WILL OF JOSIAH'S FATHER. 91 



during her life, and at her decease to be divided equally among all 

 my children except my daughter Ann. Item, if anything remains 

 out of my personal Estate besides what will discharge my debts 

 that are not secured on my land, my Will is that it be equally 

 divided betwixt all my younger children except my daughter Ann. 

 Item, if by my marriage settlement I have not power to charge Six 

 score pounds on my Estate, my will is that what I have power to 

 charge be equally divided among my six children above mentioned, 

 and raised as above. And I appoint Samuel Stringer, of Newcastle- 

 under-Lyme, & John "Wedgwood, son of Aaron Wedgwood, of 

 Burslem, Ex crs - of this my Will. "Witness my hand, this 26 day 

 of June, 1739. " T. WEDGWOOD. 



" Sealed and delivered, these words being first interlined (due of 

 real the other of my the rest of) (except on mortgage) in the 

 presence of us, who signed this in the pres ce of the Testator, 

 E. Latham, W. Willets, E. Mansfield." 



" At Lichfield,on the 25 th day of October, 1739, Administration 

 (with the Will annexed) of the personal Estate and Effects of 

 Thomas Wedgwood, deceased, was granted to Mary Wedgwood, 

 Widow, the relict, a Legatee named in the said Will, she having 

 been first sworn ; Samuel Stringer and John Wedgwood, the 

 Executors therein named, having renounced." 



By this will it will be seen that the sum of twenty pounds 

 was left to Josiah Wedgwood, to be paid to him on his 

 coming of age a small fortune for that eminent man to 

 start life with. 



The father of Josiah, I have shown, died at midsummer, 

 1739. His eldest son, Thomas, who succeeded him, carried 

 on the business at the Churchyard, and probably continued 

 to reside there until his marriage, between two and three 

 years afterwards. To him Josiah was bound apprentice on 

 the 1 1 th day of November, 1 744 soon after he had attained 

 his fourteenth year. The indenture of apprenticeship is 

 fortunately still in existence, and I am enabled, for the first 

 time, to make it public by presenting the following literal 

 copy to my readers. The indenture is written on the usual 

 foolscap paper of the period, and is duly stamped with three- 

 sixpenny stamps impressed at the top. It is carefully 



