written. Gilbert never reached the age of twenty, and so the inheritance went to his son John.
An inventory of his belongings reads as follows:
| Inventory taken upon the Death of Thomas
A'BEAR of Wargrave, 1563 1562 Wargrave. The Inventory of all the goods and chattels of Thomas A Beare, deceased, taken and praised by Thomas Webb, Robert Pygot, Thomas Gonhill and Thomas PowIter ye 29 of December ano Regni Elizabeth regina quarto.
|
Over the years Thomas had built up his homestead in Wargrave. He now had a barn to go with a reasonable dwelling place, and he was farming a variety of livestock as well as working the land. Heaton Meade was a field in Hurst which his son John passed on in his will.
Following Thomas’s death in 1562, his widow Clement married John Alline in 1563, recorded in the marriages list.
William Abere / A Beare (c1522 – 1544)
William died a young man at the same time as his father, a victim of the (presumed) disease that resulted in nine family deaths within a month.
4th Generation
Nicholas A’Bear (1540 – 1544)
Nicholas was twinned with Reynold. He is named in the baptism list as a son of Thomas. He died at the time of the (presumed) disease in 1544 and is named in the Wargrave burials list.
Reynold A’Bear (1540 – 1541)
Reynold was twinned with Nicholas. He is named in the baptism list as a son of Thomas. His death is also recorded in the Wargrave burials list.
Joan A’Bear (1544 – 1544)
Joan is listed in the Wargrave baptisms as a daughter of Thomas and is in the burials lists. She died at the time of the (presumed) disease in 1544.
Mary A Beare (c1552 – 1637)
Though all her other brothers and sisters are listed, Mary’s name is missing from the Wargrave baptisms list, which is surprising. Mary is named as a beneficiary in her father’s will.
It is possible Mary married John A’Bear (c 1535 – 1616) as the marriage records show John marrying Mary Bear in 1570 when she would have been about eighteen years of age. It is possible though that Mary Bear was not related, or was connected with the Padworth “Bear” family.
Anne A Beare (c1554 – 1570)
Anne is named in her father’s will as a beneficiary. Her baptism and death are recorded in the Wargrave records.
Gilbert A Beare (1557 – 1575)
Gilbert is named in his father’s will as the preferred beneficiary, suggesting he was the elder son.
The register of land ownership shows a number of properties and parcels of land owned for several generations by the family, and which descended to Gilbert in 1563 upon his father’s death when Gilbert was still a young boy. These are:
A toft and court at Harehatch and another toft and courtyard called Childs Garden containing 1 acre and 1 rood. A Toft of Land called Saweland and 4 acres in Bycroft (permanent pasture). Three acres called Mattely Innings. Three crofts containing three acres and 2 acres in Southkenfield. A toft containing 12 acres called Corke in Woodrow and 2 acres in Southkenfield.
Gilbert died in 1575 before reaching the age of twenty one years, so received no inheritance according to the terms of his father’s will. His brother John then became the beneficiary. But, according to the register of land ownership, in 1577 much of the lands and estate listed above did not descend to John.
His baptism and death are recorded in the Wargrave lists.
John A Beare / Abeare / Abere (1562 – 1639)
According to his father’s will of 1562, his son John was then aged under 21 years. So he must have been born after 1541 and before 1562 to be mentioned in his father’s will. He was the second named male beneficiary, so would have been younger than his brother Gilbert and born after 1557.
This John is also placed here as he owned land which his father owned, namely Heaton Meade in Hurst. John’s baptism does not appear in the Wargrave records as he was born in Henley. Why is unclear.
In 1575 aged fifteen years, John’s older brother Gilbert died. John then became the main beneficiary of his father’s will.
The register of land ownership shows two parcels of land descending to John in 1577, namely
A Toft of Land called Saweland and 4 acres in Bycroft (permanent pasture).
Other parcels of land owned by his brother are not listed, so presumed sold off.
John married Joan Blunte in 1578 at Henley. (Ref: Oxfordshire Marriage Index). They seem to have had no children, and Joan must have died c 1582 as John remarried.
