A Payne pain...

[Zenobia]

First, read these three wills very carefully....


WILL OF GEORGE PAYNE

In The Name of god Amen the 10th Day of December
Anno Domini 1616 I Georg Payne of St. Ives Sick of Body
Butt of good & pfectt memorye god be prayssed Doe mack
ordayne this my Last will & testament in maner & forme
Following that is to saye first Icomend my Soule in to the
hande of Allmightye god my macker & reedemer hoping assuredly
trought the onlye meritts of Jesus Christ my saviour to be maid
ptaker of ever lasting Lyff & Icomytt my Body to the Earth

Item I give & bequeath unto my three Daughtters Willmett
Davis Elizabeth Wolcock and Jane Dun and to every of ther
Children five shillings apeece
Item I give & bequeath unto my Eldest Sonne John Payne 10 L to
myn sonne Thomas Payne 10 L to my sonne William Payne 10 L to
Georg Payne 10 L to Robertt Payne 10 L & to my sonne Peeter
Payne 10 L to be payed att the age of 21 yeares
Item I give & bequeath unto my youngest Sonne John Payne
20 L & one teanement Caled Chiandower Dewring the liffes
upon the Leasse ther of and I will that hee shall be
Brought up & keapt wth his mother and shee to have to
the usse & beniffit of the Living untill hee come of age
Item I give unto my Daughtter Phillipe Payne 20 L to be
payde her maridg Daye
Item I give unto my Daughtter Anne Payne 10 s.
Item I give & bequeath unto Andrew Lawrie & his wyff Jane
( ) (ap)eec Ittem I give & bequeath unto the poor of St. Ives
( ) Item I give unto the poore of St. Earth 10 s.
All other goods & Chattels Lives & tennements Rents Revercions
nott ytt fformerly given and bequeathed I wholly give and
Bequeath unto Christian Payne my loveing wyffe During
her naturall Lyff & mack & appynt her ffull & wholl executrix
of this my Last will & testament And Doe ordayne and
sett my Loveing father in Law Thomas Jaunsling and Pascow
Dun over seers of this my Last will & testament
In wittnes where of I have here unto subcribed my name
& sett my seall to this my last will & testament
the Daye & year ffirst above written

Signed sealed and subcribed
in the p'sence of us

Martine newman
Willmett Davis
Andrew Lawry
Jane Lawrye

(proved 3 March 1617/8, AP/P/318)


WILL OF JANE JONSLING:


IN DEI NOMINE AMEN: I Jane Jonslyn of the Towne of St. Ives in the
Countye of Cornewall widowe being seke in bodye but in remembrance pfect I thanke
god Doe make this my last Will and Testament in manner and forme following Imprimis
I commend my soule into the hands of god prayeinge him of his mercye and goodnes to
forgive me all my synns for his sonn Christ Jesus sake and to receive me amongst his
elect into his everlastinge Kingdom after this life and my bodye I commend to
Christian buriall Item I give unto the releife of the poore of the severall pishes
of St. Earth and St. Ives ij s. a pece and towards the Rep'ation of the pishe
Church of St. Ives xij d. Item I give unto my Cosens Andrewe and Jane Lawryes
Children ten pounds to be equallye parted betweene them & yf eyther of them dye
before they receive their porcion the Surviver to have the whole the wch some my
Desire and will is my daughter in Law Mrs. Payne shall keepe and paye the Children
the use thereof until they come to yeres of Discretion and then they to receive ther
porcion and yf the said my Daughter in Lawe dye before they be payd they are to be
payd thereof within one quarter of a yere after her Death Item I give unto
John Beard to whome I am gardian vj L. he allowinge for his apparell and
funerall Charges of his Mother which monie is to be payd and delyver 4
silver spones I have and vij s. for two others I have solde prayeinge my said
Cosen Andrewe to be the gardian untill he be by lawe freed thereof
Item I give unto my god daughter Phillipp Payne xx s. & to her sister Ann
Payne x s. Item I give unto George Peter and Robert Payne xij d. a pece
Item I give to ech one of Wilmet Davies children xij d. a pece Item I give unto the
said Mrs. Payne my Daughter in Lawe my stamell Petycott with two velvett
gardes Item I give unto William Payne her sonn my gold Ringe Item I
give to Jane my Cosen Andrewes daughter a fetherbed bolster coverlett and
bedsteede & fforme Chest Item I give unto Richard the sonn of Mr. John Payne
one other gold ringe with a black stone and to John Payne the Younger a bolster
with fethers Item I give to John Wolcocke and William Donn their Children
to ech one of them a pewter platter & candlesticke Item I give to my Sister
Mawde my greene Mantell & my gowne I use to were Sondays Item I give
to Elizabeth my servannt the apparell I use to weare ordinarilie ech workinge
Daye All other my goodes and Chattalls not given or bequeathed I bequeath
and give unto my lovinge Cosen Jane the wife of Andrewe Lawrie whome
I make and ordayne my sole executrix prayeinge them to pforme my will
In payeinge all my said Legasyes & to satisfye and paye all my detts IN
WITTNES WHEREOF I have here unto sett my hande and seale the
xxiiijth Daye of August Anno Domini Christi 1621

