Can anyone help me understand these documents obtained from Bucks Record Office and transcribed below? D/12/79/2 1657 Bond in £42. Francis Dorrill of Cheddington day labourer to Churchwarden & overseers [Bucks RO] Know all men by these presents that I ffrancis Dorrill of Cheddington, in the Countie of Bucks day Labourer, am holden & firmly bound unto John Seabrooke, yeoman, Churchwarden; & unto Thomas Tatnill, & George Wooster, Overseers of the poore of Cheddington aforesaid, for this present yeere of our Lord God one thousand, six hundred, fiftie & seaven, in Two and ffourtie pounds, of lawfull money of England, to be paid unto the said John Seabrooke, Thomas Tatnill, and George Wooster, or to their Certaine Attorney, their executors, administrators or assignes, to the use of the inhabitants of the Towne & parish of Cheddington aforesaid. And to, & for the more sure payment thereof, I binde my selfe, my heires, executors administrators, & assignes firmly by these presents. Sealed with my seale, dated the six & twenteth day of October, in the aforesaid yeere of our Lord God one thousand, six hundred, fiftie & seaven, The Condic’on of this Obligac’on is such, that if the above bounden ffrancis Dorrill he, his heires, executors administrators, or assignes, for & in Consideration of one & Twentie pounds of good & lawfull money of England, to him the said ffrancis Dorrill, in hand paid, at or before the ensealing & delivering of these presents, for & in Consideration of taking unto him, or them, & of keeping with him, or with them, or with either of them, at his or their proper Costs & Charges, at all times in fitting manner of all needfull things for them, those Two poore Children, now in the keeping of the said ffrancis Dorrill, Being the naturall Children of John Howes, & Elizabeth his wife, deceased, untill the said Children shall sunderly? accomplish the full age of Eighteene yeeres, shall in all the aforesaid points, respects, & particulars, well & trulie observe, performe, fulfill, and keepe them, so that the said Two poore Children be no further forced Charge unto all or anie of the inhabitants of the Towne & parish of Cheddington aforesaid during the said Terme & Termes of Eighteene yeeres, that then this present Obligac’on shall be void & of none effect, of else it shall remaine, & be in full force & vertue. Sealed & delivered to the use of the above named parties in the presence of us James Pung, ffrancis Kympton. ffrancis Dorrill X his marke. D/12/79/1 1657 Bond in £9. William Chiltorn of Cheddington day labourer to Churchwarden & overseers [Bucks RO] Know all men by these presents that I William Chiltorn of Cheddington, in the Countie of Bucks, day Labourer, am holden & firmly bound unto John Seabrooke, yeoman, Churchwarden; & unto Thomas Tatnill, & George Wooster, Overseers of the poore of Cheddington aforesaid, for this present yeere of our Lord God one thousand, six hundred, fiftie & seaven, in Nine pounds, of lawfull money of England, to be paid unto the said John Seabrooke, Thomas Tatnill, and George Wooster, or to their Certaine Attorney, their executors, administrators or assignes, to the use of the inhabitants of the Towne & parish of Cheddington aforesaid. And to, & for the more sure payment thereof, I binde my selfe, my heires, executors administrators, & assignes, firmly by these presents. Sealed with my seale: dated the Thirteth day of October, in the aforesaid yeere of our Lord God one thousand, six hundred, fiftie & seaven, The Condic’on of this Obligac’on is such, that if the above bounden William Chiltorn, he his heires, executors administrators, or assignes, for & in Consideration of ffoure pounds & Ten shillings of good & lawfull money of England to him the said William Chiltorn, in hand paid, at or before the ensealing, & delivering of these presents, for, & in Consideration of taking unto him, or them, & of keeping with him, or with them, or with either of them, at his or their proper Costs & Charges, at all times in fitting manner of all needfull things for her, that one poore Childe, now in the keeping of the said William Chiltorn, Being the naturall daughter of John Howes, & Elizabeth his wife, deceased, untill the said Childe shall accomplish the full age of Eighteene