WILLS OF TALLAND
A
connection of the Wills family of Talland with
Lostwithiel is shown by a settlement certificate of 1684 in which the
representatives of Lostwithiel are requested to take Francis Wills of Talland, cooper, as an inhabitant.[1]
The
will of Thomas Lobb of Talland, written in 1653,
mentions his kinsman William Wills.[2]
Thomas was a son of Roger Lobb who was a son of Thomas and Agnes Lobb.[3]
Roger Lobb married Gillian, daughter of John and Pascow Francis.[4]
Grace, daughter of Francis Wills, deceased, is mentioned in the 1608 will of
Walter Francis of Talland.[5] It
is possible that Joan, wife of Francis Wills, was a member of the Francis
family.
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WILLS
1 WILLS.
Children of Wills:
2 i FRANCIS
WILLS (d ca 1606); m JOAN.
ii WILLIAM WILLS of Talland, Cornwall, d ca 1642;[6] m
ALICE.[7]
iii MARY WILLS; m ESCOTT.[8]
iv MARGARET WILLS.[9]
2 FRANCIS WILLS of Talland
died ca 1606.[10]
He married JOAN.[11]
Children of Francis and Joan Wills:
3 i WILLIAM
WILLS (ca 1602-1681); m MARTHA POPE.
ii THOMASINE WILLS.
iii GRACE WILLS.
3 WILLIAM WILLS of Talland,
yeoman, was born ca 1602[12]
and buried on 7 November 1681 at Talland.[13]
He married MARTHA POPE,[14]
daughter of Henry and Annis (Code) Pope (see here).
Children of William and Martha (Pope)
Wills:
4 i FRANCIS
WILLS (ca 1624-1698); m EPIPHANY MELLOW.
ii WILLIAM WILLS of Landrake, yeoman, b ca 1627,[15]
bur 31 Dec 1692, Landrake;[16] m(1) 6 Jul 1648, Landrake, DOROTHY
RAWE;[17]
m(2) 20 Jul 1658, Landrake, ALICE HIPSLY.[18]
iii MARTHA WILLS, bur 23 Oct 1693, Talland;[19] m(1) ROGER POPE; m(2) 11 Nov 1660, Talland,
JOHN VYAN.[20]
4 FRANCIS WILLS of Talland,
yeoman, was born ca 1624 at Talland[21]
and buried on 12 September 1698 at Talland.[22]
He married EPIPHANY MELLOW,[23]
daughter of Peter Mellow (see here).
Children of Francis and Epiphany (Mellow)
Wills:[24]
i JOHN
WILLS of Talland, yeoman.
ii PETER WILLS, b 14 Oct 1658, Talland.[25]
iii WILLIAM WILLS.[26]
iv MARTHA WILLS.[27]
v BENJAMIN WILLS.[28]
5 vi FRANCIS WILLS (1676-1732); m
ELIZABETH.
vii MARTHA WILLS, bap 6 Apr 1676, Talland.[29]
5 FRANCIS WILLS of Lostwithiel was
baptised on 6 April 1676 at Talland[30]
and buried on 26 April 1732 at Lostwithiel.[31] He
married on 17 April 1704 at Lostwithiel, ELIZABETH (ROBINS) MORFIELD,[32]
widow of John Morfield and daughter of Peter and Lore
Robins (see here).
Elizabeth was buried on 15 December 1744 at Lostwithiel.
Child of Francis and Elizabeth (Robins) (Morfield) Wills:
i EPIPHANY WILLS, bap 17 Apr 1705,
Lostwithiel,[33]
d 23 Dec 1775,[34]
bur 26 Dec 1775, Boconnoc;[35] m
27 Jul 1730, Lanlivery, ANDREW BRIANT[36]
(see here).
[1] Kresen Kernow, BLOS/390/1.
[2] National Archives, PROB 11/241/468.
[3] National Archives, PROB 11/241/468; Norman J.G. Pounds, ed., The Parliamentary Survey of the Duchy of Cornwall, 2 vols (Torquay, 1982-84), 1:106-07; Kresen Kernow, AP/L/73, AP/L/115.
