Last Will and Testament of Henry Preston

Image 1 — the will

In the name of God Amen
I Henry Preston of Knockfroy
in the Parish of Santon
being of sound mind memory
and understanding but deeply
impressed with the uncertainty
of human life do make
publish and declare this my
last will and Testament in
manner and form following
I give devise and bequeath to
my dear wife Ann Preston
All my real and personal estate
of every kind and description
of which I shall die possessed
or entitled unto for her own
use and behoof. And I nominate
constitute and appoint my said wife
Ann Preston sole executrix of this
my will and do hereby revoke all
former wills by me heretofore made
As witness my name this sixteenth
day of May 1874.

Henry Preston his + mark

Signed and published and declared by the Testator as and for his last will and Testament in presence of us who at his request in his presence and in presence of each other have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses.

• John Caugherty
  
• John Kelly

Note: Henry Preston signed with a mark, not his name; both witnesses also signed with a mark.

Images 2–3 — proving of the will and account of payments

At a Chapter Court held at Castletown on the 14th day of May 1875, Diocese of Sodor and Mann — John Caugherty and John Kelly, the subscribing witnesses, deposed on 16 February 1875 that Henry Preston, when he signed the Will, was of sound mind, memory and understanding, and duly executed it in their presence. Ann Preston, the widow and Executrix named in the Will, was sworn to fulfil and execute it and to return a full and perfect inventory of the estate, having given pledges John Caugherty of [Cross?] Croft and John Kelly of Ballavartin, both in the Parish of Santon.

Account rendered:

Date	Payee	Amount
1875, Oct 2	William Kneale	£40. 0. 0
1875, Oct 9	Ann [Duggan?]	£40. 0. 0
1875, Dec 2	Catherine Ann [Quayle?]	£30. 0. 0
1875, Dec 4	John [S…?]	£6. 9. 0
1876, Feb 10	Jane Kelley	£15. 0. 0

Notes

• The "Account rendered" table lists five payments from the estate between October 1875 and February 1876. The second and fourth payees' surnames are difficult to read with confidence.
• Catherine Ann [Quayle?], the third entry, may well be Ann Preston's own daughter Catherine Ann Quayle — who reappears in Ann's own 1888 will as "at present an inmate of the Lunatic Asylum" — but this identification rests on an uncertain reading of the surname and is provisional.
• William Kneale, the first entry, is possibly connected to Ann's son Thomas Kneale, though the exact relationship is not stated.

Image 4 — Administration Bond

A printed Administration Bond form naming John Caugherty and John Kelly as pledges/sureties for Ann Preston's administration of the estate, dated 14 May 1875 and confirmed at the Chapter Court, Castletown. Signatures appear here as full cursive signatures rather than marks. "R Jebb" appears as the officiating court official throughout.

Summary

Henry Preston of Knockfroy, Santon, made his will on 16 May 1874, leaving his entire real and personal estate to his wife Ann Preston, whom he appointed sole executrix. He signed with a mark, witnessed by John Caugherty and John Kelly. The will was proved at Castletown on 14 May 1875 (registered 22 May 1875, No. 117). An account attached to the probate record shows five payments made from the estate between October 1875 and February 1876, including a possible payment to Catherine Ann [Quayle?] — tentatively Ann's own daughter, though this reading is uncertain.