yeeres, shall in all the aforesaid points, respects, & particulars, well & trulie observe, performe, fulfill, and keepe them, so that the said poore Childe, be no further forced Charge unto all, or anie of the inhabitants of the Towne & parish of Cheddington aforesaid, during the said Terme of Eighteene yeeres, that then this present Obligac’on shall be void & of none effect, of else it shall remaine, & be in full force & vertue. Sealed & delivered in the presence of us James Pung, James Fenn William Chilton X his marke My direct ancestor was Jane Howes, a daughter of John and Elizabeth baptised 1650 in Cheddington. I believe that John died in 1653. Elizabeth then married a Henry Harris and died in 1656. I have not found a will for either of them. They had 7 children in Cheddington but the only burial I have found is for Jane in 1727 who did leave a will. I apologise for the amount of words, which of course are causing my problem! Patricia Ward

Hello Patricia, Francis Dorrill (on behalf, no doubt, of he and his wife) has taken on the responsibility of bringing up "two poore children …. being the naturall children of John Howes and Elizabeth his wife, deceased, until the said children shall …. accomplish the full age of eighteene yeeres". The parish (through the churchwarden and the overseers) has paid Francis Dorrill to take on this task, which thereby relieves the parish of its responsibilities to the two children. However as Francis is being paid "up front" i.e. before his duties are accomplished, which will probably not be for some years, (we are not told how old the children are) the parish has taken a bond from him for the performance of those duties, so that should he fail to do as he has said, the parish can claim against the bond and (they hope) get their money back or sue for its return. There may well be a Guarantor lurking in the background identified in another document, or later in the same document, just in case Francis is unable to meet any claim under the bond. Perhaps Francis and his wife were childless, perhaps they knew the Howes well and were just good neighbours. Whatever, the children will in every probability have been much better off brought up in a family rather than in the workhouse. John Howes, widower, would have needed to find another wife to cope if he was in employment and, if he wasn't, then he himself may have had to spend time in the workhouse You are a very lucky lady to have come across such a document ! Jim Halsey On 9/6/06, Patricia Ward <[email protected]> wrote: > > Can anyone help me understand these documents obtained from Bucks > Record Office and transcribed below? > > > D/12/79/2 1657 Bond in £42. Francis Dorrill of Cheddington day labourer > to Churchwarden & overseers [Bucks RO] > Know all men by these presents that I ffrancis Dorrill of Cheddington, > in the Countie of Bucks day Labourer, am holden & firmly bound unto > John Seabrooke, yeoman, Churchwarden; & unto Thomas Tatnill, & George > Wooster, Overseers of the poore of Cheddington aforesaid, for this > present yeere of our Lord God one thousand, six hundred, fiftie & > seaven, in Two and ffourtie pounds, of lawfull money of England, to be > paid unto the said John Seabrooke, Thomas Tatnill, and George Wooster, > or to their Certaine Attorney, their executors, administrators or > assignes, to the use of the inhabitants of the Towne & parish of > Cheddington aforesaid.And to, & for the more sure payment thereof, I > binde my selfe, my heires, executors administrators, & assignes firmly > by these presents. Sealed with my seale, dated the six & twenteth day > of October, in the aforesaid yeere of our Lord God one thousand, six > hundred, fiftie & seaven, > The Condic'on of this Obligac'on is such, that if the above bounden > ffrancis Dorrill he, his heires, executors administrators, or assignes, > for & in Consideration of one & Twentie pounds of good & lawfull money > of England, to him the said ffrancis Dorrill, in hand paid, at or > before the ensealing & delivering of these presents, for & in > Consideration of taking unto him, or them, & of keeping with him, or > with them, or with either of them, at his or their proper Costs & > Charges, at all times in fitting manner of all needfull things for > them, those Two poore Children, now in the keeping of the said ffrancis > Dorrill, Being the naturall Children of John Howes, & Elizabeth his > wife, deceased, untill the said Children shall sunderly? accomplish the > full age of Eighteene yeeres, shall in all the aforesaid points, > respects, & particulars, well & trulie observe, performe, fulfill, and > keepe them, so that the said Two poore Children be no further forced > Charge unto all or anie of the inhabitants of the Towne & parish of > Cheddington aforesaid during the said Terme & Termes of Eighteene > yeeres, that then this present Obligac'on shall be void & of none > effect, of else it shall remaine, & be in full force & vertue. > Sealed & delivered to the use of the above named parties in the > presence of us James Pung, ffrancis Kympton. > ffrancis Dorrill X his marke. > > D/12/79/1 1657 Bond in £9. William Chiltorn of Cheddington day labourer > to Churchwarden & overseers [Bucks RO] > Know all men by these presents that I William Chiltorn of Cheddington, > in the Countie of Bucks, day Labourer, am holden & firmly bound unto > John Seabrooke, yeoman, Churchwarden; & unto Thomas Tatnill, & George > Wooster, Overseers of the poore of Cheddington aforesaid, for this > present yeere of our Lord God one thousand, six hundred, fiftie & > seaven, in Nine pounds, of lawfull money of England, to be paid unto > the said John Seabrooke, Thomas Tatnill, and George Wooster, or to > their Certaine Attorney, their executors, administrators or assignes, > to the use of the inhabitants of the Towne & parish of Cheddington > aforesaid.And to, & for the more sure payment thereof, I binde my > selfe, my heires, executors administrators, & assignes, firmly by these > presents. Sealed with my seale: dated the Thirteth day of October, in > the aforesaid yeere of our Lord God one thousand, six hundred, fiftie & > seaven, > The Condic'on of this Obligac'on is such, that if the above bounden > William Chiltorn, he his heires, executors administrators, or assignes, > for & in Consideration of ffoure pounds & Ten shillings of good & > lawfull money of England to him the said William Chiltorn, in hand > paid, at or before the ensealing, & delivering of these presents, for, > & in Consideration of taking unto him, or them, & of keeping with him, > or with them, or with either of them, at his or their proper Costs & > Charges, at all times in fitting manner of all needfull things for her, > that one poore Childe, now in the keeping of the said William Chiltorn, > Being the naturall daughter of John Howes, & Elizabeth his wife, > deceased, untill the said Childe shall accomplish the full age of > Eighteene yeeres, shall in all the aforesaid points, respects, & > particulars, well & trulie observe, performe, fulfill, and keepe them, > so that the said poore Childe, be no further forced Charge unto all, or > anie of the inhabitants of the Towne & parish of Cheddington aforesaid, > during the said Terme of Eighteene yeeres, that then this present > Obligac'on shall be void & of none effect, of else it shall remaine, & > be in full force & vertue. > Sealed & delivered in the presence of us James Pung, James Fenn > William Chilton X his marke > > My direct ancestor was Jane Howes, a daughter of John and Elizabeth > baptised 1650 in Cheddington. I believe that John died in 1653. > Elizabeth then married a Henry Harris and died in 1656. I have not > found a will for either of them. They had 7 children in Cheddington > but the only burial I have found is for Jane in 1727 who did leave a > will. > I apologise for the amount of words, which of course are causing my > problem! > Patricia Ward > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Hello Patricia, The second bond, given by William Chiltorn, is similar - but for a smaller sum, presumably because the child that he and his wife had agreed to look after was older than those identified in the other bond and the obligation he was entering into was therefore of shorter duration. Super documents! Jim Halsey

Hello Patricia The word you have queried is most likely "severally". Audrey ----- Original Message ----- From: "Patricia Ward" <[email protected]> To: "Old English mailing list" <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 5:41 PM Subject: [OEL] Buckinghamshire bonds Can anyone help me understand these documents obtained from Bucks Record Office and transcribed below? D/12/79/2 1657 Bond in £42. Francis Dorrill of Cheddington day labourer to Churchwarden & overseers [Bucks RO] Know all men by these presents that I ffrancis Dorrill of Cheddington, in the Countie of Bucks day Labourer, am holden & firmly bound unto John Seabrooke, yeoman, Churchwarden; & unto Thomas Tatnill, & George Wooster, Overseers of the poore of Cheddington aforesaid, for this present yeere of our Lord God one thousand, six hundred, fiftie & seaven, in Two and ffourtie pounds, of lawfull money of England, to be paid unto the said John Seabrooke, Thomas Tatnill, and George Wooster, or to their Certaine Attorney, their executors, administrators or assignes, to the use of the inhabitants of the Towne & parish of Cheddington aforesaid. And to, & for the more sure payment thereof, I binde my selfe, my heires, executors administrators, & assignes firmly by these presents. Sealed with my seale, dated the six & twenteth day of October, in the aforesaid yeere of our Lord God one thousand, six hundred, fiftie & seaven, The Condic’on of this Obligac’on is such, that if the above bounden ffrancis Dorrill he, his heires, executors administrators, or assignes, for & in Consideration of one & Twentie pounds of good & lawfull money of England, to him the said ffrancis Dorrill, in hand paid, at or before the ensealing & delivering of these presents, for & in Consideration of taking unto him, or them, & of keeping with him, or with them, or with either of them, at his or their proper Costs & Charges, at all times in fitting manner of all needfull things for them, those Two poore Children, now in the keeping of the said ffrancis Dorrill, Being the naturall Children of John Howes, & Elizabeth his wife, deceased, untill the said Children shall sunderly? accomplish the full age of Eighteene yeeres, shall in all the aforesaid points, respects, & particulars, well & trulie observe, performe, fulfill, and keepe them, so that the said Two poore Children be no further forced Charge unto all or anie of the inhabitants of the Towne & parish of Cheddington aforesaid during the said Terme & Termes of Eighteene yeeres, that then this present Obligac’on shall be void & of none effect, of else it shall remaine, & be in full force & vertue. Sealed & delivered to the use of the above named parties in the presence of us James Pung, ffrancis Kympton. ffrancis Dorrill X his marke. D/12/79/1 1657 Bond in £9. William Chiltorn of Cheddington day labourer to Churchwarden & overseers [Bucks RO] Know all men by these presents that I William Chiltorn of Cheddington, in the Countie of Bucks, day Labourer, am holden & firmly bound unto John Seabrooke, yeoman, Churchwarden; & unto Thomas Tatnill, & George Wooster, Overseers of the poore of Cheddington aforesaid, for this present yeere of our Lord God one thousand, six hundred, fiftie & seaven, in Nine pounds, of lawfull money of England, to be paid unto the said John Seabrooke, Thomas Tatnill, and George Wooster, or to their Certaine Attorney, their executors, administrators or assignes, to the use of the inhabitants of the Towne & parish of Cheddington aforesaid. And to, & for the more sure payment thereof, I binde my selfe, my heires, executors administrators, & assignes, firmly by these presents. Sealed with my seale: dated the Thirteth day of October, in the aforesaid yeere of our Lord God one thousand, six hundred, fiftie & seaven, The Condic’on of this Obligac’on is such, that if the above bounden William Chiltorn, he his heires, executors administrators, or assignes, for & in Consideration of ffoure pounds & Ten shillings of good & lawfull money of England to him the said William Chiltorn, in hand paid, at or before the ensealing, & delivering of these presents, for, & in Consideration of taking unto him, or them, & of keeping with him, or with them, or with either of them, at his or their proper Costs & Charges, at all times in fitting manner of all needfull things for her, that one poore Childe, now in the keeping of the said William Chiltorn, Being the naturall daughter of John Howes, & Elizabeth his wife, deceased, untill the said