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I am transcribing a Nottinghamshire will and probate bond dated 1651, and two passages of the will are eluding me.

In the first passage the testator bequeaths unto his

"sonne my house & my Land wth the Appurtenants in any wise belonging or appertaineing wth all the kayre Lomes now ressident upon the grounds"

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What might "kayre Lomes" have meant?

In the second passage a word appears twice that I can't make head nor tail of:

I give unto Thomas Nickson The first Swarme of Bees Cassen after my desease and if all the Bees be dead in stead of the Swarme 10[s]

I give unto Robt Budd the second swarme thts Cassen after my desease & if the Bees be gone in lew there of the some of 10[s]

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What might "Cassen" have meant?

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Harry V.
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  • My first thought for the word in that second passage is "thereupon" but that is not backed up by any detailed analysis. – PolyGeo Aug 28 '15 at 02:32
  • What's the paragraph preceding the second passage? If it is a bequest of a bee hive, then I think I might be inclined to interpret the two unknown instances as "therefrom" -- he'd be bequeathing the swarms which split off from and leave the earlier mentioned bee hive. – RobertShaw Aug 29 '15 at 03:52
  • @RobertShaw The preceding paragraph is a completely separate bequest, nothing to do with bees. – Harry V. Aug 29 '15 at 04:04
  • For the first element, 'fair lambs'? definitely fayre as the first word. –  Sep 29 '15 at 12:25
  • @ColeValleyGirl Perhaps you post this as an answer? – Harry V. Sep 29 '15 at 13:39
  • @vervet, I'm sure about fayre but not adamant about lambs .. it fits with the local agriculture but I'd want some collaboration that I haven't found yet. Do you have a link to the entire will? –  Sep 29 '15 at 13:40
  • @ColeValleyGirl The will is not available online but I have temporarily uploaded it here https://www.flickr.com/gp/136567701@N05/9W0895 – Harry V. Sep 29 '15 at 14:10
  • Ok -- the testator left his heifer to the same son as he left his 'fayre ????'. Make its more likely that this was lifestock as well (to my mind) but not conclusive -- was this son his eldest? –  Sep 29 '15 at 14:41
  • @ColeValleyGirl I'm not certain as the parish registers for the period are a bit spotty and I haven't located his baptism, but I think Thomas was the only surviving son. I know there were two (probably older) sons who almost certainly died in infancy. I can't see where the testator mentions his heifer - only that he left his house and lands to son Thomas. – Harry V. Sep 29 '15 at 15:06
  • Ok -- re-examined it closely. One son-in-law (and mention of a daughter who was probably married to the son-in-law) and one son who was also the executor. Lots of bequests to grandchildren, plus the bees to unrelated? individuals and anything left to the grandchildren. You're right -- house not heifer. Testator was a wheelwright, which may or may not help... still think we're talking about livestock. What else would be 'resident'? –  Sep 29 '15 at 16:10
  • I presume you'd have mentioned it if there was an inventory associated with the probate bond... –  Sep 30 '15 at 13:01
  • No, unfortunately not – Harry V. Sep 30 '15 at 13:09

2 Answers2

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Kayer = A coarse sieve used to winnow corn (separate large from small)

https://books.google.com/books?id=tUYOAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA31&dq=kayer++corn+-layer&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CEgQ6AEwCGoVChMI0ZGO8umbyAIVhFiSCh09Zg62#v=onepage&q=kayer&f=false

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Looms/Lomes = An open vessel of any kind; tub, bucket or vat

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~fordingtondorset/Files/Glossary.html

Lome = tool or implement https://books.google.com/books?id=fbw8BrRXcz8C&pg=PA1180&lpg=PA1180&dq=fayre+lomes&source=bl&ots=MFPOneltmf&sig=q1ghnlOGQXyHzm3iUcKfLOrOcJA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CC8Q6AEwA2oVChMIqbjzpvqcyAIVBxeSCh1QewwI#v=onepage&q=%20lomes&f=true

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Cassen = Casting (cast off) = The second swarm of bees from one hive.

