Research Forum

Samuel Tutton's Will 1770
published by on Wed, 05/03/2014 - 2:26

Is there anyone out there with a transcript of the above Will. Ancestry.com has the original Will online but it is quite hard to decipher. I am confused by the amount of SARAH TUTTON'S who are connected with SAMUEL TUTTON. It seems one married a RICHARD GREEN and another one married DANIEL SUTTON and I am interpreting that they both could be daughters (with the same name), as I don't believe it is the same Sarah marrying twice. I am confused how he could have two daughters named SARAH TUTTON. I originally thought the SARAH TUTTON who married JAMES SALVAGE/SALVIDGE was also a daughter but I now think probably not (as that would make three of them!). If this JAMES SALVAGE/SALVIDGE was a son-in-law then I can understand why he would change his name to TUTTON so as to inherit, however, I cannot see any clues in the Will so far that shows a relationship between JAMES SALVAGE/SALVIDGE and SAMUEL TUTTON. When the first SARAH TUTTON is mentioned in the Will there is a word following that may indicate her relationship, however, I have been unable to decipher that word. The word could read "sister" at a stretch... My ancestors are JAMES SALVIDGE and SARAH TUTTON who had a son JOHN PHELPS SALVIDGE. I would appreciate any assistance.
Regards Cheryl

Comments ..

Submitted by on Wed, 05/03/2014 - 10:40

There are two wills for the name TUTTON :

1. ~~Name: Samuel Tutton
Profession: Esquire... Will Date: 1771-02-28... Year: 1771... Place: Bleadon, Somerset...

2. ~~Name: Joseph Tutton
Profession: Gentleman... Will Date: 1770-09-24... Year: 1774... Place: Wells, Somerset...

One branch of the family were millers at Burnham Mill and Watchfield Mill.

Is this the Samuel Tutton you are researching?

Regarding having two daughters with the same name, it does happen, but usually the persons are better identified. Also, I may be able to put you in touch with a branch of the family with whom I was researching the Tutton Millers some years ago.

Submitted by Pat Hase on Wed, 05/03/2014 - 17:08

Roy is quite correct about the dates of these Wills - Ancestry has the wrong date in its indexing. If you read all 15 pages of the Will for Samuel TUTTON you will see that the Will was dated and proved in 1771 not 1770.

I think the word you are asking about is probably "Spinster" refering to the Sarah TUTTON of Wrington.

Submitted by on Thu, 06/03/2014 - 0:55

Thanks Pat. I can now see how you can get "spinster" from the handwriting. I should have gone online weeks ago instead of reading and re-reading this Will for clues. Would this be the SARAH TUTTON that married a RICHARD GREEN of Stoke Lane? SAMUEL TUTTON doesn't mention his relationship to her. I feel she is too young to be a sister. I have found a lot of SARAH TUTTONS floating around in Somerset. I had not heard of the surname TUTTON before tracing my own family back. It seems like a very common name in Somerset. I never came across it in Australia even though I was a public servant for thirty years and dealing with enrolling newborns, changing names through marriage/divorce and then removing them when they have died......amongst other things. It seems that Samuel was very generous to all the local widows. As his wife was seventeen years older than him, and because she died before him, am I reading that he might have been "Jack the Lad" or would these women have been his relatives. I looked for marriages connecting some of these widows to the TUTTON family but couldn't find a connection. I think I need to stick to the facts as I keep getting sidelined. I am forever grateful for helping me with this. Is it too much to hope anyone has been able to isolate the next generation back, and can confirm that I am on the right track with SARAH TUTTON and JAMES SALVIDGE'S parents?
Regards, Cheryl

Submitted by on Thu, 06/03/2014 - 0:35

Thanks for reply Roy. Yes that is the correct Will (Samuel Tutton of Bleadon in 1771) that I am interested in. I beleive my ancestor John Phelps Salvidge is the son of the James Salvage/Salvidge who changed his surname to Tutton, and is also a brother to the Cornelius Salvidge/Tutton who was then to inherit after James Salvage/Salvidge died. My original thought was that James was Samuel's son in law because he married a Sarah Tutton, however, obviously not. This started out as looking for the parents of James Salvidge and his wife Sarah Tutton but I have well and truly got sidetracked by trying to prove their parentage. I have John Phelps Salvidge's parents as Cornelius Salvidge and Mary unknown, and Sarah Tutton's parents as James Tutton and Elizabeth unknown. From there I have hit a brick wall. Being overseas doesn't help either. Your villages seem pretty close to each other so there is a lot of "village hopping", unlike in Australia where the distances usually confine people to the one town. For two days I searched for the village (mentioned in the Will) of Ovington/Quinton/Quointon and variations only to stumble across the correct translation of Wrington accidentally. It is difficult without local knowledge when transcribing old handwriting. My main aim with the will was to sort out some relationships and maybe isolate how James Salvidge and Sarah Tutton were connected to Samuel Tutton so that I could keep moving back in their trees. Regards, Cheryl

Submitted by on Thu, 06/03/2014 - 0:06

My apologies....On the fifth last line of my message it should read "When the first "Sarah" Tutton is mentioned in the Will" and not "Samuel" Tutton.
Cheryl