Leonard Stanwix, died 1592

When her husband, John, died, Annas was a widow with six youngish children.  She waited a respectable eighteen months and married again, to Leonard Stanwix. He died nine years later.

The farm in 1592 must have been a busy, and young, community. Witnesses to Leonard's will included William Sumpton of Streetgate, Robert Wood of Streetgate and Matthew Wallace of Streetgate. William was a father with an expectant wife and Matthew had two infant children, and growing. So at least six adults with three separate families.

Annas' oldest son John was by then an adult (he married in 1595), old enough to take over the farm and to head the household. But her other children still needed protection (not least from their oldest brother). The problem was their inheritance. They had been allocated £23 18s 2d from Leonard's estate, and he had bequeathed £4 6s 8d to his own son Thomas by Annas.

Two processes existed to ensure that inheritances got paid out.

Executor (or administrator) and bondsmen

A will would appoint an executor. When no will had been made, the probate court would appoint an administrator. Two people were required to be bondsmen (they were liable for a large fine if the estate wasn't properly wound down). Bondsmen were nearly always relatives, though occasionally they might be local worthies.

In this case, Annas was executrix. The bondsmen were William Dickinson of Kiburngill and Henry Bowman of Lingcroft.

Problem

The problem with the process on the left is that, although the estate might be properly dealt with, there was no guarantee that money would actually reach young legatees. The elder brother and heir had a nasty habit of hanging on to the money of younger siblings.

So the solution on the right.

Trustees

Trustees (called supervisors) were sometimes appointed in the will. One would usually be a family member who was likely to have the best interests of child legatees at heart, another might be some highly trusted individual within the community.

In this case, the trustees were William Dickinson of Kiburngill, Henry Bowman of Lingcroft and William Sumpton.

William Sumpton of Streetgate

Wright Green

Crakeplace Hall

William's brother John worked the farm at Wright Green nearby and had his own young family; so William's sojourn at Streetgate was probably a convenient solution to a family problem.

He had married in 1584 to Elizabeth Crakeplace, a gentry family [her older brother Christopher was a rising star, partly through service to James Altham, and was later to build Crakeplace Hall]. Either she, or his second wife Margaret, was pregnant with another child in 1592.

Henry Bowman of Lingcroft

Henry had had the good fortune to marry Dorothy Woodhall in 1567. Her uncle Edmund Grindal became Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Bowmans got rich.

They were given control of the local ecclesiastical court, and started a rebuild of a new house at their second property, Hodyoad.

Lingcroft & Hodyoad

Bowman & Sumpton

William Dickinson of Kidburngill

William didn't have the glamorous connections of the two trustees above.

This suggests strongly that he was a close relative.

His father John listed his children in his 1583 will. William was one and an Annas another.

Furthermore, Anthony Dickinson of Kidburngill, probably William's son, was witness to Annas' will in 1608.

Kidburngill

Tree