William Lanyon, yeoman of Bussalowe Veor, died in 1674 and left a will but it wasn’t until I read Raphe Lanyon’s will of 1604 and William Lavelis’s will of 1633 that I worked out where William should be placed on the tree.
Raphe’s will mentions his five sons: William, Richard, Thomas, John and Symon. His will mentions that he bequeathes Bussalowe to his son William. William married Mary Lavelis after his father’s death in 1605. William died in 1627. His father-in-law William Lavelis died in 1632 and his will mentions his daughter Mary Lanyon and his Lanyon grand children at Bussalowe.
There is no record of the baptism of William and Mary’s eldest son but as he inherited Bussalowe Veor he must have been the eldest and born after 1605.
We know very little about him but his will fills in some of the gaps.
“In the name of God Amen On the 22 Daye of May 1674 William Lanyon of the parish of Maddern in the Countie of Cornwall yeoman Beinge very weake of Body but perfect in minde & memory Did make his Last will & Testament in this forme & maner following First he Bequeath his Soule To Allmightie God that gave it him & his Body to the Christian Buriall Item doe give and Bequeath to Hugh my Sonne the Chattle Lease that is house in Bossolow Veor and all his Goods un bequeath Moveable and unmoveable after Jane my wife is decease if shee doth happen to mary then the said Hugh Lanyon my Son shall have Full power to enter in to all and Singular the Goods and Chattles and to Turne her Away without Nothinge Item I give and bequeath to Thomas my Second Son one little Chattelle that I have in ?.. in Reversion of one life in possession and out of the Said Chattle the Said Thomas my Son is to paye Fortie Shillings and five pounds more I Doe give and Bequeath to William my Third Son to be paid at the End of Six Mounthes after my wife Jane is decease Item I give and Bequeath to Jane my Daughter Ten pounds to be paid att the end of nine mounthes after my wife is decease Item I give and Bequeath to Mary the Daughter of Elcana Lanyon one ewe Item I give and Bequeath to Thomas Lanyon my Son one ewe and the two Sonnes of Thomas Tonkinge Each of them one ewe Item I give and Bequeath to Margarett the wife of Thomas Tonkinge one ewe Item I give and Bequeath to Mary the wife of Edward Plomrose 12s and the residue of my Goods Moveable and unmoveable I give & Bequeath to Jane my wife during her life Time provided that shee doe not Marry whome I doe appoint Ordaine and make my Full & whole Executor, to Fullfill this my Last will and Testament”
His wife is Jane but her maiden name is not recorded. In common with most men at that time William leaves his property to his eldest son Hugh Lanyon and gives his wife lifetime enjoyment so long as she doesn’t remarry. William’s will however seems particularly harsh:
“if shee doth happen to mary (marry) then the said Hugh Lanyon my Son shall have Full power to enter in to all and Singular the Goods and Chattles and to Turne her Away without Nothinge”
William Lanyon will dated 22 May 1674
The will names his children:-
- Hugh 1648-1709
- Thomas 1652- aft. 1709
- William 1653 – aft. 1709
- Jane – aft. 1709
He also mentions Mary the daughter of Elcana Lanyon, Margarett the wife of Thomas Tonkinge and Mary the wife of Edward Plomrose.
It’s not clear what the relationship is between William and Elcana, Margarett and Mary but clearly they are related somehow as he remembers them in his will. There is no trace of William’s marriage to Jane but his ‘eldest’ son Hugh is born in 1648 when he was aged about 40. Could Elcana, Margaret and Mary be the children of an earlier unrecorded marriage?
See the post ‘Elcana Lanyon’ under ‘Loose Lanyons’ for more on this branch of the family.
The Lanyons 