I Mary Sterry of South Street Finsbury in the County of Middx widow of Henry Sterry deceased do make & publish this as my last Will & Testament in manner following that is to say I give unto my son in law Samuel Hoare of Lombard Street London ___utor and my son Henry Sterry (my Executors herein afternamed) all that my leasehold estate situate in Moore(?) place Moorfields (?) in the County of Middx to hold to them their executors admons and assigns for the remainder of the term which will be to come of the lease under which I hold the same and subject to the rent and covenants therein reserved and contained in trust nevertheless to permit and suffer my son Henry Sterry to receive and take the rents issues and profits of my said estates (subject as aforesaid) to and for his own use for and during his natural life and from and after his decease upon trust to stand possessed of my said estate in trust for such one or more the child or children of my said son in such proportion manner and at such time or times as he shall by deed or will direct or appoint and to assign the same accordingly and in default of such appointment then in trust for all and every the children of my said son Henry as shall live to attain the age of twenty one years if more than one equally share and share alike and if but one such child then in trust for such only child and to assign the same to them him or her at the said age for the remainder of the term that shall be then to come and unexpired therein (subject as aforesaid) and in case my said son shall die without having any such children or child or being such they shall all die before coming intitled as aforesaid then in trust to stand possessed thereof for my daughter Mary the wife of Joseph Steel and her children in like manner as I have directed of and concerning the annuities hereinafter given immediately in trust for her and her children and to assign the same to them him or her accordingly give unto the said Samuel Hoare & Henry Sterry one thousand pounds five per cent annuities & one thousand pounds old South Sea annuities upon trust to stand possessed of the same and to receive orotherwise to permit and suffer my daur (daughter) Hannah the wife of the said Saml Hoare to receive & take the dividends or interest thereof to and for her own use for and during her natural life & from and after her decease upon trust to stand possessed of the said 1000 pounds per cent annuities and South Sea annuities in trust for all and every the children of my said daur Hannah as shall live to attain the age of twenty one years if more than one equally share and share alike and if but one such child then in trust for such only child amd to transfer the same to them him or her at the said age accordingly and in case my said daur Hannah shall die without having any such children or child or being such they shall all die before the said age then in trust for my said son Henry & daughter Mary and their respective children in like manner as I have directed of and concerning the leasehold estate and annuities hereby immediately given in trust for them and their children respectively and to transfer the same to them him or her accordingly I give unto the said Samuel Hoare and Henry Sterry the sum of six thousand pounds upon trust to lay out or invest the same upon such security as they in their direction shall think best and most advantageous & to stand possessed thereof for the benefit of my aforesaid daur Mary & to pay to and permit & suffer her to receive & take the interest thereof to and for her own use for and during her natural life & from and after her decease upon trust to stand possessed of the said six thousand pounds & the security or securities in which the same shall be so laid out or invested in trust for all and every the children of my aforesaid daur Mary as shall live to atain the age of twenty one years if more than one equally share & share alike and if but one such child then in trust for such only child and to assign transfer or convey the same to them him or her at the said age accordingly I give also unto the said Samuel Hoare and Henry Sterry three hundred pounds three per cent consolidated bank annuities upon trust to stand possessed of the same and to receive or otherwise to permit and suffer Esdras(?) Knight & Eleanor his wife (my late husbands first cousin) and the survivor of them to receive and take the dividends and interest thereof to and for their his or her own use for and during their his or her natural lives and from and after their several deceases upon trust to stand possessed of the same annuities in trust for all and every the children of the said Eleanor Knight as shall live to attain the age of twenty one years if more than one equally share and share alike and if but one such child then in trust for such only child and to transfer the same to them him or her at the said age accordingly and in case the said Eleanor Knight shall die without having any such children or child or having such they shall all die before the said age then in trust for such person or persons to whom or for whose benefit I have hereinafter given the residue of my estate and to transfer the same accordingly and upon consideration that my friend Thomas Smith Banker hath engaged and agreed by his last Will & Testament to give & bequeath unto the said Eleanor Knight the interest of two hundred pounds per cent bank annuities I do give and _____ unto Sarah Jeffries(?) Sister in Law to the said Thomas Smith an annuity of ten pounds for and during her life payable in like manner as my late husband allowed & paid her the same and I do direct that the same be paid out of the residue of my estate accordingly I give unto the __ Monthly Meeting of the people called Quakers the sum of two hundred pounds which they now stand indebted to me upon trust to invest the same in the name or names of such person or persons as they shall appoint in trust that such person or persons and their successors to be in like manner appointed to stand possessed of the stocks funds or other securities in which the same invested(?) or shall be invested or laid out and pay the dividends and interest or produce thereof to the cashier of the said Meeting for the time being to be by him applied towards the expence of the said Meeting in order to perpetuate my late husbands collection to the said Meeting Thomas Corbyn and John Elliott having agreed to do the like ___ to the said Samuel Hoare & Henry Sterry five hundred pounds ___ per cent bank annuities upon trust to transfer the same to the trustees for the time being of the six weeks meeting of the said people to be by them applied towards abolishing the quotas paid by the several Monthly Meetings for defraying the expenses of the said Meeting and if the abolishing the quotas is compleated then to remain as a fund the interest of which to be applied towards the current expenses of the said six weeks Meeting I give unto my aforesaid daur Mary Steel my apparel of all sorts watches plate linen china & household furniture recommending her to give such parts thereof as she in her directions shall think proper to the before named Eleanor Knight and to Sarah Hood who now resides with me I give