John married Agnes Symmons ( their marriage is recorded in the marriage records in 1585 at Wargrave) and they had nine children all recorded as baptised in Wargrave, namely Margery (1586 - ?), Agnes (1587 - ?), Anne (1588 - ?), Mary (1589 - ?), Elizabeth (1590 - ?), John (1595 - 1625), Matthew (1598 - ?), Martha (1599 - ?) and Francis (1609 - 1677).
John’s will, written shortly before he died and dated 2 Feb 1639 reads as follows: (Ref: BRO or PRO / pg72 TAFOW)
The will of John Abeare of Wargrave in the county of Berks, yeoman.
To daughter Margery Grey - £20.
To daughters Anne, Mary, Elizabeth and Martha – 20 pence each.
40 shillings to Anne, grandchild.
Everything else to his son Francis Abeare (including 3 acres of arable land in Wargrave in ?seneschall? fields and 1 acre of meadow in Heaton Meade in the parish of Hurst.
Executors – my noble and well-beloved friends Thomas Newberry and William Lamden – 2 shillings sixpence each.
To the poor of Wargrave – 20 shillings. (Signed with a mark.)
A copy of the inventory (Ref: BRO or PRO / pg73 TAFOW) taken 5 Mar 1639 of the “goods and chattels of John Abeare the elder of Wargrave late deceased in the county of Berks” and proved in 1640 reads:
In the Hall
One table and one ?
One cupboard
One chair and one stool
One pair of ? ? and one hanger
In the chamber
One bedstead with feather bed ? one blanket and one sheet
Two sheets and two coffers
One hollande sheet and table cloth and seven napkins
Three pewter platters, three fruit dishes, one chamber pot, one ? and one broken candlestick
In the millhouse
One mill
One ?trough?, one ?press? and one old chest
One bedstead and one bed with that belonging to it.
John died aged about 77 years, by which time his first son John had died and youngest child Francis was aged 30. His will does not mention his wife Agnes and her death is not recorded in the burials list. [Agnes was the daughter of John Simonds of Wargrave who died in 1595. He may have been a member of the great Berkshire Simonds brewing family]. John’s will does not mention his other son Matthew, born before Francis, so either he had died by this date, or John had already passed on most of his estate to him. His daughter Agnes is omitted as a beneficiary – she had already married, but then so had Margery.
John calls himself “John the Elder of Wargrave”, not of Harehatch. It is true there was no other John living that was older than him in 1639, and by this time the other branch of the family was well established in Harehatch.
It is unclear from John’s will how prosperous he had been in his lifetime. It seems as if he was less prosperous than his contemporary namesake and cousin John (c1535 – 1616) who bequeathed two farms and several other plots of land to his heirs. It is possible that these John’s were brothers in law (due to the questionable marriage of Mary A Beare in 1570), in which case land or property may have changed hands between the two branches, so sharing the wealth of the family.
John was, it seems, not of The Hill. In fact, John’s burial is recorded in 1639 under the name “John of ye Porch”, which is presumably to distinguish him from John of the Hill. The appearance of this title is contemporary with the other title (which seems to have arisen at the time of the building of the old brick building to the rear of Hill House in 1621). How the Porch name came about is uncertain, but is not the only reference. In the National Court Archives at Kew a court case is recorded as follows:
Gooderidge v. Hatch, John Abeare alias John of the Porch, Breach and others. Berks 1603 – 1625. http://catalogue.pro.gov.uk/ Reference STAC 8/150/8
This record seems to confirm that it is this John and not his son who was “of the Porch”, as his son was only eight years old in 1603. None of the surnames Gooderidge, Hatch or Breach appear in the contemporary Lay Subsidy lists of Wargrave, and this whole matter needs investigating.
John names his trusted friends, one of them being Thomas Newbery, (presumably related to Ralph Newbury Senior who was the great friend and neighbour of this same cousin and possible brother-in-law of John (c1535 – 1616), and who helped to draw up an inventory upon his death).
Thomas Newbery drew up an inventory of Marie Abeare widow deceased in 1637 – only two years earlier – and Marie is taken to be Mary the widow of John Abeare (c1535 – 1616) nee “Mary Bear”. Thomas therefore gives us a tentative link between John, his sister Mary and her possible marriage to John (c1535 – 1616).