[7] Kresen Kernow, AP/W/713. Alice was a sister of Elizabeth Gerry, widow, of Talland, whose will was written in 1638 (Kresen Kernow, AP/G/494).
[12] Norman J.G. Pounds, ed., The Parliamentary Survey of the Duchy of Cornwall, 2 vols (Torquay, 1982-84), 1:106-07.
[13] Cornwall OPC Database (www.cornwall-opc-database.org); Kresen Kernow, AP/W/1256. William’s will mentions his kinswoman Wilmot Cleire.
[14] There is a 1628 baptism entry in the Talland bishop’s transcripts for a child of William Wills and Martha his wife. The page is damaged so the identity of the child is uncertain. The 1633 will of Henry Pope of Talland mentions, among others: son-in-law William Wills and Martha his wife; Francis Wills, William Wills his brother and Martha Wills their sister; wife’s brother William Code, his brother Richard Code and Alice their sister; wife Annis (Kresen Kernow, AP/P/681).
[15] Norman J.G. Pounds, ed., The Parliamentary Survey of the Duchy of Cornwall, 2 vols (Torquay, 1982-84), 1:106-07.
[16] Landrake parish registers. His residence is given as Landrake in his father’s will (Kresen Kernow, AP/W/1256).
[17] Landrake parish registers.
[18] Landrake parish registers.
[19] Talland bishop’s transcripts; Kresen Kernow, AP/V/298.
[20] National Archives, PROB 11/241/341; England Marriages, 1538–1973. The will of William Wills mentions his daughter Martha Vyan. Martha’s will mentions her daughter Martha Leane. Martha Pope and Henry Leane were married at Talland in 1677. The will of Roger Pope, written in 1653, mentions his wife Martha, daughter Martha, and the children of Francis Wills and William Wills
[21] Norman J.G. Pounds, ed., The Parliamentary Survey of the Duchy of Cornwall, 2 vols (Torquay, 1982-84), 1:106-07; Kresen Kernow, AP/P/1443.
[22] Talland bishop’s transcripts; Kresen Kernow, AP/W/1607.
[23] The birth record of Peter Wills names his mother Epiphany. She was apparently the daughter of that name mentioned in the 1640 will of Peter Mellow of Talland. The 1640 will of Thomas Mellow of Lanteglos by Fowey names “Epiphanie Mellowe the daughter of Peter Mellow” and the 1663 will of Thomas’s widow Elizabeth (Francis) (Mellow) Manaton mentions “Epiphany the wife of Francis Wills” in among several Mellow legatees: Kresen Kernow, AP/M/647, AP/M/891; National Archives, PROB 11/186/295; Ronald Ames Hill, The Manaton Family of Manaton in Cornwall (Star, Idaho, 2014), 98-99.
[24] Epiphany is not directly attested as the mother of the children other than Peter, but the use of the name Epiphany for the daughter (bap 1705) of Francis provides some onomastic support.
[26] The 1662 will of John Vyan of Talland mentions William Wills, son of Francis Wills (Kresen Kernow, AP/V/168).
[27] The will of John Foxwell of Talland, written in 1665, mentions Martha, daughter of Francis Wills, as well as Rebecca, daughter of William Wills (Kresen Kernow, AP/F/268).
[28] Benjamin is mentioned as a grandson in the 1680 will of William Wills. He seems to have been a son of Francis as the children of the testator’s son William are mentioned as a group rather than named individually.
[31] Lostwithiel parish registers; Kresen Kernow, AP/W/2183.
[32] Lostwithiel parish registers; Kresen Kernow, AP/C/2722, AP/R/2524; Kresen Kernow, catalogue entry for WH/1/3687.
[33] Lostwithiel parish registers.
[34] An Index to the Transcripts of Monumental Inscriptions in the Burial Ground at Boconnoc (Cornwall Family History Society, 1996). Her age is given as 70.
[35] Boconnoc bishop’s transcripts.
[36] Lanlivery parish registers.