Hic presentibus

Johanne Sprigge
Sigirum Marie uxoris Willimi Hechins
Johanne Walker

(proved 27 February 1621/2, Archdeaconry of Cornwall, AP/J/269)


WILL OF CHRISTIAN PAYNE:


IN DEI NOMINE AMEN: I Christian Payne of St. Ives
in the Countie of Cornewall widdow beinge sicke of bodie but of sounde and
p'fect memorie praysed be god Doe make and ordayne this my last will and
Testament Nuncupative in manner and forme following FIRST I yeld
and commend my soule into the hands of Almightie god my Maker and his
Deer sonne Jesus Christ my redeemer by whose meritts Death and passion (and)
the last reserrection I hope to be saved And my bodie to Christian
burriall ITIM I give and bequeath unto my God sonne Phillipp Lowr(ie)
Twentie shillings sterlinge Itim I give and bequeath unto my God daug(hter)
Christian the Daughter of William Dunne twentie pence sterling ALL
other my goods and Chattles not formerlie given or bequeathed I give and
bequeath unto my Grand daughter Christian Payne the Daughter of
John Payne gent whome I make and ordayne whole and sole executrixe
of this my last will and Testament Nuncupative in presence of these
whose names are here under written geaven the third Day of Maye Anno
Dei Christi 1644:

Jane the wife of And: Lawrie
Jane Payne
Ann Lawrie

(proved 21 May 1645, Archdeaconry of Cornwall, AP/P/888)

[Zenobia]

Payne Outline:

George Payne m. __________ 13 May 1588, St. Erth

Children:

John the elder
Wilmot (Davis)
Elizabeth (Woolcock)
Thomas
Jane (Dunn) 11 Jul 1594
George 25 Sep 1595, d.y.
William 21 Apr 1597
George __ ___ 1598
Agnes 11 Nov 1599 d.y.?
Richard 5 Apr 1601 - 23 Jul 1501
Robert 7 Sep 1602
Peter
Philippa 25 Apr 1607
Anne
John 24 Apr 1612

Thomas Jauncling m. ________ 20 Sep 1604, St. Erth

Obviously the words 'in-law' in two of the wills have to be interpreted differently (ie: ONE must refer to a step-relationship, but WHICH?)

And what is with all these blasted Lawrys running about?

I have come up with three possible scenarios, but will reserve my commentary untill I see what Ian, Trencom, Mark and others have to say.

Please discuss!

[Cornish Terrier]

Have printed out copies of each of the above and will try to do some work on the problem tonight - given time.

Will check through other postings first and then try to concentrate all my attention on this problem for a while.

May end up taking a couple of days as I have to go 'up town' to pick up the supplies for the Pub in the morning but will do the best I can and as soon as I can.

[Cornish Terrier]

Some quick thoughts before I retire for the night.

Have begun to formulate some opinions and ideas but need more time to investigate before I give a detailed reply.

One thing, though, that I have found as an anomaly.

In your "Payne Outline" you show "Jane (Dunn) bp. 11 Jul 1594 and I understand this to be at St Erth.

If that is the case then we have problem number one.

In my records the only baptism on that particular date at St Erth was:-

John Trannecke s/o John, the younger

But another interesting entry is:-

19th July 1594 JANE d/o George PAYNTER was baptised

13th October 1598 Mrs Elizabeth PAYNE was buried

28th January 1617 Mr Thomas JONSLEN, vicar was buried

Believe it would be best if I got some sleep and pursued this at a later date.

Also give you time to mull over these few items.

[Zenobia]

ianjtrewhella said:

One thing, though, that I have found as an anomaly.

In your "Payne Outline" you show "Jane (Dunn) bp. 11 Jul 1594 and I understand this to be at St Erth.

