Petitions to the Staffordshire Quarter Sessions, 1589-1799.
This free content was born digital and sponsored by the Arts and Humanities Research Council Research Grant: ‘The Power of Petitioning in Seventeenth-Century England’ (AH/S001654/1) for costs including transcription of seventeenth-century items and editorial work, with the cost of photographing the petitions being funded by an Economic History Society Carnevali Small Research Grant: ‘Seeking Redress in Early Modern England: Petitions to Local Authorities, c.1580-1750’; and the cost of transcribing eighteenth-century items was funded by a later Economic History Society Carnevali Small Research Grant: ‘Poverty, Taxation and Regulation: Petitions to Local magistrates in Eighteenth-Century England’. CC-NC-BY.
Mistris Mary Phillips widow of Mr Ralph Phillips minister in Tixhall. Q/SR/406/7 (1689)
[T]o the write worshipful his Majesties Justices of the peace The
humble peticion of Mistris Mary Phillips widdow late wife to Mr Ralph
Phillips heretofore Minister of gods word in Tixhall
Your poore distresed peticioner in most humble
manour sheweth that she with the rest of her
family have had there settlement in Tixhall the
space of twenty yeeres and upward and have there lived
in good repute amongst theire nightbours but since
it hath plased god, about two yeeres last past
to tacke from hense her husband, whoss life was
[illegible]ly liufing and left her in much debt with
many children herselfe being weacke of body and
much over growne in yeeres and being at present destitut
of hapitacion (although the minister Mr Wacklin hath
by gentle meanes often intreated the parishnors there
unto) she not knowing in this troble what refuge
to tacke, therefore nessessity inforceth her to mack known
to your worships this her sad and deplorable condicion
humble beseeching that of youre goodnes, you would be
pleased to yeld her such releife, that may preserve
her and her poore children, which otherwyse will be exposed
to that miserable calamity as to be inforced to vagabony
vagaboncy, and youre poore peticioner shall ever render as in
duety she is bounde, the continuall prayers of the poore widdow
and fatherles, for youre and her live and eternoll [happiness?]
here after.