ABSTRACT
The sections in any will that are likely to provide revenue for the legal profession are those which deal with legacies and bequests, for families could, and still do, make these contentious. Since these legacies and bequests name the legatees concerned, it becomes possible to reconstruct a record of family relationships, which can assist in compiling a family tree. In July 1709, Anna Sober, widow of Richmond and executor of the will of Grace Hutchinson, brought a cause against John Smith concerning a legacy purported to have been left to her by Grace, and whether the original will had been lost or deliberately destroyed. Some persons appear to have been most reluctant to make a will, doubtless maintaining the belief that when a will has been made it has the same effect as signing a death warrant.