If that is the case then we have problem number one.

In my records the only baptism on that particular date at St Erth was:-

John Trannecke s/o John, the younger

But another interesting entry is:-

19th July 1594 JANE d/o George PAYNTER was baptised

I was waiting for that one....

You are referring to Dee's transcript.

However, if you check the IGI, she is listed as the daughter of George PAYNE, chr. Jul 1594 (no exact date).

Because of that, I long ago checked the original St. Erth register, and the name is clearly Payne, not Paynter, and the date would appear to be 11, not 19. (I notified Dee, but she never corrected it).

(George Paynter, incidentally, had children chr. from 1566 thru 1588 and then died the following year. His son George did not have children listed until 1602.)

13th October 1598 Mrs Elizabeth PAYNE was buried

28th January 1617 Mr Thomas JONSLEN, vicar was buried

I am aware of those two - the vicar's death fits. As for Elizabeth, she is interesting. I pondered whether she could be a first wife of George. There is a George Paine, son of George, chr. in 1598 - the date could not be read by Dee, or the IGI, but it is pretty far down in the list - I would have guessed December, but October is certainly a possibility. However, if Elizabeth ws the first wife, and then died after George Jr's birth, then we have a number of problems:

1. There is no second marraige lsited for George Paine at St. Erth. If his second wife was connected with the vicar, certainly the marriage should take place there.

2. The next child arrives pretty regularly. There IS enough time for a second marriage to take place, but it would be pretty quick.

3. Most importantly, Jane Jauncling, in her will, refers to William as being Christian's son. William was born in 1597, before the death of Mrs. Elizabeth Payne. Because George Sr. appears to name his sons in perfect birth order in his will, we know that the William named in Jane's will has to be the one b. between Thomas and the second George, not a later unrecorded child.

My second thought is that Elizabeth is George's mother, but I am not happy with that either. Read those wills again, and let me know if you begin to see anything weird...

Of course there is always a chance too, that the original register shows Elizabeth to be a PAYNTER! ;D I will need to put that on my 'to check' list...

Believe it would be best if I got some sleep and pursued this at a later date.

I feel your Payne....

BTW, did you realize, that via the descent from this line, my payne is also your payne? ;D

[Cornish Terrier]

Not sure I have picked up on the 'descent' connection yet but ...

A brief look at the three Wills starting at that of George Payne in 1616:-

Willmett DAVIS - nothing yet
Elizabeth WOLCOCK - nothing yet.
Jane DUN - 'maybe'

A William DUNE was married at St Erth 2nd October 1615 and I have recorded three children of which only the first may be significant in this case:-

George DUNN bp. 8th July 1616 and bu. 19th April 1617 at St Erth

Hmmmm!! - - George Paine was married in 1588 and wrote his Will in December 1616.

Bear in mind there are baptisms for two sons named George - one in 1595 and the next in 1598 which means the earlier one died young. (or there were two George Paine's floating about

So, from 1588-1595 George has WILLMETT, ELIZABETH, JANE, JOHN and THOMAS and then comes the first GEORGE in October 1595.

WILLMETT, ELIZABETH and JANE are ALL married and have children by December of 1616.

Apart from these daughters we have 'eldest son' John Payne and sons Thomas, William, George, Robert and Peter.

I would suggest this is the 'first family'.

Next we have mention of 'youngest Sonne John Payne' followed by 'Daughter Phillipe Payne' and 'Daghtter Anne Payne' prior to the first mention of Andrew Lawrie and Jane.

I would therefore suggest that George's first wife died somewhere between 1602 and 1607.

The second marriage would then have occurred sometime prior to the baptism of PHILLIPPA with (I now believe) Anne and then John the 'younger' being the children of that second marriage.

THE LAWRY CONNECTION:- The way Andrew and Jane Lawry are mentioned in the Wills of George PAYNE and Jane JONSLING suggests the possibility that Jane LAWRY may have been a sister to George PAYNE.

JANE JONSLING's Will:-

'Cosens Andrew and Jane Lawryes' further suggests to me what I have just mentioned.

'daughter in Law Mrs. Payne' is obviously the second wife of George.

'god daughter Phillipp Payne & her sister Ann Payne' suggests children of the second marriage.

George, Peter and Robert are mentioned differently and definitely now suggest 'first marriage sons' - however I have no record of Peter.
If these sons are named in order then I can find no room to fit Peter into the family.

'Wilmet Davies children' obviously as mentioned by George.

