In the Prerogative Court of Canterbury
November 1754
HENRY FIELDING Esquire--On the fourteenth day Administration (with the Will annexed) of the Goods Chattels and Credits of Henry Fielding late of Ealing in the County of Middlesex but at Lisbon in the Kingdom of Portugal Esquire deceased was granted to John Fielding Esquire the Uncle and Curator or Guardian lawfully assigned to Harriet Fielding Spinster a Minor and Sophia Fielding an Infant the natural and lawfull Daughters of the said Deceased and two of the Residuary Legatees named in the said Will for the use and benefit of the said Minor and Infant and until one of them shall attain the age of twenty one years for that Ralph Allen Esquire the sole Executor and Residuary Legatee in Trust named in the said Will hath renounced as well the Execution thereof as Letters of Administration (with the said Will annexed) of the Goods Chattels and Credits of the said deceased and Mary Fielding Widow the Relict of the said deceased and the other Residuary Legatee named in the said Will hath also renounced Letters of Administration (with the said Will annexed) of the Goods Chattels and Credits of the said deceased--the said John Fielding having been first sworn duly to administer.
In addition to the property mentioned here, Fielding possessed a library, as Mr Austin Dobson [discovered], [1] which when sold six months after his death, "for the Benefit of his Wife and Family," realised £364, 7s. 1d. or "about £100 more than the public gave in 1785 for the books of [Johnson]." [2] Also according to the Recollections of the Late John Adolphus, by Henderson, Fielding purchased a 90 years' lease of a house near Canterbury, for one of his daughters.
Of the children mentioned in this will, William became, a contemporary writer tells us, "an eminent barrister at law and inherits the integrity of his father and a large share of his brilliant [talents]." [3] Mr Austin Dobson refers to William Fielding as being like his father "a strenuous advocate of the poor and unfortunate," and adds that the obituary notice in the Gentleman's Magazine records his worth and [piety]. [4] Harriet Fielding is said to have been of "a sweet temper and great [understanding]." [5] Allen Fielding became Vicar of St. Stephens Canterbury, and was "greatly beloved by all, especially the little children," writes a descendant. Allen Fielding's four sons all took Orders, and of the second, Charles, it was written on his death, that "he had not only a heart that could feel for others, but a heart that lived in [giving]." [6] The noble qualities of Henry Fielding found their echo in his descendants.
APPENDIX
[F]
Fielding's Tomb and Epitaph
Fielding's present tomb, in the beautiful English cemetery at Lisbon, was erected in 1830. On one side is inscribed:
LUGET BRITANNIA GREMIO NON DARI
FOVERE NATUM
On the other side are the following lines: