My 4th great grand uncle Samuel Hughes (1776–1831) was a Welshman, the son of my Welsh 5th great grandfather Edward Hughes (abt 1850–after 1803) and his first wife Mary Hughes nee Pugh (1750–1784).
Samuel Hughes of Purgatory, Newmarket, Flintshire, signed his last will and testament on 11 December 1830. It was probated in 1831 in St Asaph, on the River Elwy in Denbighshire. His will, which mentions many of his relatives, has been invaluable to me in compiling my Hughes family history.
(‘Purgatory’ was the name of Hughes’s farm at Newmarket, also known as Trelawnyd, a few miles northeast of St Asaph. For the possible origin of the place name Purgatory see the discussion of the name of a farm also called ‘Purgatory’ in Oxfordshire: one theory for the place in Oxfordshire is that during the middle ages when the village of Steeple Barton was being ravaged by plague, several families moved to a new settlement, well away from the danger of infection. Another suggestion is that the name ‘purgatory’ derives from the Latin ‘piscatorium’ meaning fish or fishing. This meaning seems unlikely for the farm at Newmarket.)
Samuel Hughes, abode Purgatory, died in about 1831 and was buried on 4 January 1831 in Newmarket (Trelawnyd).
Front Cover Newmarket - The Will of Samuel Hughes, late of Purgatory, deceased. Proved 26 day of April 1831 D.D.P.R. Under £100 Pages 1 and 2 In the name of god amen. I Samuel Hughes of Purgatory in the parish of Newmarket in the County of Flint, being of sound mind and memory do make and publish this my last will and testament in manner following that is to say, that I give and bequeath unto my brother Goodman Hughes the sum of five shillings; to my brother Thomas Hughes the sum of five shillings; to my brother Edward Hughes the sum of five shillings; to my sister Mary Hughes the sum of five shillings; to my sister Ann Hughes the sum of five shillings; to my sister Sarah Edwards the sum of twenty shillings; to my sister Elizabeth Jones the sum of twenty shillings; and my book of Martyrs, I leave to my brother Benjamin Hughes and my family Bible to my nephew Edward Hughes and my watch to my nephew Samuel Jones; my funeral expenses to be paid of the money I have got on interest with my brother Benjamin Hughes and the remainder of the said money (after my funeral expenses) I leave for my mother-in-law; and the lease I hold under Sir Thomas Mostyn Baronet on Purgatory I leave for my brother John Hughes personally and all the household goods, all chattels, tools, alive and dead stock. I give and bequeath unto my mother in laws and my brother John Hughes, betwixt them and they are to pay all the others; and should my brother John Hughes, herein mentioned, survive after my mother in law my will is that her share may left for him; and I appoint my brother in law and my brother John Hughes executors of this my last will and testament revoking all my former wills by me at any time heretofore made. In witness whereof I the said Samuel Hughes have hereunto set my hand and seal this eleventh day of December in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty. Samuel Hughes Signed sealed published and declared by the said Testator as his last Will and Testament in the presence of us who in his presence and in the presence of each other have here unto set our names as witnesses thereof Lewis Everett Thomas Davies Last page 26 April 1831 Appeared personally John Hughes one of the Executors within named and took the usual oath of an executor and that the personal estate and effects of the deceased Samuel Hughes did not amount in value to the sum of one hundred pounds (power being reserved to the executrix therein named). Before me Charles Luxe Luxmoore
In his will Samuel refers to these of his relatives:
- brother Goodman Hughes, most likely Samuel’s half-brother, the child of Edward Hughes & Anne Price born 1789 in Trelawnyd
- brother Thomas Hughes, most likely Samuel’s half-brother, the child of Edward & Anne born 1800 in Trelawnyd
- brother Edward Hughes, most likely Samuel’s half-brother, the child of Edward & Anne born 1803 in Trelawnyd (my 4th great grandfather)
- sister Mary Hughes, most likely Samuel’s half-sister, the child of Edward & Anne born 1796 in Trelawnyd
- sister Ann Hughes, most likely Samuel’s half-sister, the child of Edward & Anne born 1798 in Trelawnyd
- sister Sarah Edwards, most likely Samuel’s sister, the child of Edward & Mary born 1778 in Trelawnyd; possibly the Sarah Edwards who married James Edwards in 1821 in Whitford, Flintshire, Wales – one of the witnesses was Mary Hughes.
- sister Elizabeth Jones, most likely Samuel’s sister, the child of Edward & Mary born 1783 in Trelawnyd
- brother Benjamin Hughes, most likely Samuel’s half-brother, the child of Edward & Anne born 1794 in Trelawnyd
- nephew Edward Hughes – I have not been able to work out which Edward Hughes he might have been referring to
- nephew Samuel Jones – I have not been able to identify but perhaps the child of his sister Elizabeth
- brother John Hughes, most likely Samuel’s half-brother, the child of Edward & Anne born 1788 in Trelawnyd
- Mother-in-law, seems most likely to refer to his step-mother Anne Hughes nee Price, who died at the farm in 1834. Samuel did not refer to a wife and I have not found a marriage
Samuel Hughes’s parents, Edward Hughes and Mary Pugh, were married on 18 December 1774 in Trelawnyd, Flintshire. Mary, wife of Edward Hughes, miner, (formerly M. Pugh), died on 21 April 1784 and was buried at Trelawnyd. They had at least five children.
Samuel’s father Edward married Anne Price (1763–1834) on 13 November 1785 in Trelawnyd. They had at least six children.
I have not been able to find the death of Edward Hughes, father of Samuel. I assume he died before Samuel made his 1830 will.
Anne Hughes died in 1834 at the age of 71 (and so was born about 1763). She was buried on 28 October 1834 in Trelawnyd. Her abode was recorded as ‘Purgatory’.
Related posts
Wikitree:
- Samuel Hughes (1776 – 1831)
- Edward Hughes (1750 – ?)
- Mary (Pugh) Hughes (1750 – 1784)
- Anne (Price) Hughes (abt. 1763 – 1834)
Acknowledgement: many thanks to my cousin CML who found and transcribed the will.