Childe shall accomplish the full age of Eighteene yeeres, shall in all the aforesaid points, respects, & particulars, well & trulie observe, performe, fulfill, and keepe them, so that the said poore Childe, be no further forced Charge unto all, or anie of the inhabitants of the Towne & parish of Cheddington aforesaid, during the said Terme of Eighteene yeeres, that then this present Obligac’on shall be void & of none effect, of else it shall remaine, & be in full force & vertue. Sealed & delivered in the presence of us James Pung, James Fenn William Chilton X his marke My direct ancestor was Jane Howes, a daughter of John and Elizabeth baptised 1650 in Cheddington. I believe that John died in 1653. Elizabeth then married a Henry Harris and died in 1656. I have not found a will for either of them. They had 7 children in Cheddington but the only burial I have found is for Jane in 1727 who did leave a will. I apologise for the amount of words, which of course are causing my problem! Patricia Ward ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.11.7/438 - Release Date: 05/09/2006

In message <[email protected]>, Patricia Ward <[email protected]> writes >Can anyone help me understand these documents obtained from Bucks >Record Office and transcribed below? This is what is called an Indemnity Bond - they are pretty rare survivials, so you are lucky to find it. If persons who were not settled legally in a parish wished to move in there, an established resident had to guarantee that he would be responsible for their financial support if anything went wrong. Often a master would do this for a new employee whom he wished to take on from outside the village. The same applied to orphan children, who were generally fostered. In this case, Francis Dorrill, a labourer (but obviously not a poor man) is taking the responsibility for the two children (orphans maybe) of John Howes and Elizabeth. (It is not completely clear if she only is deceased, or both are, but if the father was alive and within reach, he would be the one responsible for them.[your later statement that he died in 1653 eliminated Dad too]) Francis has guarantee the sum of £21 towards their upkeep till they are 18, which could represent maintenance for about 7 years, or five-six and a sum towards apprenticing the boys at 14 (for which the parish would be responsible for orphans). The standard way of enforcing payment of a bond was to make the penalty twice the sum owed (so £42), which would not comer into operation unless he defaulted. He makes the bond to the overseers of the poor, who handled matters of poor relief and legal settlement, and a churchwarden as a prominent local man. > > >D/12/79/2 1657 Bond in £42. Francis Dorrill of Cheddington day labourer >to Churchwarden & overseers [Bucks RO] >Know all men by these presents that I ffrancis Dorrill of Cheddington, >in the Countie of Bucks day Labourer, am holden & firmly bound unto >John Seabrooke, yeoman, Churchwarden; & unto Thomas Tatnill, & George >Wooster, Overseers of the poore of Cheddington aforesaid, for this >present yeere of our Lord God one thousand, six hundred, fiftie & >seaven, in Two and ffourtie pounds, of lawfull money of England, to be >paid unto the said John Seabrooke, Thomas Tatnill, and George Wooster, >or to their Certaine Attorney, their executors, administrators or >assignes, to the use of the inhabitants of the Towne & parish of >Cheddington aforesaid. And to, & for the more sure payment thereof, I >binde my selfe, my heires, executors administrators, & assignes firmly >by these presents. Sealed with my seale, dated the six & twenteth day >of October, in the aforesaid yeere of our Lord God one thousand, six >hundred, fiftie & seaven, >The Condic’on of this Obligac’on is such, that if the above bounden >ffrancis Dorrill he, his heires, executors administrators, or assignes, >for & in Consideration of one & Twentie pounds of good & lawfull money >of England, to him the said ffrancis Dorrill, in hand paid, at or >before the ensealing & delivering of these presents, for & in >Consideration of taking unto him, or them, & of keeping with him, or >with them, or with either of them, at his or their proper Costs & >Charges, at all times in fitting manner of all needfull things