From Abraham’s Last Will and Testament, I discovered that he was called a yeoman. That meant that Abraham was a freeholder who owned and farmed the land.

Abraham Aldous

Born: 1664 in Stradbroke, Suffolk County, England

Father: Abraham Aldous (1636 to Unknown)
Mother: Rachel Howlet (1641 to Unknown)

Spouse: Mary Gowin (Unknown to Unknown)

Married: 15 MAY 1705 in Suffolk County, England

Children:

Mary Aldous (1706 to Unknown)
Thomas Aldous (1708 to Unknown)

Died: 24 SEP 1708 in Fressingfield, Suffolk County, England

Last Will and Testament:

This is a partial transcription that I discovered on Family Search. The manager of the family tree tied this document to Abraham’s father. This is incorrect. Abraham, born in 1665, married Mary Gowin. Their two children, shown in baptism records, are named Mary and Thomas.

Dated: 18 September 1708

“In the Name of God Amen I Abraham Aldous of Ffressingfield in y-e County of Suff Yeoman being of sound & disposing mind & memory doe make & ordaine this my last will & testam-t in manner & forme following Imp-s I remitt my Soul into y-e hands of Almighty God my Saviour & Redeemer And my body to be buryed at y-e discrecon of my Ex-trix hereafter named & y-e Worldly estate w-th w-ch it hath pleased God to bless me I dispose of as followeth Impr-s I give & devise unto Mary my loving Wife all y-t my Messuage or tenem-t in Ffressingfield afores-d y-t in my own occupacon & y-t my occupacon of Sam-l Gowin with all y-e lands meadows pastures & appurtenances to y-e same belonging for soe long a time as y-e s-d Mary my Wife shall continue a Widdow & after y-e decease of y-e s-d Mary Wife or after her marriage to any other Man I give & devise y-e s-d Messuage lands & tenem-ts unto Thomas Aldous my Sonn & his heires forever & in case of y-e death or marriage of my Wife I nominate & appoint M-r Ffrancis Sancroft of this p-ish of Ffressingfield or in case of his death M-r Will-m Sancroft Sonn of y-e s-d Ffrancis guardian to my s-d Sonn & humbly begg of y-m to lett y-e s-d estate & dispose y-e rents of it towards y-e educacon of y-e s-d Thomas my Sonn, till he come to y-e age of one & twenty Item to my daughter Mary Aldous I give y-e sume of twenty pounds to be p-d by my Sonn Thomas w-ch he shall arrive at y-e age of one & twenty years & in default of such paym-ts it shall be lawfull for my daughter Mary to enter upon & enjoy y-e s-d estate till his legacy of twenty pounds be satisfyed Item to my s-d daughter Mary I give y-e sume of twenty pounds more to be p-d by my Ex-trix of my p-sonall estate w-n She y-e s-d Mary shall arrive at y-e age of one & twenty Item to Robert Goodwin my Sonn in law I give y-e sume of twenty pound (w-ch I promised him upon marriage w-th my daughter) to be p-d by my Extrix w-th in three years after my death Item y-e rest of my . . .”

Timeline:

1705 Marriage to Mary
1706 Birth of daughter, Mary
1708 Birth of son, Thomas
1708 Death and Burial

Occupation: yeoman (landowner)

Records:

Suffolk, England, Extracted Church of England Parish Records, 1538-1850
England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 (children)

Variations of Surname: None

Notes:

Here are some links to websites that helped with my Aldous family research:

Aldous.net (Aldous family history and family tree)
Ancestors of Tim Farr, Descendants of Stephen Farr (family tree)
Reid-Schroeder Genealogies (family tree)
The Tree of Us (family tree)
Family Search (family tree website)
The Internet Surname Database (surname meaning and origins)
House of Names (coat of arms)

Creating Your Family Tree

Interested in building a great family tree? Remember these important steps:

Look in your photo albums. You may have old pictures that your parents or grandparents gave you. Or, ask them for copies of photos that they have in their possession. Many people will write names and dates on the backs of photographs. Letters, diaries, and family bibles are also an excellent source for births, marriages, and deaths.

Talk to your older relatives to find out about your ancestry. They may relate stories about an ancestor that you can add to your family tree. Family history is usually not found in newspapers. It is more of a verbal memory that is passed down from generation to generation.

Find the right family tree builder that suits your needs. You can choose one that has a paid subscription like Ancestry.com. There are also free sites like FamilySearch.org.

When you start building your family tree, add documentation to your ancestor’s profile. The records can include birth, marriage, death, census, military, city, and county directory listings. Any information that you can find will help create a life story about your ancestor.

If you have a unique surname, like Wakenight, you may find databases on the internet that are useful in your search. I use SurnameDB.com for my English surnames. There are many others on the internet for other countries like Ireland, Italy, and Germany.

Genealogy is the study of a person’s “line of dandescent.” As you create your family tree, you would typically start with one individual and go “back into time.” You would add their parents, grandparents, and so on.  There are also family trees that go “forward into time.”  Many of these family trees start with a famous person, such as a president or royalty, and move forward into the present time.  The purpose of this type of pedigree is to establish a person’s bloodline to that famous person.

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