Ernest Pope wrote about the donation of a tenor bell to the church at Waltham St Lawrence in 1618 by John of the Hill. Only if Pope’s information is erroneous could this John be a candidate for donating the bell, as he distinguished himself as of the Porch. Pope makes no mention of the bell of 1681 in his book which was donated to the church at Waltham St Lawrence, and which still hangs there now. It seems credible that Pope stated incorrect information by writing 1618 instead of 1681, by referring to it as a tenor bell instead of a much smaller sanctus bell, and by misinterpreting the inscription on the bell which, it is true, was donated by a John A’Bear of the Hill, but does not name him as a churchwarden. In any case, a tenor bell of diameter about four feet might be considered a rather large object to move and hang in a schoolhouse.
Francis A Beare (c 1563 – ?)
Francis was born after his father died, and baptised in May 1563. His death is not recorded in the burials list. If Francis survived he would have benefited little under the terms of his father’s will, so perhaps he left the district.
5th Generation
Margery Abeare (1586 – >1639)
Margery is listed under the Wargrave baptisms, and is named by her father in his will as Margery Grey, so she must have married before 1639.
Agnes Abeare (1587 – ?)
Agnes is listed under the Wargrave baptisms, but is not named by her father in his will. Her year of birth fits well with the progression of children.
Agnes married Richard Cottrell in 1626 at Easthampstead, Berkshire.
Anne Abeare (1588 – >1639)
Anne is listed under the Wargrave baptisms of 1589, and is named by her father in his will of 1639. The Stanley A’Bear tree states the year of birth as 1594.
Mary Abeare (1589 – >1639)
Mary is listed under the Wargrave baptisms of 1589, and is named by her father in his will of 1639.
Elizabeth Abeare (1590 – >1639)
Elizabeth is listed under the Wargrave baptisms of 1590, and is named by her father in his will of 1639. The Stanley A’Bear tree states the year of birth as 1591.
John is listed under the Wargrave baptisms of 1595, but is not named by his father in his will of 1639, since he had died before this time, aged only 29 years.
John married Anne ? in about 1622 and they had a daughter named Anne (a grandaughter stated in his father’s will of 1639) who was born in 1623 and hence only a toddler at the time of John’s death.
John’s will and inventory are held in the Wiltshire Records Office, in which he is named as John, Junior (Ref : WRO / p74 TAFOW). They read as follows:
In the name of God Amen. The ?6th Day of November in the year of the Lord 1624. I John aBaer Junior of Wargrave in the county of Berks being at the present time sick in body but of good and perfect remembrance – praise Almighty God for the same – do ordain and make this my last will and testament in manner and form following, that is to say first and principally I commit my soul into the hands of Almighty God trusting assuredly by the merit of Jesus Christ to be saved and my body I commit to the earth from whence it came to be buried in the parish churchyard of Wargrave in the county of Berks ? ? And I bequeath unto Anne aBaer my daughter the sum of £20 of good and lawful money of England and to be paid unto the said Anne aBaer at the age of 21 years or at the day of her marriage whichever shall happen soonest. All the rest of my goods and chattels as well …??? I give unto Anne my wife whom I ordain and make sole executrix of this my last will and testament. And I ordain and make Mathew Beare and Francis Connell to be my overseers of this my will ? them to do their best in ? that this my will may be fairly ? according to my meaning. In witness hereof I give my hand this day and year above written.
Witness ?Francis Connell
? A aBear
Francis Webb
Probate granted ?21st May 1625
An Inventory taken the eleventh day of March in the year of our Lord 1624 of the goods of John Abeare Junior lately deceased in the parish of Wargrave in the county of Berks by John Collins and John Piggott.
Item in the Hall one table and a form
Item one cupboard and a covering
Item one joined stool and a dresser and two ? chairs
Item one cobiron and a pothanger
Item in the Hall Chamber one bedstead
Item one flockbed, a strawbed and a flockbolster
Item one scuttlebed? and a blanket
Item one great chest, three pairs of sheets and one tablecloth
Item one small chest
Item one table and two tressles
Item two brass pots, one kettle and a pair of pothooks
Item three platters, three fruit dishes, two pothangers
Item one drinking cup and two saucers
Item one spit
Item in the middle loft twenty pounds of hemp
Item one ? three old tubs and other lumber
Item one billet, a shelf and other lumber
Item in the Junior Chamber within the Hall one bedstead, one canopy of linen and one featherbed
Item one cupboard and a press
Item one little kettle and a fire ?morter of brass
Item one ?settler, two shelves and other lumber
Item in the room within the chamber, one powdering trough, one form and other lumber
Item in the Kitchen two little kettles
Item one gridiron and two bowls
Item one bill and hatchet, a spade and a prong
Item one ?whittle and other lumber
Item one joined box
Item fourteen sheep
Item his wearing apparel
Item 20 pounds in the hands of John Abeare Junior
Item in the hands of John Piggott £16
The sum is forty and eight pounds fourteen shillings and ninepence.