unto the said Samuel Hoare and Henry Sterry the sum of four hundred pounds upon trust that they do immediately after my decease lay out and invest the same in some or one of the public stocks or funds being Government security as they in their direction shall think most proper & stand possessed of such stocks or funds & receive or otherwise permit & suffer the said Sarah Hood to receive & take the dividends interest & annual produce thereof from time to time to and for her own use & benefit for and during the term of her natural life & that her receipt or receipts above shall from time to time be a good & sufficient discharge or discharges to my executors or trustees for so much money as in such receipt or receipts shall be expressed to be received or paid and I do hereby direct that the provision hereby made for the said Sarah Hood shall not be subject or liable to the controll(?) debts or engagements of any husband she may happen to marry and from and after the decease of the said Sarah Hood upon trust that they my said executors and trustees to stand possessed of such stocks or funds as shall have been so purchased with the said sum of five hundred pounds and pay apply and dispose of the same in such manner and for such intents and purposes as she the said Sarah Hood shall by any deed or writing in the nature of her last Will and Testament or by her last Will and Testament in writing give direct or appoint the same and pay transfer and assign the same accordingly and I give all the rest and residue of my Estate and effects of what nature or kind soever and wheresoever the same may consist of or be at the time of my decease unto the said Samuel Hoare and Henry Sterry upon trust to dispose of and convert the same into money and pay the same unto my aforesaid son and daur Henry Sterry and Hannah Hoare or the survivor of them to and for their his or her own use and I hereby constitute and appoint the said Samuel Hoare and Henry Sterry exors of this my Will and I will and order that it shall and may be lawful for my said exors and the survivor of them and the exors and admons of such survivor out of my said estate or the produce thereof in the first place to reimburse and satisfy themselves and himself all the cost charges damages and expenses whatsoever which they shall respectively lay out expend sustain or be put to in or about the execution of this my Will in any wise howsoveer and that neither of them shall be answerable for any loss that may happen of the trust monies or the produce thereof or of any part of my estate so as such loss shall happen without their respective wilful default nor for more of the trust monies or the produce thereof or of any part of my estate then he or they shall receive & that neither of them shall be accountable for the acts deeds receipts or disbursements of the other of them nor for any monies which he or they shall not take into his or their actual possession notwithstanding his or their signing any receipt or other discharge for such monies for conformity or otherwise jointly with the other of them and I do hereby revoke and make void all former Wills by me made and declare this to be my last Will and Testament
In witness whereof I the said Mary Sterry have to the first five sheets of this my last Will and Testament contained in six sheets of paper set my hand & to this sixth and last sheet thereof set my hand and put my seal the second day of the sixth month called June in the year of our Lord 1808. Mary Sterry.
Signed sealed published and declared by the said Mary Sterry the testatrix above named as and for her last Will & Testament in the presence of us J E Pownall Drs (Doctors?) Commons (Commissioners?) Martha Green
Codicil to my Will made this 8th day of the 6th month 1816 I hereby bequeath to my executors Samuel Hoare and Henry Sterry one hundred pounds in addition to the sum of four hundred pounds to be invested in stock for the use of Sarah Hood and subject in every respect to the terms and conditions of the preceeding legacy and I give to my servants Eliza Gaskin & Martha Green fifty pounds each if living with me at the time of my decease. Mary Sterry Witness S. Hoare
Appeared personally John Lister of Stoke Newington in the County of Middlesex Gentleman & solemnly sincerely & truly affirmed and declared that he is one of the dissenters from the Church of England commonly called Quakers that he knew and was well acquainted with Mary Sterry late of South Street Finsbury in the County of Middlesex widow deceased for sometime before & up to the time of her death also with her manner and character of handwriting & subscription having seen her write & subscribe her name & having now very carefully viewed and perused the paper writing hereunto annexed purporting to be & contain a codicil to the last Will & Testament of the said deceased beginning thus "Codicil to my Will made this eighth day of the sixth month 1816 I hereby bequeath to my exors Samuel Hoare & Henry Sterry" ending thus "& I give to my servants Eliza Gaskin & Martha Green fifty pounds each if living with me at the time of my decease" and thus subscribed "Mary Sterry" the appearer affirmeth and saith that he verily and in his conscience believes the said named Mary Sterry so set and sunscribed as aforesaid to be of the proper handwriting and subscription of the said deceased. John Lister on the 18th December 1816 the said John Lister duly made & subscribed the aforegoing solemn and sincere & true affirmation before me S Parson Surrt Prost J H Burkett N P.
Appeared personally James Edward Pownall of Drs Commons London Sotr (solicitor) and being sworn on the Holy Evangelists to depose the truth made oath as follows that he knew and was well acquinted with Mary Sterry late of South Street Finsbury in the County of Middlesex widow deced (deceased) for sometime before and up to the time of her death also with her manner and character of handwriting and subscription having seen her write and subscribe her name & having now very carefully viewed & perused the paper writing hereunto annexed purporting to be & contain a Codicil to the last Will & Testament of the said deced (deceased) beginning thus "Codicil to my Will made this 8th day of the 6th month 1816 I hereby bequeath to my extrs Samuel Hoare & Henry Sterry" ending thus "& I give to my servants Eliza Gaskin & Martha Green fifty pounds each if living with me at the time of my decease" and thus subscribed "Mary Sterry" the appearer maketh oath and saith that he verily and in his conscience believes the said named "Mary Sterry" so set and subscribed as aforesaid to be of the proper handwriting and subscription of the said deceased. J E Pownall on the 6th December 1816 the said James Edward Pownall was duly sworn to the truth of the aforegoing affidavit before me S Parson Surrogate Prost Robert Edward Pownall Not pub.

Proved at London with a codicil 18th December 1816 before the Worshipful Samuel Pearce Parson Dr of Laws and Surrogate by Samuel Hoare & Henry Sterry the son the exons to whom admon was granted having first made a solemn and sincere affirmation duly to administer

This is the Will of Mary Fleatham wife of Henry Sterry (1732-1787) on the Southwark Sterry Branch.