Warrant

[From] George the third [etc]... To... Giles Templeman, William Dean, Robert Stickland Esquires; John Callard Manfield and Nathaniel Stickland, Gentlemen, Greeting.

Whereas we are given to understand that Carolina Matilda Elphinston (wife of George Elphinston)... being an Alien born in parts beyond the seas out of our liegance hath had and taken by Gift, Grant, Devise... for the term of her natural life... diverse Manors, Messuages, Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments... within our County of Dorset and divers sums of money... and more particularly we are given to understand that John Cree late of Thornhill... Esquire, deceased (the late husband of the said Carolina Matilda), in and by his last will and testament in writing by him duly executed and bearing date the sixteenth day of July... 1794, gave all his real estate consisting of divers manors [etc.]... and all his personal estate to David Godfrey of the Adelphi Terrace and James Archdekin of Berners Street, their heirs, executors, administrators and assigns IN TRUST (after satisfying certain charges and annuities) to pay the Rents, Interest and Produce of his the said Testator's said real and personal Estates unto his... wife... Carolina Matilda Elphinston and her assigns for and during the term of her natural life, all which said Manors [etc...] and also the said sum of money issuing and payable out of the lands aforesaid... from the respective times of the Purchase or Gift... or the respective times when the said devises... took effect, did belong and now do belong to us and our Crown of Great Britain in right of our Prerogative Royal...

We have therefore... assigned you to be our Commissioners... full Power and Authority to inquire... whether the said Carolina Matilda Elphinston is an Alien... or not and whether John Cree did duly make his last Will... and whether he thereby gave all or any and which of his Manors [etc...] or any yearly or other sum or sums of money thereout issuing or payable to... Carolina Matilda Elphinston... and for what estate, term or interest... and whether... Carolina Matilda Elphinston by herself or any and what person or persons in trust for her use... and how much the said manors [etc...] are worth by the year according to the true value thereof... and also of all other matters and circumstances which you... shall judge fit and necessary to be inquired of touching this matter... to take and seize into our hands, and therefore we command you that... you diligently set about the premisses and do execute all the matters afresaid... so that... you... certify to us in our Chancery... Witness ourself at Westminster the [14th January in the 39th] year of our reign... [=1799].

This document* is a single huge manuscript page (900 x 815 mm) and as such is not easy to read, let alone transcribe. The language is verbose in the extreme. This transcription is of the important sections. Repetitive and legalistic phrases have been omitted as an aid to intelligibility. Omissions are marked by a ellipsis (...) and punctuation and paragraphing have been added to aid legibility.

This first part is the "Warrant", the instruction from the Government, in the name of King George, to the leading citizens of Dorset, to find out firstly, if it's true that Carolina Matilda, John Cree's widow now married to George Elphinston, is a foreigner; and secondly whether John Cree's will was valid ("duly made"). They also directed the Commission to find out whether he left her any of his estate in his will, or any income from the estate, and whether she is actually receiving any income from his estate. They also want to find out the value, as annual rental income, of the real estate.

Inquisition

The execution of this Commission appears by an Inquisition hereunto annexed...

An Inquisition held at... the Antelope in Dorchester [5th April 1799]... [List of names] say that Carolina Matilda Elphinston (now the wife of George Elphinston) and late the widow of John Cree late of Thornhill in the county of Dorset deceased... is an Alien... born in Parts beyond the Seas out of the Liegance of his Majesty... and that... John Cree was in his lifetime to wit on the sixteenth day of July... [1794] seized in his Demesne as of Fee, subject to a certain annuity of fifty pounds to Ann Thornhill Widow during the term of her natural life, of and in a Mansion House, Stables, Coach House and Garden. Also of a Farm called Thornhill Farm consisting of a Dwelling House or Farm House, One Barn, Stable, Ox Stalls, Dairyhouse, an Orchard and Garden and also 470 acres or thereabouts of arable Meadow and Pasture Land with a small Coppice. Also of a cottage and two acres of ground which cottage was holden by the said John Cree under the Earl of Uxbridge for two lives, all of which said Premises the Jurors aforesaid say are situate... in the Parish of Stalbridge... Dorset... and... that the said John Cree... did duly make and publish his last Will and Testament in writing bearing date [16th July 1794] whereby he among other things gave and devised all his Manors [etc...] at Thornhill or elsewhere and all other his real Estates... unto... William Raikes, Thomas Raikes, David Godfrey and James Archdekin Esquires, their Heirs and Assigns for ever, UPON THE TRUSTS FOLLOWING...

that the said [Trustees] show, stand and be seized, possessed of and interested in, the said testator's said Manors and other Hereditaments and Real Estates therein before to them devised, and of the Money therein before directed to be invested or placed out at interest UPON TRUST in case his daughter Eleanor Cree should not be or had been married at the Time of his Decease by and out of the Rents, Issues and Profits, Interest, Dividends and Annual Produce thereof, to raise and pay his said Daughter during her Life if she should so long continue unmarried one annuity or yearly sum of one hundred pounds... to the Day of her Decease or Marriage... and UPON FURTHER TRUST in case the said Eleanor Cree should be, or had been, married at his decease or should afterwards marry... then... by and out of the Rents [etc...] to raise and pay to the said Eleanor Cree during her Life one annuity... of one hundred and fifty pounds... To the intent that the same might be for the sole and separate use of the said Eleanor Cree and might not be subject to the Debts, Control, Disposition or Engagement of any Husband or Husbands...

