Holt Wills

This is a summary in date order of the information contained within the wills recorded in Rochdale Library. Wills are a great source of major bequests to close relatvies, personal estate assets and liabilites. Wills can provide:-

• an indication of wealth and lifestyle of a person
• names and relationships of other relatives such as spouses, children, grandchildren, cousins, nephews, nieces etc
• details of family skeletons such as illegitimate children
• the marital status of a daughter and marriage details by giving her husband's surname
  
  

Letters of Administration can also be helpful for deaths where the deceased left no will.

Extracts from Wills Denoting Particular Matters of the Time

Year	Testator	Bequests
1610	Adam Holt	To his wife Marie – that bed which was given to him when he married her; also one silver spoon. To Henrie Holt – his hackneye saddle.
1626	Roger Holt	To his eldest daughter – one brown cow, one bed and one chest; to his son‑in‑law – one blue jerkin and one pair of breeches.
1663	Roger Holt	To his wife Jennett and the child in her womb – all his goods.
1718	John Holt	To his wife – all her wearing apparel; her spinning wheel; two pair of stock cards; one desk which was her own before marriage; two Bibles and one sermon book; also one chest in which she lays her clothes; plus ten and one‑third of the residue. To his son – all his wearing apparel; books; one chest; one desk; and two‑thirds of the residue.
1752	Mary Holt	To her daughter Alice – her best gown and coat; to her daughter Mary – one of her handkerchiefs and her woollen clothes; to her daughters Ann and Alice – her linen clothes.