saide John Saunders, and that theise my feoffur's aforsaide shall stande seasyd in my saide landes & tenementes aforsaide to the vse & behoof of thys my last wyll & testament. [Here follows a passage referring to the appointment of fresh feoffees.]
ffyrst, I wyll that Syble, my wyffe, shall inyoye all my saide landes & tenementes with other the premysses to her own vse dwryng her lyffe and aftur the deceasse of Sybble, my wyffe, then I wyll that ther shall yerlye be gyven for evar and dawlt owt of my saide landes vjs. viijd. to the allmes-men of Bablake of the fowndacyon of Mʳ Bond; and other vjs. viijd. I wyll to be gyven & dawlt out of my saide landes & tenements for evar yerlye to the poor almesmen & women of the allmes-house in the Graiffrar-lane of the fowndacyon of Mʳ Pysford.
Item, my wyll ys that the overplus of the Rentes of all my said lands & tenements aforsaide, what-so-evar yt be, the Reparacyons of the saide houses dyscharged, shall be yerlye for evar dystrybwted amongst onest poor housholders that ar in dekaye, other lame or impotent, dwellyng within the saide Cytye, provyded allways that my wyll ys that ther shall-be yerlye aftur the death of Syble, my wyff, an obbett kept yerlye for evar in the Trynitie churche aforsaide, & that ther be bestowyd in dirige & masse Ryngyng & syngyng, & to the poore & for Settyng of the hears vjs. viijd., whych vjs. viijd. shall be leyveyd owt of my landes aforesaide.
Item, my wyll ys that the iiij chwrchwardens of the Trynytie chwrche in Coventre aforsaid and there successors, shall yerlye at Christonmas and at Eastur see all the saide money gyven & dawlt vnto the poor above-wrytten and my obbett to be kept yerlye in the Trynytie chvrche aforsaide with dyrige overnyght & masse on the moorow accordynglye, and the said Churche-wardens & their successors to have for ther peans viijd. a-peece to be payde them owt of my landes aforsaide.
Item, I gyve & beqweathe to the ffellowshypp & craft of the boochers xs., & to the ffellowshypp of the Cappers, ijs., and to the ffellowshypp of the wevars ijs. and to the ffellowshypp of sherman & tailors ijs., & to the ffellowshypp of the smyths ijs., to the intent that all the saide ffellowshyppes shall sett me to the Chvrche.
Item, my wyll ys that all sweche standdordes as are now Remaynyng at the Boolryng shall Remaine & stande as standerdes in the saide hous, and not to be removed, that ys to saye, all the glasse abowt the house, all the seelynges of boordes & wainskottes in the hall & the parlour, all benchys in the saide house and iij paire of bedstydes, and the tenant that shall take the saide house, and fyndyng all swche standerdes ther shall be bownde to manten them, and so to leave them.
Item, my wyll ys that Sybble, my wyff, have & injoye my lease of my grownde Called Lettle Canoxe, lyeng in the paryshe of Stonley, dwryng the yeres ther expressed in the saide lease, and she to make an obbett yerlye for me in the Trynytie chvrche dwryng the saide yeres, bestowyng vppon the saide obbett vjs. viijd. or more as she shall thynk good.
Item, yf the saide Sybble, my wyff, do dye before the saide yeres expressyd in the saide leasse to be expired or endyd, then my wyll ys that John Smythe of Stychell shall have and injoye the Best of the saide yeres, payeng xxᵗⁱs. yerlye dwryng the saide yeres to George Crosbye, my godsone.
THE ANCESTRY OF E. A. FREEMAN, HISTORIAN.
In Dean Stephens's 'Life and Letters of Edward A. Freeman' occurs this passage concerning the ancestry of the historian:—
"His grandfather, Mr. Joseph Freeman, of Pedmore Hall, near Birmingham, had been a wealthy man, but his will being disputed, a considerable part of the fortune which would have come to the eldest son John, and his two brothers Keelinge and Joseph, was swallowed up in a long lawsuit. Referring in one of his letters to this event, E. A. Freeman remarks, 'Brougham was counsel for my father, which some say was the reason why his enemies gained their suit.'"
This statement, as also the extract from the historian's letter, is not altogether correct. Before he was eighteen months old Freeman lost both his parents; so probably the true facts concerning his ancestry were unknown to him, as they were to his biographer. They are as follows:—
Joseph Freeman of Pedmore Hall, above referred to, was the natural son of John Keelinge of Summerhill in the parish of Kingswinford, by his housekeeper, Mary Dovey. There were two other natural children: Eleanor, who married first, in 1777, Stephen Faulkner, and secondly, in 1794, Thomas Watkins; and Nancy, who also married twice first, in 1781, William Stokes, and secondly, in 1786, William Smith Stokes. These three children were all born in the lifetime of John Keelinge's wife Anne, daughter of the Rev. Thomas Hodgetts, and widow of a Mr. Stevens. He married her at Kemberton, 18 Dec., 1744, but her marriage was a very unhappy one, and she was buried at Kingswinford, 3 May, 1766; and letters of administration were granted by P.C.C. to her sister, Elizabeth Nott, on 14 July, 1766.
After Mrs. Anne Keelinge's death John Keelinge married Mary Dovey, but at what church or when I know not; nor have I been able to ascertain why these three children were named Freeman and not Dovey.
John Keelinge was an attorney, and steward to Lord Dudley and Ward. He died enormously rich, but a good deal of his wealth was acquired dishonestly, and
