William Sackett

William Sackett, husbandman, maltster of Ash-next-Sandwich, Kent, son of Robert Sackett and Faith Norwood, was baptized at St John in Thanet^G on 1 January 1577/78.¹ He died aged about 63 and was buried at Ash next Sandwich^G on 12 March 1639/40.² He married, probably at Canterbury St Margaret^G in 1599, Joan Parker, having obtained a licence at Canterbury on 21 September 1599.³ William described himself as a husbandman on the marriage licence. He subsequently became a maltster, having his own malthouses at Ash. Joan predeceased him and was buried at St Nicholas, Ash next Sandwich^G, on 18 March 1636/37.⁴
     William was named as a beneficiary in his father's will made at St John in Thanet^G in October 1622.⁵ He received £5 from the will as did his brothers Robert and Edward and sister Bennet, while Paul, the youngest brother, received the residue of money, goods and chattels, and was appointed executor of their father's estate.
     William was a witness in an action in the Court of Chancery, London, in 1638–39, involving the disputed ownership of some of his father's lands in Ickham and Wingham, Kent. The court proceedings are summarised in the entry for William's brother Paul. [See also Transcript of Proceedings]
     William made his will at Ash next Sandwich^G on 27 June 1639.⁶ He named as beneficiaries his sons, William, John, Paul, Jeffery, Robert, and Thomas, his daughters, Elizabeth, Mary, and Joan, and his granddaughters, Joan Philpott and Mary Philpott. In addition to his house and malthouses, William left significant monetary sums to his sons—excepting Jeffery who he would appear to have effectively cut out, leaving him just one shilling. He also expressly excluded Jeffery from benefiting from an annuity which was the subject of a legal action. It is interesting to conjecture why he might have done this. Perhaps he had already provided for Jeffery, who had married the previous year. Perhaps he thought Jeffery incompetent to handle his own finances, although it is later seen that Jeffery followed in his father's footsteps, pursuing the trade of maltster in Sandwich. It would seem more likely, however, given the derisory bequest, that William and Jeffery had seriously fallen out and this was the father's death-bed insult to his son. The will was proved in the Consistory Court of Canterbury on 31 March 1640.
     It is also noted that when William's son Robert made his will 19 years later in 1658, he referred to an amount of £3 owing to him by his brother Jeffery, perhaps confirming that Jeffery had indeed suffered financially after being disinherited.