Author: [JEMMY WOOD]
Title: Rewards. £2000!! Will of James Wood, Esq. Deceased... signed by Henry H. Wilton, Town Clerk. [with] The Life and Anecdotes of Jemmy Wood, the Eccentric Banker, Merchant, & Draper, or Gloucester. Also an Account of the Remarkable Trial with Reference to his Will.
Description: Gloucester: Walkers, printers, 1836. Large poster, 760 x 500 mm. The book is worn. A rare reward poster relating to a celebrated case regarding James Wood's will. Wood died in 1836 and was buried in St Mary de Crypt Church in Gloucester where there is a gravestone to his memory in the chancel. The crowd at his funeral reportedly "...evinced a levity of demeanor inconsistent with the solemnity of the occasion" and his coffin was said to have been stoned. Problems over his will led to a long court case that soaked up much of the funds in the estate. Wood never married and had no children He left around £900,000 to be shared equally between Sir Matthew Wood, John Chadborn (Solicitor), Jacob Osborne and John S. Surman, who were also his executors. A damaged codicil was found that left money to the City of Gloucester and to other beneficiaries and it was wrangling over the authenticity of the codicil that caused the settlement of the estate to be delayed. Chadborn hanged himself in 1839 and the obituary notice in The Gentleman's Magazine noted that since Wood's death, Chadborn's attention had "been almost wholly engrossed with the proceedings consequent upon the disputed validity of the will."

Keywords: Ephemera


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