'William Payne her son' - as you mentioned is very awkward.

'Richard the sonn of Mr. John Payne' will be son of the elder John.

Children of John Wolcocke and William Donn are, again obviously, from the first marriage.

WILL OF CHRISTIAN PAYNE:-

'God sonne PHILLIP LOWR(IE)' and 'God daug(hter) Christian the Daughter of William Dunne' equivilate to children of her deceased husband's (sister?) and of his daughter Jane.

'Grand daughter Christian Payne the Daughter of John Payne gent.' I would think is going to be the daughter of 'John the younger'.

Back to you dear cousin. ;D

[Zenobia]

ianjtrewhella said:

Not sure I have picked up on the 'descent' connection yet but ...

You should read my GedCom sometimes...

George Payne > Jane (Payne) Dunn > Christian (Dunn) Richards > Mary (Richards) Bennett > Christian (Bennetts) Uren

We used to think that Thomas Bennetts was only married once, to the wife Elizabeth named in his will. But then I discovered the marriage and extra children for Thomas Bennetts als Kerroe at St. Erth. Our Christian was the last child chr. at St. Erth before Thomas removed back to Lelant, and must have been named for her maternal grandmother. Thomas in his will names William Richards (who turned out to be the brother of his late wife) as one of the overseers for his children. But maybe more on that in another thread.

A brief look at the three Wills starting at that of George Payne in 1616:-

Willmett DAVIS - nothing yet
Elizabeth WOLCOCK - nothing yet.

The latter would almost certainly be the John Woolcock marriage at St. Erth 20 Feb 1614/5.

Jane DUN - 'maybe'

A William DUNE was married at St Erth 2nd October 1615 and I have recorded three children of which only the first may be significant in this case:-

George DUNN bp. 8th July 1616 and bu. 19th April 1617 at St Erth

Hmmmm!! - - George Paine was married in 1588 and wrote his Will in December 1616.

That is the correct Jane - both her husband and she left wills.

Bear in mind there are baptisms for two sons named George - one in 1595 and the next in 1598 which means the earlier one died young. (or there were two George Paine's floating about

Obviously only one George Payne as only one is named in the will... (There were two George Dunns, incidentally, but neither lived)

So, from 1588-1595 George has WILLMETT, ELIZABETH, JANE, JOHN and THOMAS and then comes the first GEORGE in October 1595.

WILLMETT, ELIZABETH and JANE are ALL married and have children by December of 1616.

Apart from these daughters we have 'eldest son' John Payne and sons Thomas, William, George, Robert and Peter.

I would suggest this is the 'first family'.

Next we have mention of 'youngest Sonne John Payne' followed by 'Daughter Phillipe Payne' and 'Daghtter Anne Payne' prior to the first mention of Andrew Lawrie and Jane.

I would therefore suggest that George's first wife died somewhere between 1602 and 1607.

I think you may be reading too much into it.

He simply named his married daughters in apparent order of birth. Then he named all his sons in apparent order of birth. Then he named his two unmarried daughters in order of birth. Nothing to suggest more than one family.

Plus, William was Christian's son, according to Jane Jaunsling's will.

The second marriage would then have occurred sometime prior to the baptism of PHILLIPPA with (I now believe) Anne and then John the 'younger' being the children of that second marriage.

Again, William was Christian's son...

THE LAWRY CONNECTION:- The way Andrew and Jane Lawry are mentioned in the Wills of George PAYNE and Jane JONSLING suggests the possibility that Jane LAWRY may have been a sister to George PAYNE.

JANE JONSLING's Will:-

'Cosens Andrew and Jane Lawryes' further suggests to me what I have just mentioned.

BUT....why is George's step-mother-in-law related to the Lawrys also?

'daughter in Law Mrs. Payne' is obviously the second wife of George.

Except that we have not established that there was a first wife....

'god daughter Phillipp Payne & her sister Ann Payne' suggests children of the second marriage.

George, Peter and Robert are mentioned differently and definitely now suggest 'first marriage sons' - however I have no record of Peter.
If these sons are named in order then I can find no room to fit Peter into the family.

Peter was born after Robert, according to his father's will, so fits in just fine. Jane got him out of order.

Also, why is Jane Jaunsling leaving bequests to her stepdaughter's stepchildren?

'Wilmet Davies children' obviously as mentioned by George.

'William Payne her son' - as you mentioned is very awkward.

It is not just awkward, it is impossible with the scenario you decribed above. Obviously Christian is mother to at least all of the children from William on.

