Monday, January 31, 2011

Amanuensis Monday - Alpheus B. Smith Probate Papers - Post 2

Genea-blogger John Newmark (who writes the excellent TransylvanianDutch blog) started a Monday blog theme many months ago called Amanuensis Monday. What does "amanuensis" mean? John offers this definition:

"A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."

The subject today is the probate file of Alpheus B. Smith (1798-1840) of Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts.  The papers are in Probate Packet No. 16,776 in the Norfolk County [Mass.] Probate Court records.  I listed the papers in the Probate Packet in Amanuensis Monday - Insolvency Sale of Land of Alpheus B. Smith. 

The full packets are not available on Family History Library microfilms - only the Clerk's copies recorded in the Probate Court Records are available on microfilm.  All of the papers in this packet are in three volumes, but they are on three different microfilms.  I have many of the papers in the packet, but not all of them.  The next time I go to Salt Lake City, I will find and obtain the rest of them. Here are three more of the papers filed in the Probate Court:

Note:  In the transcriptions below, printed forms are unitalicized, handwritten words and numbers are italicized, and blanks in the form are underlined.

The Inventory Filed form has this information (from Norfolk County [Mass.] Probate Court Records, Volume 73, Page 766, on FHL Microfilm 0,842,817):

“Norfolk SS. At a Court of Probate holden at Roxbury in said County, on the fourth Tuesday of December, A.D. 1839 and continued by adjournment .from time to time to the fifteenth day of February A.D. 1840.

“The Inventory of the Estate of Alpheus B. Smith late of Medfield in the County of Norfolk deceased, amounting in real estate to $720 in personal estate to $119.37 having been duly exhibited on oath by Hinsdale Fisher Admr, it is therefore ordered that the same be accepted and filed. S. Leland, Judge of Probate”

The Allowance of Widows form has this information (from Norfolk County [Mass.] Probate Court Records, Volume 73, Page 739, on FHL Microfilm 0,842,817):

“Norfolk SS. At a Court of Probate holden at Dedham in said County, on the first Tuesday of February, A.D. 1840.

“It is ordered that Elizabeth H. Smith widow of Alpheus B. Smith late of Medfield in said County, yeoman deceased, be and she hereby is allowed out of his personal estate, such necessary articles not exceeding $115 in value, as she shall select, for the use of herself and the minor children of the said deceased, if any there be, under her care. – S. Leland Judge of Probate”

The Petition for Dower Order form has this information (from Norfolk County [Mass.] Probate Court Records, Volume 73, Page 712, on FHL Microfilm 0,842,817):

“Norfolk SS. At a Court of Probate holden at Dedham in said County, on the first Tuesday of June, A.D. 1840.

“It appearing upon the petition of Elizabeth H. Smith of Medfield in said County, that she is the Widow of Alpheus B. Smith late of Medfield in said County of Norfolk, yeoman deceased, that he died seized of real estate situated in Medfield of the value of $700; that she is entitled to dower therein, and requests the same to be assigned to her, and that Lucretia T. Smith & James A. Smith of Medfield, the other owners of said estate and the only other persons interested therein, have had due notice of her said petition. – S. Leland Judge of Probate”

Three discreet disinterested persons were authorized and required by the court to assign the Widow her dower of one-third of the income from all of the real estate owned by her husband.

I have more papers to transcribe in this series.  The three papers listed above are some of the first ones filed (I cherry-picked the one two weeks ago because it gave me a lead on Elizabeth (Dill) Smith's ancestry) and lay the groundwork for succeeding papers in the packet.

The Inventory Filed form does not include a list of real and personal property, which is unfortunate. 

The widow was allowed all of the personal estate in the Allowance of Widows document, which was logical since those are the items that she needed to continue living in the house and raise her children.

If I had not known the names of both of the children of Alpheus and Elizabeth (Dill) Smith from other records, I would have been able to identify them, since the Dower document above names them. 

No comments: