John Biddlecombe of Thorncombe

John Biddlecombe's Will

This article starts in Devon but quickly drifts into the adjacent Counties of Dorset and Somerset

The will of John Biddlecombe of Hanplott in the Parish of Thorncombe in the County of Devon

In the name of God Amen

I John Biddlecombe of a place called Hanplott within the parish of Thorncombe in the County of Devon xxx being in a weak state of Bodily health but of a sound disposing mind perfect memory and in understanding thanks be to almighty God for the same do make ordain publish and declare this as xxx for my last will and testament in manner and form following that is to say Imprimis I resign my immortal spirit into Hands of Almighty God my Creator in hope of eternal Salvation thro’ the merits and death of Jesus Christ and my body to the Earth to be decently interred by my well beloved wife Ann Biddlecombe and as for touthing and {xxxxxxx}ing such worldly Estate and Effects as it hath pleased divine providence to bless me with of which I may be possessed of at the period of my decease

I give devise and bequeath the same to my beloved wife Ann Biddlecombe for her sole use and benefit including the premises I some time ago purchased of my father Joseph Biddlecombe called Hanplott in the parish of Thorncombe aforesaid and now in my possession and I hereby make ordain and appoint my beloved Wife the said Ann Biddlecombe whole and sole Executrix to pay and discharge all my just debts which I may stand indebted in to any one at the time of my decease

I also give and bequeath to my Mother Mary Biddlecombe the sum of five pounds to be paid her by my Executrix within three Calendar months after my decease

Lastly I hereby revoke annul and xxx any former will which I may have executed

In Witness whereof I the said John Biddlecombe have to this me last will and testament subscribe my name and affixed my seal this sixth day of April in the year of xxx one thousand eight hundred and twenty four John Biddlecombe ----- Signed sealed published and delivered by the said John Biddlecombe the testator as and for his last will and testament in the presence of us who at his request in his presence and in the presence of each other have subscribed our names as witnesses hereto
Joseph Biddlecombe Junior ---- Mary Biddlecombe junior

From the above it appears that John Biddlecomb made provision for the following family.

People in the Will of John Biddlecombe of Thorncombe, Devon

Thorncombe. In the county of Devon at the time of writing the will but, as explained in Locations, now in Dorset.

The date of when the Will was Proved suggests that John Biddlecombe died towards the end of 1842 or early 1843 as there was a requirement to present the will within three months. I don't yet know if that was the case for this particular will and timeframe.

It appears that there are none of John Biddlecombe's children included in the Will. Had they all died, or displeased him, or perhaps the had no children?

Compare to the people in the Will of George Biddlecombe of Winsham

There are some correlations between John Biddlecombe of Thorncombe, Devon, and, George Biddlecombe of Winsham, Somerset

People in the Will of John Biddlecombe of Thorncombe, Devon; continued

John Biddlecombe of Thorncombe, Devon

Birth and Baptism

Searching for records to establish the correct John Biddlecombe and therefore the correct date of baptism

Due to the timeframe of his Will there are other helpful records such as the Title Apportionment, dated 3rd November 1841 for the Parish of Thorncombe, and the 1841 Census. The Tithe data is used in Locations.

A extract of the Census is shown below.

In 1841 John was 59 and his wife Ann was 58. He was born in Devon, possibly Thorncombe, but Ann was not. The census does have the name of a place written in the margin, above this extract, which is too feint to read yet, but is the same shape and pattern as the place which I can't read in the Will.

Moving on to the Register of the Parish of the Church of Thorncombe.

The first, well actually the second, page of the register is headed;

A Register of those that have been buried in Woollen according to ?? ??? Act of Parliament Thorncombe 1680.

The primary thing to note here is that the book is indeed in relation to Thorncombe and that there is no reference to it being any other form of church, so presumably the Established Church.

The other thing of particular interest was the 'buried in Woollen according to Act of Parliament.' I had not come across this before so had to look it up. Wikipedia quickly provided an answer.

The Burying in Woollen Acts 1666–80 were Acts of the Parliament of England (Cha. II c. 4 (1666),  Cha. II c. 3 (1678)  and Cha. II c. 1 (1680) ) which required the dead, except plague victims and the destitute, to be buried in pure English woollen shrouds to the exclusion of any foreign textiles.

Enforcement
It was a requirement that an affidavit be sworn in front of a Justice of the Peace (usually by a relative of the deceased), confirming burial in wool, with the punishment of a £5 fee for noncompliance. Burial entries in parish registers were marked with the word "affidavit" or its equivalent to confirm that affidavit had been sworn; it would be marked "naked" for those too poor to afford the woollen shroud.

The legislation was in force until 1814, but was generally ignored after 1770. The 1666 Act was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1863.

The next interesting title page was at the beginning of the baptisms. It was a very smudged copy so I have tried to clean it up a little, without losing any of the original writing, however it is still difficult to decipher in the whole.

However, again it confirms that the book pertains to Thorncombe and seems to commence in 1663.

'A time to be born and a time to die' is one of the lines on the page.

It is difficult to make things out on the page, but it is nearly 4 centuries old. The Mayflower sailed to America in 1620 and the monarchy had been restored in 1660 with Charles II on the throne.

Turning to the next page of the scan, there are baptisms records, in Latin commencing in 15?? followed by 1552.

Jumping forward to 1781.

 In the Parish register an entry reads, 'John son of Joseph Biddlecombe Baptised Oc^t 14^th  ' , with a blue wash. Under the line across the page the next year is 1782. Hence John was baptised on 14 October 1781.

The John Biddlecombe of the census was 59 years of age in 1841, which would calculate as his year of birth being approximately 1782. The exact date of the census was 6 June 1841 and the baptism 14 October 1781. Which calculates as 59 years, 7 months, 24 days including the end date. Assuming John was baptised as an infant, an age of 59 suggests that this might be the same person.

In the scan there is an annotation 'End of Volume III Baptisms 1784'. Following that there are more baptisms starting at 1744 in a different hand. Further on in this section the hand writing has changed again, which is not a surprise, however, mothers started appearing in the baptisms in 1766, which is obviously before 1781. I expected to go forward from 1781 to a date when firstly mothers name started to appear and then date of birth as well as the date of baptism. The inconsistencies in this scan is beginning to be a cause for concern. The baptisms in this section end in 1776 and are followed by burials starting in 1741.

Using the Dorset OPC for the Parish of Thorncombe;

• 22-Nov-1807; Joseph BIDDLECOMBE (born 23-Sep-1791) son of the late Joseph BIDDLECOMBE & Mary his wife
• 22-Nov-1807; George BIDDLECOMBE (born 24-Apr-1793) son of the late Joseph BIDDLECOMBE & Mary his wife

Both Joseph and George were baptised together on 22 November 1807, some 26 years after the baptism of John in 1781. At a time when the majority of baptisms were of infants it is a surprise that Joseph was 16 years, 2 months old and George was 14 years, 6 months, 30 days old at date of their baptisms. Noting that Joseph died before 22 November 1807, was he perhaps the reason for the delay in their baptism.

Joseph and George Biddlecombe baptism record.

On the same page, William son of George Pomeroy and Betty daughter of Richard Bailey, both surnames of interest to me.

Looking at the Dorset OPC record transcriptions there are the following Biddlecombe records of baptism.

Baptisms
1691-1740, 1741-1783, 1784-1812, 1813-1851

No Bid?? in the 1691-1740 period.

In the period 1741-1783

• 05-Aug-1759; Robert BIDLCOM son of John BIDLCOM
• 25-Dec-1760; Joan BIDLCOMB daughter of Joseph BIDLCOMB
• 19-Dec-1762; Joseph BIDILCOMBE son of Joseph BIDILCOMBE
• 27-Jan-1765; Mary BIDELCOMBE daughter of Joseph BIDELCOMBE
• 09-Feb-1769; Joseph BIDDELCOMBE son of Joseph & Anne BIDDELCOMBE
• 23-Feb-1772; Anne BIDDLECOMBE daughter of Joseph & Anne BIDDELCOMBE
• 25-Sep-1774; George BIDDLECOMBE son of Joseph & Ann BIDDLECOMBE
• 17-Jan-1779; Sarah BIDELCOMBE daughter of Joseph BIDELCOMBE
• 14-Oct-1781; John BIDLECOMBE son of Joseph BIDLECOMBE

In the period 1784-1812

•  22-Nov-1807; Joseph BIDDLECOMBE (born 23-Sep-1791) son of the late Joseph BIDDLECOMBE & Mary his wife
• 22-Nov-1807; George BIDDLECOMBE (born 24-Apr-1793) son of the late Joseph BIDDLECOMBE & Mary his wife

In the period 1813-1851

• 26-Dec-1827; George Biddlecombe APLIN son of James & Sarah APLIN Farmer

An attempt to resolve the above baptisms into families. 

Sarah BIDELCOMBE and Joseph BIDDELCOMBE were baptised within a month of one another, so presumably born too close together to be anything other than separate families.

Joseph & Anne BIDDELCOMBE and Joseph BIDDLECOMBE & Mary could be separate families or alternatively sequential wife's, first Ann and then Mary, based on the births and baptism dates of the associated children.

The alternative is that there are three Joseph Biddlecombe within the Parish of Thorncombe at the same time.

Marriages regarding Joseph Biddle, in search of John's Baptism date.

Again, using the Dorset OPC for the Parish of Thorncombe;

03-Nov-1778; Joseph BIDDLECOMBE & Mary HEX

Marriage in 1778 fits with John Biddlecombe being baptised 14 Oct 1781. 

27-Jun-1802; Joseph APPLIN & Mary BIDDLECOMBE, widow, by licence

Joseph Biddlecombe died before 22 Nov 1807. Could it have been as early as 1802?

 Newspaper

1814

06-Jan; Biddlecombe Joseph of Thorncombe married Mary Phillips

Burials regarding Joseph Biddle, in search of John's Baptism date.

06-May-1798; Joseph BIDDLECOMBE 29

 This is not the Joseph Biddlecombe that married Mary Hex in 1778, he would have been only 9 years of age if he was aged only 29 at time of death.

Both parents are mentioned in the Will.

• Joseph Biddlecombe his Father
• Mary Biddlecombe his Mother

Back to the John Biddlecombe, of the Will, and his wife Ann.

There appears to be no record of such a marriage in Thorncombe, but there is one in nearby Crewkerne, Somerset, England.

There is very little to suggest that this is the correct Ann or the correct marriage. John would have been about 22 years of age at the date of this marriage.

Fact SP - John Biddlecombe marriage in Crewkerne, maybe Ann Boon was born there or because his father and grandfather were born and married there.