Thank you very much for this. It seems to fit with what I know about him. The executor of the will I am concerned with was a John Gill. I have John Gill's signature on the inventory of the testator's estate, and have compared it withf the signature of John Gill, who was at this time, pastor of the Goat Yard Strict Baptist congregation at Horsleydown in Southwark (right across the Tower Bridge from the Wapping area where the testator lived). The testator's sister was some years later, a member of a Mill Yard meeting house Baptist congregation. On Sun, Sep 16, 2012 at 7:22 AM, <[email protected]> wrote: > am working with a will written in London in 1747. The will opens with > > the common expression of consideration of one's mortality, recommendation > > of soul to God and so on. > > These were standards in most wills, conditioned by the fact they were > proved in Church (of England) courts. As lawyers were paid by the size of > documents, they shoved in up to a dozen of these vaguely pious > expressions before they got down to the nitty-gritty of 'Imprimis I give, > devise > and bequeathe to....' > > It is highly likely, on other grounds, that the > > testator is a Non-conformist in faith, possibly Baptist of some variety. > > > > > Paradoxically, those who were Dissenters often had fewer of the stock > formulaic expressions than others. (And Quakers, of course, would not > swear to adminioster so were allow3ed to 'affirm' they would do so' > > > This one seems somewhat longer than usual, and also refers to "the Elect" > > which is somewhat distinctive. > > That is certainly an expression which I would associate with Particular > Baptists (rather than General ones. They believed that you were only > likely > to be Saved if you were born 'chosen' to be so. I have never understood how > a sect could rec ruit new members, if they were damned from the start, but > I > suppose it did tend to cling on to the existing members and their families, > since if you left, you were 'unelected' and lost your place in heaven. > EVE > > Author of The McLaughlin Guides for Family Historians > > in cluding 'Wills Before 1858' > > > Secretary, Bucks Genealogical Society > >