'Richard the sonn of Mr. John Payne' will be son of the elder John.

Yes, that would have to be, as the younger John was too young to be married yet.

Children of John Wolcocke and William Donn are, again obviously, from the first marriage.

Now Jane is leaving bequests to her step-daughter's STEPgrandchildren?

WILL OF CHRISTIAN PAYNE:-

'God sonne PHILLIP LOWR(IE)' and 'God daug(hter) Christian the Daughter of William Dunne' equivilate to children of her deceased husband's (sister?) and of his daughter Jane.

'Grand daughter Christian Payne the Daughter of John Payne gent.' I would think is going to be the daughter of 'John the younger'.

Back to you dear cousin. ;D

I do tend to agree that the granddaughter Christian is the dau. of John the younger.

I cannot agree with your two wives scenario, at least at the division that you show, since William must be Christian's son. Prior to that the children are so closely packed that it does suggest only one wife.

Since we know that Christian was the mother of at least the children from William on, yet named only the granddaughter of her youngest child in her will, it is not inconceivable that all the children were hers, albeit that we would then have a genuine example of a godchild being a grandchild...

[Zenobia]

The million dollar question, however, is who is Jane Jaunsling?

Is she Christian's stepmother?

Is she George Payne's mother?

Is she both?

[Cornish Terrier]

- Now 0700 hrs and have to work this afternoon so will try to review this after I get home again.

[Cornish Terrier]

Forget Jane Jonsling for a short while.

Depending on which scenario is looked at there is certainly room for a second marriage for George Payne that would allow for Anne, Phillippa and John (the younger).

However, I have just noticed something else that might require some thinking.

WILL OF CHRISTIAN PAYNE 3rd May 1644

"....unto my Grand daughter Christian Payne the Daughter of John Payne gent whome I make and ordayne whole and sole executrixe ...."

This Will was proved 21st May 1645, was it not.

I think we previously agreed that Christian Payne must have been the daughter of John Payne "the younger" - had we not.

Well - herein lies a teensy, weensy problem.

For that Will to have been proved in 1645 with Christian Payne as executrix I would be thinking that she was of an adult age and legally able to execute her duties.

This would mean (I think) at least 21 years of age.

In that case she would have been born before 1623 (given the Will was written in 1644).

GUESS WHAT?? - she could not possibly be the daughter of 'John the younger'! given that he was born around 1611/12.

And I notice there is no mention of 'trusts' or 'overseers' to look after Christian until she is old enough to 'handle her duties'.

Therefore, Christian must now be a probable daughter of the Elder John Payne.

And another thought occurred to me whilst trying to work through all of this again:-

JANE JONSLING was married more than once.

I may be wrong but I think that might help explain one helluva lot of things in these Wills. ;D

[Zenobia]

ianjtrewhella said:

Forget Jane Jonsling for a short while.

I'd rather not...

Depending on which scenario is looked at there is certainly room for a second marriage for George Payne that would allow for Anne, Phillippa and John (the younger).

Except we keep hitting that big brick wall of William being Christian's son...

However, I have just noticed something else that might require some thinking.

WILL OF CHRISTIAN PAYNE 3rd May 1644

"....unto my Grand daughter Christian Payne the Daughter of John Payne gent whome I make and ordayne whole and sole executrixe ...."

This Will was proved 21st May 1645, was it not.

I think we previously agreed that Christian Payne must have been the daughter of John Payne "the younger" - had we not.

Yes to both

Well - herein lies a teensy, weensy problem.

For that Will to have been proved in 1645 with Christian Payne as executrix I would be thinking that she was of an adult age and legally able to execute her duties.

This would mean (I think) at least 21 years of age.

In that case she would have been born before 1623 (given the Will was written in 1644).

GUESS WHAT?? - she could not possibly be the daughter of 'John the younger'! given that he was born around 1611/12.

That is true, and it escaped me earlier...

And I notice there is no mention of 'trusts' or 'overseers' to look after Christian until she is old enough to 'handle her duties'.

Therefore, Christian must now be a probable daughter of the Elder John Payne.

Well, the will was nuncupative, so Christian Payne may have simply not mentioned it - she would have assumed if the granddaughter was underage that someone would be appointed a guardian.

So it is not a sure thing.

The other thing - she called John "John Payne gent" - since George Payne was a gent, then any of his sons would be eligible for the title...so that does not help to identify John....

