THE STORY OF THE BETTISCOMBE SKULL. 195 



expresses a desire in his will to be buried with his late wife in 

 Wayford ; but he does not appear to have left any issue. 

 He left all his estates in strict entail to the above-mentioned 

 John Frederick Pinney, his cousin ; with remainder to John 

 Pinney, of Herwood, Thorncombe ; remainder to John Pretor, 

 son of Michael Pretor, deceased, on his taking the name and 

 arms of Pinney. The will was proved by John Frederick 

 Pinney in June, 1760, then M.P. for Bridport. And so it was, 

 as Mr. Oliver observes, that the younger branch of the family 

 settled in Nevis, and eventually inherited the Bettiscombe 

 property on the extinction of the heirs in the elder line. 



But this branch now, too, fails in direct issue, for according 

 to Hutchins, John Frederick Pinney died without issue in 

 1762 and his estates descended to his second-cousin, the 

 above-mentioned Pretor, afterwards high sheriff of Dorset 

 (1764), who took the name and arms of Pinney. This state- 

 ment as to the failure of issue is borne out by the extract 

 furnished by Mr. Oliver from the will of John Frederick 

 Pinney (made in 1761), who is described as of Bettiscombe, 

 and was apparently unmarried. He left all his estates in 

 Nevis and in England to John Pretor, following the devise in 

 his cousin Azariah's will, with additional remainders over. 

 This will is proved in 1762 by John Pretor (Pinney). So that 

 this John Pretor may be said to have succeeded to the family 

 property under both wills. And here the Nevis blood also, 

 notwithstanding the seven children of John Pinney (who 

 died aged only 34), expired with his last surviving son, John 

 Frederick Pinney, for I take it that the Pretors (a Dorset 

 name) were not connected through any Nevis member of 

 the family. 



And so the history of the family as unfolded by the " Planta- 

 tion Books " on the estate in Nevis appears drawing to a close 

 as the period connected with the history of the Bettiscombe 

 skull begins to dawn. 



John Pinney (Pretor) who pays a visit to Nevis in 1764 

 settles in 1765 certain of his estates and a portion of his slaves 

 on his son John Frederick (the second), and the two of them 



