The Testament Dative of Jeane Gilles
Patrick Bucknay and his first spouse Jeane Gilleis would seem to be connected with John GIlles, particularly as Patrick Bucknay is to be one of the people, along with William Gilles, to advise John’s daughter Jannet in dealing with the ‘necessar affairs and odoes’ (adoes) from John’s testament testamentar.
The document for Jeane, from 29 January 1653, is a testament dative, meaning that it does not include a ‘will’. Jeane had died in September 1650. The document names her children, Patrick, Cristiane, Marie and Jeane Bucknayes, ‘baires lawfull and onlie executors datives decernt’ to Jeane. Patrick Buckney, their father, has given up the inventar and is acting on behalf of the children. Peter Duncane, maltman burgess of Linlithgow, becomes cautioner (guarantor for payment of debts and distribution of money by and to the acting executor). It is unfortunate that the document is very brief, and confirmation is more than two years after the death - by which time Patrick Bucknay has re-married, his second wife being a Duncane. It does however seem possible that Jeane Gilleis was closely related to both John and William.
The children identified in baptism records are:
- Kathrein 1628 (mother not named; witnesses Androw Meldrum, Androw Ingles, John Smyth. Kathrein is not mentioned in the testament, so has presumably died young - unless she is the child of an earlier marriage of Patrick)
- Marie 1636 (witnesses James Glen, George Bell)
- Christan 1637 (same witnesses)
- Marie 1639 (same witnesses)
- Patrick 1641 (George Bell, Patrick Bell. Patrick followed his father as a litster burgess)
From the dates of births, the marriage is likely to have been around 1627, with both Patrick and Jeane somewhere between the second and third Williams Gilles (Wm2 and Wm3) in age.
Patrick, or the couple jointly, had some heritable property and there is a deed held by NRS (at GD76/60), ‘Writs of tenements pertaining to John Thomson, baker, burgess of Linlithgow, and subsequently to Robert Thomson, tailor, burgess of same, his son’ from 1561/1562-1639, the last deed in a series being:
1639, August 9. Instrument of resignation and sasine by Robert Thomesoun, tailor, burgess of Linlithgow, son and heir of deceased John Thomesoun, baker, burgess of same, and Jonet Smythe, mother of said Robert, in favour of Patrick Bucknay, dyer, burgess of same, and Jean Gilleis, his spouse, of tenement in burgh of same.’
Heritable property is not dealt with in testaments of the period. The inventary shows only £12 as the value of houshold ‘plenishings’ and Jeane’s personal possessions. However, there are rather more substantial debts owed to the couple; Williame crayfurd of deanes £17, James Dik, burgess owes them £160, but the key amount is ‘Be Sir Williame livingstoune of Wast q[uar]ter jaj mark’, that is 1000 marks. As a mark was a unit of accounting worth 2/3 of a pound scots, that is £666, 13s 4d. The association with Livingstones of Westquarter is interesting, bearing in mind the possible birth of Rinny or Rynna Muir and the appearance of Robert Levistoun as a baptism witness for William, Rinny’s son, in 1635.
The Testament Testamentar of Patrick Bucknay
The second marriage of Patrick Bucknay, to Hellein Duncane, resulted in several more children:
- John 1653
- James 1654
- James 1656
- Robert 1658
- Adam 1661
However, Patrick's Testament Testamentar, from 10 July 1666, names only Jon, James and Adam from the second, marriage, and does not list children from the first though the son Patrick is named indirectly. The Latterwill is brief, nominating Hellein Duncane as executrix and appointing three burgesses of Linlithgow, (merchants Thomas Hart and Andro Duncane, with Andro Crawfurd, writer) 'to be oversiers to his s[ai]d spous and tutoris to his s[ai]d Children Jon James and Adam bucknayes dureing the tyme of thir pupilarity’.
Patrick the younger is not directly ‘present’ in the document, but the inventar includes an item, ‘in the hous of patrik bukney sone to the defunct ane ketle inpignorat be James dick burges of Lithgow and Eupham Gellies his spous to the s[ai]d hellein duncan in the defunctis lyftym for the soume of xLvj lib~ scots’ - Eupham being the daughter of John Gilleis referred to already. This is the only mention of Patrick Bucknay younger, who will of course inherit any heritable property such as the tenement referred to in the 1639 deed, so that the testament itself omits him.
(‘Impignorat’ suggests the object mayhave been given in pledge, possibly against a loan whether of money or of another item.)
The bulk of the testament concerns the debts owned to and by Patrick, the latter including 'To James thomsone merchand in Rotterdam Thrie scoir pund’.
The brief latterwill does not include specific legacies, so no other children of Jeane Gilleis and Patrick Bucknay are named. Any surviving would be among the recipients of the legitim or bairns part of the 'Restis of frie gear the debtis deducit’ which comes to 'ij C xLix lib 3 s~ 4 d~’ ( £249 3s 4d).
There is therefore circumstantial evidence, though fairly slight, relating Jeane Gilleis at least to John, with the possibility that she is a sister of John and so perhaps of William. Everything is guesswork at this distance in time, but the evidence does indicate some relationship.
The younger Patrick Backnay was a baptism witness for Margaret Gilles born in 1673, a daughter of Wm4 and Margaret Jarden, as stated on the page about the William Gilles burgesses.
What these baptisms and other records indicate is a community of Linlithgow burgesses, particularly those involved with the litster (dyer), currier (leather-finisher), cordiner (shoemaker) and maltster trades, witnessing the baptisms of each other’s children, owing goods and money to each other and to merchants in Linlithgow and in Rotterdam, and taking on responsibilities such as assisting executors.