NOTES on William Weightman, his marriages and children, and some other Hints people.

These notes are provided by Sylvia Dibbs. Please see the question Sylvia asks at the bottom of her notes, and if you have an answer let's hear it.

In his will William Weightman describes Thomas Oldes as his brother. He may be using the term to mean some other close relationship, but he is quite precise & correct when he names other relatives. Perhaps William's mother Dorothie Oldes had a son by a former marriage.

Hints and Thomas Guy's will.

All William Weightman's children were beneficiaries of the will of Thomas Guy.

  • John: £50pa
  • Mary's husband William Cheatle (as spelt in the executor's ledger) £10pa. Mary was deceased.
  • Anne (1. m. William Moor, Tamworth Parish 1683; 2. m. Thomas Woodcock, Drayton Basset 1703) £50pa
  • Benedicta £50 pa (m. John Cheatle, Lichfield Cathedral 1683)
  • Thomas, deceased, had 7 children who were in Warwickshire at the time of the will and each had legacies of £600. (A Thomas Weightman m Margaret Milner in Lichfield Cathedral in 1688)
  • The Hints children of the Weetman/Weightman (the spelling settled on Weetman in the Guy will) sisters and their Cheatle husbands and of John Weetman/Weightman of Hints all received legacies of £1000 each. I have not studied this aspect of the ledgers closely enough to see if all of these children were still living in Hints when they received their money. They received it in quarterly payouts and it seems this involved much travel between London and the Midlands.

The children were:

Of John W: & first wife Anne:

  • Benedicta
  • William
  • Mary

& second wife Elinor:

  • Elinor
  • Elizabeth
  • Sarah
  • John ( John & Anne m in Hints in 1659; Elinor's death is recorded in Hints register)

Of Mary &William Cheatle:

  • John
  • Mary( William & Mary m. in Hints 1686)

Of Benedicta & John Cheatle:

  • Lettice
  • Dorothy
  • Anne
  • John
  • William
  • Mary

In the executors' ledger, Lettice seems not to have a payout and this is explained by the record of her death in the Hints register in 1683. (John & Benedicta m. 1683 in Lichfield Cathedral) The Guy executors had a huge task tracking down all Guy's relatives, over 100! The ledgers and pedigrees (ref: London Metropolitan Archives H9/GY/E4 and E65) go on for many years. The page I had copied for my use goes up to 1835 as he made provision for his relatives to have places at the Christ's Hospital school and claims continued to be made for this.

Is there any evidence in the Hints records of any of these people spending any of their new wealth in the village? It could be into 1730s before it shows.

In the Public Record Office (ref: C11/493/68) there are two long, difficult to read documents regarding the 'infant children' of John Weetman (spelt thus) of Hints in Staffordshire and several other infant legatees of Guy's will. I have not gained much from these, except to realise that the payment of the legacies was not quite straightforward and involved some dispute with the Governors of Guy's Hospital and an appeal to the Lord High Chancellor in 1728. Guy died in 1724. Although these documents will not add anything to the study of Hints Village, you might like to know they exist and have the name Hints recorded in them! The PRO has a searchable data base of their catalogue which is how I stumbled on these documents. www.pro.gov.uk. 'Weetman v Guy's Hospital.'

Sylvia Dibbs 12.2000