The frustrating thing is that we cannot find many Payne listings in the 1600s - no clue as to what became of any of George's sons. They must have been living in parishes that do not have extant registries for that time period.

Is it possible for you to check any of the pertinant ProtRets to see what Paynes show up where?

Note also that one of Christian's witnesses was a "Jane Payne". I would assume this was the wife of "John, gent" and the mother of Christian Payne Jr.

There is a marriage at Phillack of a John Payne to a Jane Adams, but this is in 1605 - too early for either of George's sons.

And another thought occurred to me whilst trying to work through all of this again:-

JANE JONSLING was married more than once.

Well, that occurred to me eons ago...

The first of three possible scenarios derives from George calling Thomas Jaunsling his 'father-in-law'. If this is the term as we use it today, then Christian Payne was the daughter of Thomas Jaunsling, by an earlier, unknown wife. The fact of an early son called Thomas Payne would lend some weight to this.

If this is the case, then the reference to 'daughter-in-law' by Jane Jaunsling is then referring to her stepdaughter, a term we know was used back then. But....

The problem with this scenario is that Jane Jaunsling has the same Lawry cousins as Goerge Payne, an oddity if she is only his step mother-in-law! Plus she seems to want to leave lots of stuff, including rings which might be heirlooms, to her step-daughter's children.

So this takes us to scenario 2, in which George Payne's reference of 'fathhr-in-law' for Thomas Jaunsling, means "Stepfather" - ie: Thomas second wife, Jane, is George Payne's widowed mother making a second marriage. That would explain the Lawry cousins, as well as her eagerness to leave bequests to all of Goerge's children. And when she refers to 'daughter-in-law' - then she means it as we know it today - her son's widow.

Scenario three, of course, is a combo of the above - Chrisitian IS the daughter of Thomas Jaunsling, who also happened to marry his son-in-law's widow...

Back in your corner!

[Cornish Terrier]

Oh what a tangled web!

Will take time for me to fully digest this - combined with the previous notes - so bear with me.

However, I just did a check of Phillack PR's and found the following:-

1600-1619 - there are no baptisms for Paine/Payne children.

BUT - 19th April 1607 John Payne was buried

No further burials through 1659.

As for the ProtRets:-

Phillack - NIL
St Erth - NIL
St Ives - Jno PAYNE, Henry HAYNE (?)
Lelant - NIL

No one of the name recorded in the BT's that I have for St Ives Marriages.

St Ives Burials 1653-1753

1660 Christian PAYNE, spinster
1663 Lidia wife of Mr Edward PAYNE
1673 Henry PAYNE
1673 Mr John PAYNE


And that is it until 1746 when a fellow from Dorsetshire was buried.

Let me know what other ProtRets you might like me to check and I will do so but just now I see that we have a new member with a few queries so I will take a look at them.

[Zenobia]

Thanks for the additions!

I would suggest thatChristian Payne, spinster, is the granddaughter of Christian Payne named in her will.

Mr. John Payne could be either the elder of younger John, but most likely the younger.

Edward and Henry could be sons of the elder John, or of George or Thomas....

[Cornish Terrier]

All agreed - let me know what more I can help with here but please bear in mind that there could be some delays due to my forthcoming move.

[Zenobia]

Just wanted to bring this back to the fore, and reiterate the three scenarios again, as no one has offered any input on that specifically:

The first of three possible scenarios derives from George calling Thomas Jaunsling his 'father-in-law'. If this is the term as we use it today, then Christian Payne was the daughter of Thomas Jaunsling, by an earlier, unknown wife. The fact of an early son called Thomas Payne would lend some weight to this.

If this is the case, then the reference to 'daughter-in-law' by Jane Jaunsling is then referring to her stepdaughter, a term we know was used back then. But....

The problem with this scenario is that Jane Jaunsling has the same Lawry cousins as George Payne, an oddity if she is only his step mother-in-law! Plus she seems to want to leave lots of stuff, including rings which might be heirlooms, to her step-daughter's children.

So this takes us to scenario 2, in which George Payne's reference of 'father-in-law' for Thomas Jaunsling, means "Stepfather" - ie: Thomas second wife, Jane, is George Payne's widowed mother making a second marriage. That would explain the Lawry cousins, as well as her eagerness to leave bequests to all of George's children. And when she refers to 'daughter-in-law' - then she means it as we know it today - her son's widow.

Scenario three, of course, is a combo of the above - Christian IS the daughter of Thomas Jaunsling, who also happened to marry his son-in-law's widow...

Discussion please....