AND UPON FURTHER TRUST by the said last mentioned ways and means to raise and pay unto his natural son James Cree during his life one annuity... of fifty Pounds

AND UPON FURTHER TRUST... his Butler, John Parsons... [£25 p.a.]

UPON TRUST to pay the Rents [etc...] and the said Money to be invested or placed out at Interest as aforesaid unto the said Carolina Matilda Cree and her assigns for and during the Term of her natural life and from and after the Decease of the said Carolina Matilda Cree then as to the said Estate and the money invested... UPON TRUST for the eldest Nephew of the said John Cree then living with and under the care of James Macmahon and the heirs of the body of the said Nephew, and in default of such issue IN TRUST for the said Testator's other nephew then living with and under the care of James Macmahon, and the Heirs of the body of his said other Nephew and in default of such Issue IN TRUST for the said Testator's own right Heirs.

And the said John Cree did thereby also declare and direct that the Provision thereby made for the said Carolina Matilda his late wife was upon Condition that she accepted the same in lieu and satisfaction of forty Thousand Rupees settled upon her on her marriage with the said John Cree and of all Dower and right of Dower and other claimes and demands which she could or might claim or demand out of or upon the real and personal Estate of the said John Cree.

And the jurors... say that the... Will... of John Cree was duly executed and attested as by Law required... and that the same hath been established in his Majesty's High Court of Chancery...

John Cree at the Parish of St Marylebone... Middlesex departed this Life [18th November 1795] seized... of the said Mansion House [etc...] without leaving any lawful Issue and that the aforesaid Carolina Matilda Elphinston is intitled for her Life to the Rents and Profits of the said Mansion House [etc...] subject to the several charges and Incumbrances affecting the same as aforesaid... and that... Carolina Matilda Elphinston hath never been in the possession of the said Mansion House [etc...] but that the same were in the possession of the said David Godfrey and James Archdekin, two of the Trustees and Executors of the said Testator's Will who received the Profits thereof until the fifth Day of April [1797] when a Receiver by an Order of the High Court was appointed to receive the Rents and Profits thereof and which Receiver is under and by virtue of the said Order still in possession and Receipt of the Rents and Profits thereof and that... Carolina Matilda Elphinston is not, at the time of issuing the said Commission, or at any time since, seized or possessed or intitled to the Rents and Profits of any other Manors [etc...] in... Dorset or elsewhere...

that the Premises are worth, exclusive of the Mansion House, and are let at the yearly sum of [£430], the true value thereof subject to the Charges and Incumbrances before mentioned, and which said premises exclusive of the said Mansion House are now in the occupation of Robert Sheppard the Elder and Robert Sheppard the Younger as Tenants thereof and that the said Manor House is now unoccupied and when let is worth... [£20 p.a.], All and singular which said Mansion House, Messuages [etc...]... devised or assured IN TRUST for the said Carolina Matilda Elphinston, we the said Commissioners on the day of taking this Inquisition have seized and taken into the Hands of our said Lord the King as by the said Commission is required...

[16 signatures]

*DORSET: Stalbridge Inquisition as to the possessions (none found) of Carolina Matilda, the wife of George Elphinston and previously the wife of John Cree, an alien. The National Archives, Kew, Cat. E178/6943.

Also see Draft Special Commissions to inquire into and seize the [effects or] lands of Aliens: Carolina Matilda Elphinston The National Archives, Kew, Cat. C217/126.

This part of the document reports on the findings of the Commission. Presumably they called witnesses to the hearing in Dorchester on 5th April 1799 to provide the information specified in the warrant.

The Commission found that Caroline Matilda was indeed a foreigner. We know in fact that she was a Danish citizen born in the Danish settlement of Serampore near Calcutta, where her father J. L. Fix was the Head Factor for the Danish Asiatic Company. The Commission's report then lists the real estate (land and buildings) that John Cree possessed on the day he made his will, 16th July 1794 - the items shown in bold type. It then gives details of the relevant parts of the will.

It is fortunate that the will is recited in so much detail as we have not yet found any other ccopy of it. What is strange is that it is the 1794 will. For we know that probate was granted of a later will nthat John made in 1795.

In this will John directed his executors to take possession of all his money and other property, including Thornhill Estate, and use the income from it, interest from the money and rents from the real estate, tp provide annuities for his two children, Eleanor and James, and his butler.

The rest of his income was to be paid to his widow Carolina Matilda until her death. After that the Estate and the moiney invested (not just the income) were to pass to John's eldest nephew and his heirs. He was not named but we know he was John McMahon, son of John's brother Terence McMahon.

There were further provisions in case the nephew died and had no heirs; he was a minor the the time of the will, and indeed did not come of age until 1801.

The Commissioners state clearly that this, the 1794 Will, was declared in the High Court of Chancery to be the vaild will. This is in contradiction to other information we have that the 1795 will was proved in the relevant court (the Prerogative Court of Canterbury). The annuities specified in the 1795 will were clearly being paid because they were the subject of litigation in the Chancery Court in 1798 and 1801.

The Commission declares that Carolina Matilda had never been in possession of Thornhill Estate although she was entitled to the income from it. They state that the two active executors of John Cree's will, David Godfrey and James Archdekin, intially took possession of Thornhill, but that on 5th April 1797 it passed to a receiver on the orders of the High Court of Chancery. They state that the Thornhill House itself is at present unoccupied although the rest of the estate is rented out to a named father and son, the Sheppards. They finally declare that they have seized the estate for the Crown.