1641, Nov. 20. Martha, daughter of Mr. William Turner.
1642, June 18. Edith, daughter of Mr. William Turner.
1643, Sept. 1. Margaret, daughter of Mr. William Turner.
1645, Nov. 25. Jane, daughter of Mr. William Turner.
Thenceforward we lose the benefit of the testimony of the register.
It will be observed that this was while the Civil Wars were at their height, in which two of the sons died, being on the King’s side: not that this affords us any hint or presumption respecting the circumstances which brought Mr. Turner to Worsborough.
Whoever may have been the P. T. who communicated to Curl the particulars before given of the history of the Poet’s father and maternal grandfather, they contain, few as they are, one specific statement which tallies with his residence in this part of the county, far from the districts where his estates lay. He was, says P. T., of “Burfit Hall,” in Yorkshire. This can be no other place than Birthwaite Hall, at no great distance from Worsborough, but in the parish of Darton. It was the seat of the family of Burdet of Birthwaite—not that of the late Sir Francis Burdett—though Francis was a favourite name with these Yorkshire baronets. At the period with which we are concerned, this Yorkshire family were in great straits, and Birthwaite, in 1643, became the property of an heir of only a year and a half old. Furthermore, their affairs were placed very much in the hands of their relative, Mr. Rockley, of Rockley, which is in Worsborough; and in the absence of any positive evidence, without any choice but to fall back upon conjecture, or be silent, I would suggest that Mr. Turner’s residence in these parts of the West Riding, might arise out of some connection with the affairs of the Rockleys and Burdets. Rockley, like Turner, had two younger sons in the service of King Charles I.[3] At both these houses Mr. Turner would be only a tenant.
At what time he returned to York has not been ascertained. The next thing we know of him is that he was living there, in the parish of St. John del Pike, at the time of the Heralds’ Visitation in 1665. Next that he made his will, describing himself “William Turner, senior, of the city of York, gentleman.” And, lastly, that in 1671, he, or his son William, was living in the parish of St. John del Pike, in a house with seven hearths, one of the best houses in the parish.
Here, as is usually the case in inquiries of this nature, we gain our best information respecting him from his will, which is of considerable extent. It is dated Sept. 4, 1665. He was then “grown weak and infirm,” but still of sound and disposing mind and memory, “humbly imploring Almighty God to bless and prosper these my intentions and bequests.” He gives his soul to God, hoping to be saved through the merits of Jesus Christ his Saviour, and his body to be interred with such decency and solemnity as his executors shall approve. He then gives all interest in his messuages in Gotheram Gate, York, to his trusty friends Thomas Thompson, of York, notary public, and Thomas Tomlinson, of the same city, grocer, to suffer his dear and loving wife, Thomasine Turner, to take the issues as long as she continues his widow and unmarried (“it being her desire to have no further interest in them than so long as she continues my widow”), and after her death to convey them to his seven daughters:—Alice Mawhood the wife of Richard Mawhood, Elizabeth, Mary, Martha, Edith, Margaret, and Jane Turner, equally amongst them. He then gives his manor of Ruston, with its appurtenances in Ruston, Wickham, and Marton, and a rent-charge out of the said manor, lands, and tithes, of £70, to his wife, so long as she continues his widow, and afterwards to his only son, William Turner, his heirs and assigns, subject nevertheless to the charge heretofore made to my son-in-law Samuel Cooper and Christian his wife and their heirs, and to the further charge that he shall, within a year after he comes into possession, pay the sums hereafter mentioned, namely, to his loving daughter, Thomasine Turner, £50, in full of her filial part; to Martha, John, and William Haitfield, my grandchildren, £50 amongst them; and to his wife £40, which is to be given by her among her seven daughters first named in his will. He gives to the said seven daughters all his money, plate, linen, woollen, pewter, brass, household stuff, goods, chattels, and personal estate, of what kind soever (saving his wife’s wearing apparel, rings, and jewels), equally amongst them, for the better augmentation of their portions; desiring and entreating his said wife’s great care for their advancement, “considering my kindness and love to her by this my will.” He further gives to his son-in-law Cooper and his wife, and to his daughter Thomasine Turner, each twenty shillings, for rings, to wear for his sake. He makes his wife executrix, and desires Thompson and Tomlinson to assist her, to each of whom he gives a ring. The witnesses were R. Etherington, James Tennant, and Edward Topham.
This will tends to confirm Pope’s representation that two of his mother’s brothers died in early life. Towthorpe, we see, is not mentioned; probably it had passed from the family: but, on the other hand, there seems to have been some addition made to what Lancelot the uncle had possessed at Ruston. This Ruston (for there are two Rustons as well as two Towthorpes in Yorkshire) is near Scarborough, and Brompton, the ancient seat of the Cayley family, as this will plainly shows, by mentioning as appurtenances, Wickham and Marton, in the same neighbourhood. We have already seen that an interest was possessed here, in 1710, by Alexander Pope, the London merchant, and his son, who seem to have intended to sell it to the Vanden Bempd family.[4] It was a valuable property; but we cannot but perceive, when we compare this will with that of Lancelot Turner, that the prosperity of the family had meanwhile declined.