ABSTRACT
One source of trouble that could be aroused by any will was that relating to the child's portion. Ann Crawford made up her mind to see that, whatever happened, she would ensure that the child of her daughter Alice Sharp would receive its child's portion. It was by no means uncommon for money set aside to pay a child's portion to be borrowed and used for the purposes of a loan to a second party. It appears that Anne Crosby had lent the money set aside for her child's portion and now required the loan to be repaid. James Dawson, stonemason of Sandwith, declared that early in the previous October, at the request of John Fletcher, he accompanied James Wycliffe to demand from Jane Crosby his wife Anne's child's portion, which he had never received but he expected that Jane Crosby would pay the sum due.