John Collins – his mark
John Piggott
Approved ?21st May 1625
The Wargrave burials list gives the date as 12 Nov 1624, less than a week after his will was written, and names him John son of John. He names his little daughter Anne as a beneficiary, and he names his wife Anne as sole executrix. He also names his brother Matthew (aged 27) as an overseer. His other brother Francis was aged only fifteen in 1624. The writer of the will misspelled the surname as aBaer though the signature of the family witness who appears to be Anne also uses a small letter a signing herself A aBeare. The witness Francis Webb must be the church sidesman named in connection with John Abeare G/gen4 in 1634.
The Inventory clearly starts with the wrong year, as John’s death occurred after March 1624 when he was certainly not “lately deceased”. This should have been March 1625. Amongst the items listed is
Item in the Junior Chamber within the Hall one bedstead, one canopy of linen and one featherbed
which helps to confirm that John and Anne had a young child at the time. His only livestock seem to be fourteen sheep, and the total sum of all his goods does not amount to a large amount, suggesting a fairly simple lifestyle in keeping with his father.
The International Genealogical Index holds records of John Abeare, born about 1594, being of St Dunstan, Canterbury, Kent, and marrying Ann Willis there on 3rd December 1616.
The details agree well, including the spelling of the surname, but why the record shows Canterbury as his place of origin is a mystery. Perhaps he was simply living there at the time?
[The IGI also holds a record of a Mrs Ann Abear marrying John Harberte on 29th Jan 1624 at St Peter’s, Sandwich, Kent – clearly not the same Anne if the date details are correct].
Matthew Abeare (1597 – ?1652)
Matthew is listed under the Wargrave baptisms of 1597, but is not named by his father in his will of 1639. It seems possible therefore that he died before this year. However, his father may have already passed on most of his estate to Matthew, in which case there was probably no need to name him in the will. There is a burial record for a Matthew in 1652.
Martha Abeare (1599 – >1639)
Martha is listed under the Wargrave baptisms of 1599, and is named by her father in his will of 1639. The Stanley A’Bear tree states the year of birth as 1596.
Francis Abeare (1609 – 1677)
Francis is listed under the Wargrave baptisms of 1609, and is named by his father in his will as the sole beneficiary of his land and property, including “3 acres of arable land in Wargrave in ?seneschall? fields and 1 acre of meadow in Heaton Meade in the parish of Hurst”.
His marriage to Jane ? in 1630 is not listed under the Wargrave marriage list.
Francis and Jane had three children, John (1631 - ?), Francis (1636 – 1651) and Ann (1639 – 1683). All appear in the Wargrave baptisms list, John “son of Francis”, Francis “son of Francis and Jane” and Ann “daughter of Francis and Jane”.
[The Stanley A’Bear tree states Francis’s year of birth as 1592 and his death as 1639. Anne’s death is stated as 1644].
After his father died in 1639, Francis and his son John seem to have been the only farmers left in his branch, as his other son Francis died in his youth. [It is possible his brother Matthew was still living].
The Lay Subsidy lists for Wargrave (1640/1641 and 1641/1642) include a Francis Abeare taxed on Land. (Ref : pg 271 TSBOW).
The Wargrave Hearth Tax of Michaelmas 1663 states:
Jo Abear – 3 hearths, Thomas Abeare – 2 hearths, Francis Abeare – 3 hearths
It is likely, but not certain, that this record refers to this Francis. (Ref: pg63 TAFOW)
In the Snell Collection the will of a J Coggin, citizen of London, (made out some time between 1673 and 1693) mentions Francis Delabeare of Wargrave. (Ref: pg 78 TAFOW) although this may refer to Francis (c 1657 - ?c1720).