for >them, those Two poore Children, now in the keeping of the said ffrancis >Dorrill, Being the naturall Children of John Howes, & Elizabeth his >wife, deceased, untill the said Children shall sunderly? accomplish the >full age of Eighteene yeeres, shall in all the aforesaid points, >respects, & particulars, well & trulie observe, performe, fulfill, and >keepe them, so that the said Two poore Children be no further forced >Charge unto all or anie of the inhabitants of the Towne & parish of >Cheddington aforesaid during the said Terme & Termes of Eighteene >yeeres, that then this present Obligac’on shall be void & of none >effect, of else it shall remaine, & be in full force & vertue. >Sealed & delivered to the use of the above named parties in the >presence of us James Pung, Probably Ping > ffrancis Kympton. >ffrancis Dorrill X his marke. > >D/12/79/1 1657 Bond in £9. William Chiltorn of Cheddington day labourer >to Churchwarden & overseers [Bucks RO] >Know all men by these presents that I William Chiltorn of Cheddington, >in the Countie of Bucks, day Labourer, am holden & firmly bound unto >John Seabrooke, yeoman, Churchwarden; & unto Thomas Tatnill, & George >Wooster, Overseers of the poore of Cheddington aforesaid, for this >present yeere of our Lord God one thousand, six hundred, fiftie & >seaven, in Nine pounds, of lawfull money of England, to be paid unto >the said John Seabrooke, Thomas Tatnill, and George Wooster, or to >their Certaine Attorney, their executors, administrators or assignes, >to the use of the inhabitants of the Towne & parish of Cheddington >aforesaid. And to, & for the more sure payment thereof, I binde my >selfe, my heires, executors administrators, & assignes, firmly by these >presents. Sealed with my seale: dated the Thirteth day of October, in >the aforesaid yeere of our Lord God one thousand, six hundred, fiftie & >seaven, >The Condic’on of this Obligac’on is such, that if the above bounden >William Chiltorn, he his heires, executors administrators, or assignes, >for & in Consideration of ffoure pounds & Ten shillings of good & >lawfull money of England to him the said William Chiltorn, in hand >paid, at or before the ensealing, & delivering of these presents, for, >& in Consideration of taking unto him, or them, & of keeping with him, >or with them, or with either of them, at his or their proper Costs & >Charges, at all times in fitting manner of all needfull things for her, >that one poore Childe, now in the keeping of the said William Chiltorn, >Being the naturall daughter of John Howes, & Elizabeth his wife, >deceased, untill the said Childe shall accomplish the full age of >Eighteene yeeres, shall in all the aforesaid points, respects, & >particulars, well & trulie observe, performe, fulfill, and keepe them, >so that the said poore Childe, be no further forced Charge unto all, or >anie of the inhabitants of the Towne & parish of Cheddington aforesaid, >during the said Terme of Eighteene yeeres, that then this present >Obligac’on shall be void & of none effect, of else it shall remaine, & >be in full force & vertue. >Sealed & delivered in the presence of us James Pung, James Fenn >William Chilton X his marke > The girl is fostered out to Wm Chiltern, who will look after her for £4-10s. If he fails and the parish have to stump up money, he is liable to pay £9 as a penalty. Girls are accounted as of very little expense to rear/or perhaps as of lesser value to the community, as opposed to boys, hence the lower cost; it is possible she was very nearly 18. I would have expected this to be an older child, aged around 12, almost ready to be 'apprenticed' out, rather than a little girl of 3. Maybe there was an older girl? But maybe it is just the fact that even quite small girls could be put to work as nursemaids or servants. >My direct ancestor was Jane Howes, a daughter of John and Elizabeth >baptised 1650 in Cheddington. I believe that John died in 1653. >Elizabeth then married a Henry Harris and died in 1656. The children remained settled where their father was settled (might not be the same as where Mr Harris was) and Dad's parish, not Harris's, was responsible. -- Eve McLaughlin Author of the McLaughlin Guides for family historians Secretary Bucks Genealogical Society