The first flight is termed a swarm; the second a cast; the third a colt; should they migrate a fourth time (a rare occurrence) it is called a spew.

The English Dialect Dictionary:

Sc. When the hive grows very throng, and yet not quite ready to cast, Maxwell Bee-master (1747) 34 (jam.). Abd. Our bees— never keest Bit hang at the skep-moo, Goodwife (1867) St. 29. s.Dur. Our bees is kessen in a berry bush ! (J.E.D.") w.Yks. A swarm a bees at wor kestin, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1853); w.Yks.1 The bees are cast Lei.1

Hence (1) Casting, vbl. sb. the act of swarming; (2) Kesting-time, vbl. sb. about May, when bees cluster for the purpose.

Rusty Erpenbeck
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  • Thanks for this, Rusty. I'm certain you are correct with the casting of bees. However I had come to quite a different meaning with the "kayre lomes". I'll see if anyone else suggests a different answer for that, but if not I'll post my thinking on that one. – Harry V. Sep 29 '15 at 12:18
  • Upvoted for the bee-keeping content. –  Sep 29 '15 at 14:50
  • Middle English Dictionary: Lome = tool or implement – Rusty Erpenbeck Sep 29 '15 at 19:19
  • Agreed, re Lome, but how could one be 'resident upon the grounds'. Or do you read the whole sentence differently (which I'll admit happily is possible). –  Sep 29 '15 at 19:28
  • I took "resident upon the grounds" to mean they were stored outdoors, and not within a barn or shed. – Rusty Erpenbeck Sep 29 '15 at 20:27
  • Or possibly he is prone to borrowing/lending tools with neighbors, and "now resident" means "this is my present inventory". – Rusty Erpenbeck Sep 29 '15 at 20:35
  • So the Lomes could be the tools of his wheelwrighting trade which he is passing to his son. I wonder was he a wheelwright as well @vervet ? –  Sep 30 '15 at 06:51
  • @ColeValleyGirl Not that I'm aware - he is described as a 'yeoman' in the 1670s. The tools idea is interesting, I had not thought of this. In the OED it is under loom: "1a. An implement or tool of any kind. Obs. exc. Sc. and north. dial." – Harry V. Sep 30 '15 at 12:45
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I believe that "kayre lomes" may be a spelling of heirlooms.

In the Oxford English Dictionary, heirloom is defined as:

a. A chattel that, under a will, settlement, or local custom, follows the devolution of real estate. Hence, Any piece of personal property that has been in a family for several generations.

Heirlooms (various sp.) are commonly mentioned in Nottinghamshire Household Inventories (Thoroton Society Record Series, vol XXII, 1963).

Harry V.
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  • The problem is that anything can be considered an heirloom. You can't say "I leave all my heirlooms to my daughter, and everything else to my son" without an inventory of what you consider an heirloom. It would be an impossible task for an executor, lawyer, or judge to divide the assets as intended. I don't believe anyone practiced in the writing of wills would allow their client to phrase it that way, unless there was only one heir. – Rusty Erpenbeck Oct 04 '15 at 18:28
  • @Rusty The will doesn't say that though. He leaves to his son "my house & my Land wth the Appurtenants in any wise belonging or appertaineing wth all the kayre(?) Lomes now ressident upon the grounds." Other specific items were bequeathed to other family members. I am very open to better suggestions. – Harry V. Oct 04 '15 at 19:01
  • I see two examples of "hayre lomes" but both say "these things are to be heirlooms" - (1) gyft and bekweth the boke to be hayre lomes at my maner - (2) my Iron grate my fowre beddes wh their furniture a tie a dozen of syluer spones all my plowes waynes, & all thingf thereto belonginge to be hayre- lomes. – Rusty Erpenbeck Oct 05 '15 at 18:06