A document dated 1677 concerns the administration of the property of Francis de Beare of Hare Hatch to his wife Jane (Ref: WRO / pg 63 TAFOW), and the will below of Jane Abeare dated 1678. Francis was buried in 1677 at Wargrave. Jane’s burial is not listed but her death clearly occurred in 1678, the year of her inventory.
The will of Jane Abeare (widow) names the beneficiaries John Abeare her son, and Ann Wilkes her daughter. Her inventory was drawn up by John Piggott and William Dearing and relates to a seemingly well-to-do woman living in a property with four chambers, one above the millhouse: (Ref: BRO / pg 63 TAFOW)
31st May 1678
In the name of God Amen. The one and thirtieth day of May in the year of our Lord 1678. I, Jane Abeare of Wargrave in the county of Berks widow, being of sound and perfect memory laud and praise be given to God therefore, do make and ordain this my last will and testament in writing in manner and form following, that is to say first I bequeath my soul into the hands of Almighty God my maker and my body to the earth from whence it was taken to be buried at the ?direction of my executor hereafter named. As for my worldly goods which God hath endued me with I sign and bequeath them in manner and form following.
Item – I give unto my daughter Ann Wilkes the sum of four-score pounds of good and lawful money of England to be paid by my executor hereafter named within twelve months after my decease. Item – I give unto my aforenamed daughter Ann my brass ?hammer?, two brass pittelles, two brass pots and my biggest skillet, one brass candlestick, one brazen spice mortar, seven pieces of ?, one pewter cup, one salt sellor. Item – I (?bequeath to my) said daughter Ann my best joined bedstead with ? bed ? belonging, two feather bolsters, two feather pillows, two blankets, two cowhides with the rest of the furniture to that bed belonging, one flock bed, three pairs of sheets, one ?hollend sheet, two pillow?bearers, one joined chest standing in the chamber over the hall, one other joined chest standing in a lower chamber, one table with the frame standing in the loft. Item – I give unto my aforementioned daughter my youngest red cow and also my black bullock.
All the rest of my goods and chattels unbequeathed I give unto my son John Abeare whom I make full and whole executor to this my last will and testament.
In witness whereof I have here unto set my hand and seal the day and year first above written in the presence of –
John Piggott Jane Abeare – her mark.
William Dearing
John Piggott Junior
INVENTORY – 3rd September 1678
An Inventory of all the goods and chattels of Jane Abeare of Wargrave in the county of Berks widow deceased taken and appraised by John Piggott and William Dearing this third day of September in the year of our Lord 1678 as followeth –
Item – In the chamber over the hall - one joined bedstead, one
false-headed bedstead, one feather bed, one feather bolster,
one flock bed with furniture, six chests, two boxes, one table
with the frame, six pairs of sheets and table cloths, nine napkins ……......... £5 – 03 – 0
Item – her wearing apparel and money in her purse ……………………...........£ 2 – 10 – 0
Item – in lower chamber – one joined bedstead with one feather
bed, two feather bolsters, two pillow?bearers with the furniture,
three joined chests, one box, one chair. With other goods appraised at…........…£3 – 11 – 0
Item – in the trunk house – four ?boar, two ?hog, one ?goole ?,
one table with the frame and ?bolle. With other goods appraised at… ..........… £1 – 02 – 06
Item – in the chamber over the millhouse – two bedsteads with
their furniture. With other goods appraised at… … £0 – 10 – 0
Item - In another chamber – one ?lene rope, two chests, one small
parcel of wool with six sacks. Appraised at…… £1 –00 – 0
Item – in the millhouse – one mantle mill, one cheese press.
