Apparently the Borthwick Institute in York has misplaced this Will. Fortunately Derek managed to get copy of the Will before it was lost and he has been good enough to lend it to me, which I have now copied and scanned. This is a very significant Will as there are few surviving Wills from this time period and Abraham himself may well have been the founder Barraclough of the Wibsey and North Bierley dynasty. Other surviving evidence from the 17th century is scant and difficult to find and the Bradford and Wibsey Parish Registers are incomplete and/or missing. Derek has asked me to reproduce his 'translation', which I do below. Having compared the Will and the 'translation', I can confirm that it accurately reflects what has been written, except that Wibsey has been transcribed incorrectly as Wibley. Where the Latin 'Jurat' is used, these were insertions made at the time of probate and not part of the original text. Jeff Sutcliffe http://www.btinternet.com/~jeff.sutcliffe Researching Ambler, Baker, Barraclough, Bates, Booth, Broadbent, Brook, Brown, Chadwick, Collins, Coning, Crowther, Fearnley, Hanson, Hardcastle, Hartas, Harwood, Holmes, Metcalf, Nowell, Oliver, Pennington, Pollard, Radcliffe, Roebuck, Routh, Smith, Sugden, Sutcliffe, Tordoff, Ventress, Walker, Whitaker, Whiteley, Wilkinson, Wilson All of the Yorkshire Area. >> Will of Abraham Baraclough of North Bierlev. 1643 University of York In the name of God, Amen. I Abraham Barraclough, within the lordshipe o[f] North Bierley and Countie [of] Yorke, sicke and wake [weak] in body but in good and perfect Remembrance, for which I give hartie praise and than[kesl to the allmightie God, knowing death be Certain and the tine uncertaine, I doe therefore make and orda[ine this] my last will and Testament. First and principally I bequeath my Soulle to the handes of the allmightie, fro[m] whence it Came, and I doe fully hoope [hope] this bodie shall have a joyfull resurrection and shall be united and joyned to the Soulle, and shall both partake of the blessed joyes of heaven with the Holy Saintes and angelles for evermore, and I am Fully assured that all my Sinnes are freely pardoned and forgiven by the precious death and passion of my lord and Saviour Jesus Christ And I doe bequeath my bodye to be buried in the parish Church yeard at Bradford or at the disscretion of my wife and frendes. Then my minde is that my Funerall expences be dischardged and my debtes to be paide of my whole goods. The rest of my goods which God hath indued [endowed] me withall, I give in manner and form Following. I give unto John Barraclough my eldest sonne Ten shillinges, to be paide within one yeare after my death, if he Come to demand it, in full satisfaction of his Child parte, and if not to be paid to his sonne, I give his sonne John Barraclough my grandchild Twentie shillinges. I give to Frances Barraclough sonne five shillingea. I give to Fower Children of Robart Harppers, every one five shillinges. I give to thre Children of Thomas Roydes five shillinges spece [apiece]. I give to my wife the thirde parte of my Farme and the thirde parte of my goods, according as the lawes of the land doth allowe hir, and the other two parts of my farme and goods to be equally devided amongst my thre yongest Cheldren Jonas Barraclough, (jurat[usj, ie sworn), Ester Barraclough (jurat[a], ie sworn) [and] Ellen Barraclough (jurat[a], ie sworn). My will and mind is that when my goodes ar prised [appraised, ie valued for probate], that thes thre my yongest Children [to] have equall portions with my eldest Children, and if anything be remaining of my goodes, to be devided [amo]ngst all my Cheldren equally, And I make my thre yongest Children sole executors of this my [last] will and testament. Debtes owing to me the testator Item, Thomas Greene of Wibley, Fiftie shillin[ges]. Item, John Horsley of Clifton, Fortie nine shillings. Item, Will[ia]m Firth of Wibley, three shillinges. Item, William Longbothom yonger, Five shillinges six pence. Item, Thomas Bower of Wibley, five shillinges. Item, Will[ia]m Longbothom the elder, thre shillinges. Item, Michaell Barraclough, Seaven shillings six pence. Richard Pighells, two shillings. Item, widdow Houldsworth de Cours fower shillings. I, the testator, to this my last will [and) testament have setto [set to] my hand and se[ale] this seaventh day of November in the nintenth yeare of the reigne of our Soveraigne Lord Charles, of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, King, deffendr of the Faith etc, 1643. The Testator "T" mark Witnesses Charlles "W" Barraclough mark Jurat[us] [ie sworn] Tho. Preistlay Probate July 9th in the year 1646, before me John Thompson >>>