Hello all, I have a transcription of a will dated 1567 as follows ".........I give and bequeath unto my good brother Leonard Symondson................I ordain and make the said Leonard Symondson my brother in law my true and lawful executor of this my last will etc..." Now, is Leonard her brother or brother in law? Would the wording these days be ".....I ordain and make the said Leonard Symondson my brother, in law my true and lawful executor of this my last will etc..." Any suggestions gratefully received! Regards Elaine

Elaine, What's her name? That should be a big clue. Do you know her age and if she was married? In older times "brother in law" had the meaning of "at law" or "under the law" rather than today's meaning of a sibling's husband. Do you have any other data on her family and siblings? Peter

Hello Peter Her name was Alice Banke of Stackhouse, and all I can glean is that she had a sister, unnamed, and her sister's children were Lawrence lister and Elizabeth (as written). I assume three children here. (I know assumptions are dangerous!) Regards Elaine ----- Original Message ----- From: "Peter R Booth" <pbo08596@bigpond.net.au> To: "YORKSGEN" <YORKSGEN@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, May 18, 2012 2:47 PM Subject: Re: [YORKSGEN] help with the wording of a will > Elaine, > > What's her name? That should be a big clue. > > Do you know her age and if she was married? > > In older times "brother in law" had the meaning of "at law" or "under > the law" rather than today's meaning of a sibling's husband. > > Do you have any other data on her family and siblings? > > Peter > > ..... > Ancestors in Yorkshire? http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/index.html; > www.ryedalefamilyhistory.org; www.wharfedalefhg.org.uk; > www.yorkshireparishregisters.com; www.yorkshireroots.org.uk; > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > YORKSGEN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hi Elaine, Good brother used generally to mean brother-in-law. I am not clear on your later email as to what her sister's children were called and you don't mention the name of her brother-in-law. So I am not sure whether that fits. Hope this helps, Christine -----Original Message----- From: Elaine Mullins Sent: Friday, May 18, 2012 3:25 AM To: YORKSGEN Subject: [YORKSGEN] help with the wording of a will Hello all, I have a transcription of a will dated 1567 as follows ".........I give and bequeath unto my good brother Leonard Symondson................I ordain and make the said Leonard Symondson my brother in law my true and lawful executor of this my last will etc..." Now, is Leonard her brother or brother in law? Would the wording these days be ".....I ordain and make the said Leonard Symondson my brother, in law my true and lawful executor of this my last will etc..." Any suggestions gratefully received! Regards Elaine ..... Ancestors in Yorkshire? http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/index.html; www.ryedalefamilyhistory.org; www.wharfedalefhg.org.uk; www.yorkshireparishregisters.com; www.yorkshireroots.org.uk; ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to YORKSGEN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message