With other lomber appraised at…… £0 – 15 – 0
Item – in the hall – one table with frame, one form, joined
cupboards, one joined chair, two small tables. Appraised at…… £2 – 00 – 0
Item – in the kitchen – one brass pan, five ?kettles, caldron,
one warming pan, four brass pots, two skilletetes, four spits,
two dripping pans, two ?shonelles, one spade, two meathooks,
two ?loathorn bottles, two tubs, one ?bolle, fourteen pewter
platters, one basin, five ?perengers, two pewter chamber pots,
eleven pewter spoons. With other goods appraised at…… £9 – 18 – 0
Item – one ?follering peere - Appraised at…… £0 – 07 – 0
Item – four hogs and six pigs - Appraised at…… £5 – 10 – 0
Item – one mare, one gelding - Appraised at…… £6 – 00 – 0
Item – four-score and thirteen sheep - Appraised at…… £18 – 10 – 0
Item – three cows and one bullock - Appraised at…… £10 – 05 – 0
Item – peas, ?fatches, oats and hay - Appraised at… … £11 – 0 – 0
Item – wheat, ?maslene and barley, carts and wheels and all
things belonging - Appraised at…… £7 – 00 – 0
Item – husbandry - Appraised at…… £5 – 00 – 0
Item – money due upon surrender and other money as well
Appraised at…… £3 – 00 – 0
Total ….. £113 – 01 - 6
The spelling of the surname Abeare holds in this branch of the family, and holds as Abeere in the other branch. Francis apparently declares himself to be of Hare Hatch, and chooses to use the surname “de Beare” in 1677, again with similar spelling, providing a little evidence to suggest that there is continuity here and hence no error. One wonders if this new ‘up market’ surname was prompted by Francis being in close contact with his cousins in the other branch who may have had the same idea.
6th Generation
Anne Abeare (1623 – ?1679)
Anne is listed in the baptism records as “Ann - daughter of John” in 1623. She was named as a beneficiary in her grandfather’s will of 1639. Anne lost her father as a young child. If she never married, her death may tie up with a burial in 1679 of an “Ann”, though this may be Ann(e) born 1626 if she never married, or Ann (Mary?) wife of Thomas (1628 - ?).
However, it is possible Anne married Lewis Newberry, citizen and skinner of London. His will, proved in 1684, mentions his cousin A. Abeare of Harehatch and her brother J. Abeare. (Ref: pg76 TAFOW). This would make Ann Abeare (1639 - ?1683) his cousin by marriage, John Abeare (1631 - ?1702) being her brother.
[There is a birth record on the Church of the Latter Day Saints website for a Lewes Newberye 16 Nov 1623 at St Gabriel, Fenchurch, London. Father William, mother Sibley].
John Abeare (1631 – >1678, ?1702)
John appears in the baptism list as “John, son of Francis” and is named by his mother in her will of 1678, so lived later than this year.
John probably married in about 1663, though his marriage is unrecorded. He and his wife seem to have had two children named John (1664 - ?) and Jane (1668 - ?), both baptised as children “of John”.
It is possible that this is the John Abeare who donated a tenor bell to St Mary's Church, Wargrave, in 1688. (See The Bells).
John’s death may well have occurred in 1702 when the burials list records “John – farmer”, as no other John seems to fit this year.
Francis Abeare (1636 – 1651)
Francis appears in the baptism list as “Francis – son of Francis and Jane” but is not named by his mother in her will of 1678, suggesting that he died before then. The burials list names “Francis – junior” amongst the 1651 entries.
Ann Abeare (1639 – 1683)
Ann appears in the baptism list as “Anne – daughter of Francis and Jane” and is named by her mother in her will of 1678 as Ann Wilkes.
She married Francis Wilkes in 1676 at Bisham, Berkshire.
In 1684 the will of Lewis Newbery, citizen and skinner of London, mentions his cousin A. Abeare of Harehatch and her brother J. ABeare. There seems to be no other candidate for this A. Abeare. It seems unlikely that she changed her name back to Abeare if her husband died or they divorced, so perhaps the will was written before she married in 1676. (Ref: pg 76 TAFOW). The surname Newbery matches that of Ann’s grandfather’s trusted friend and is probably a decendant.
An Ann is recorded in the burials list in 1683 (and also 1679), but this too would be an Ann A’Bear, not an Ann Wilkes.
John Abeare (1664 – ?)
See “The Branches that Died Out”.
Jane Abeare (1668 – ?)
Jane appears in the Wargrave baptisms list as “Jane – daughter of John”.
Jane’s marriage to George Kent of Shiplake on 11th June 1701 was at Waltham St Lawrence. (Ref: pg 62 TAFOW)
The International Genealogical Index record for this marriage clearly states 11th June 1702.