Monday, May 23, 2016

Amanuensis Monday - Post 321: Estate Inventory of Henry Smith (1680-1743) of Medfield, Mass.

Genea-blogger John Newmark (who writes the excellent  TransylvanianDutch blog) started a Monday blog theme years ago called "Amanuensis Monday."  John offers this definition for "amanuensis:" 

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

The subject today is the 1743 inventory of the estate of Henry Smith (1680-1743) of Medfield, Sussex County, Massachusetts:



The transcription of the inventory is (transcribed line by line):

An Inventory of the Estate of Henry Smith late of Medfield in
the County of Suffolk Husbandman deced as it was appraised by us the
Subscribers on Sept'r 22'd & 23'd 1743 in the old Tenour –

To Wearing Apparel Books & arms & a p'r Boots & Spurs
£ 28
13
--
To one Cotton Shirt & 2 pr. Of Linnen Breeches
1
7
--
To a p'r of gloves & Mittens & 2 Woolen Shirts
1
5
6
To 5 Y'd & half of Woolen Cloth & 8 Y'd of Druggett
9
7
--
To one pair of Sheets a Table cloth & other Linnen
2
10
--
To 2 p'r of Stockings & Two Towells

9
--
To Money in hand and Money due to the Estate
137
16
4
To four Beds with the Beding & other things belonging
56
15
--
To 6 pillowbeers a Table cloth, a Bolster Case & other old Linnen
1
18
To a Bed Blanket & 3 Y'ds & half of Druggett
1
12
6
To Buttons & Mohairs & a Foot Wheel
3
3
6
To a Linnen Wheel & two Great Wheels
1
7
6
To 13 Chairs, Pewter Ware, a Button Mould & a Led pan
11
11
6
To 2 brass Kittles 2 Skillets a warming pan & Iron Kittle
8
15
To an Iron Pott & a frying Pan
1
2
To 2 hand Irons & 2 haker Tongs Fire Peals & Gridiron
3
10
To a Box Iron & Heater Earthen Ware & A Table
1
10
4
To 9 Milk Trays 2 Pails a Churn & a Cun
1
13
To 2 Butter Tubs a Dye Tub Scales & Weighh
10
6
To 2 old Pails & a Pigger an old Tub & a Tunnel
7
6
To 8 Cyder Barrels an old Tub & Glass Bottles
2
8
To a Beer Vessel two Meat Tubs and a Soap Tub
1
6
To an old Box a Lanthorn & Sheep Shears
7
6
To 4 Chests 2 Noxes & a Fan
0
4
To a Lawn Sieve a half Bushells & a half Peck
11
To an old Bestead Some Baskets a Keeler & an old Hogshead
16
To a Small Tray the best Saddle Bridle & Breast Plate
1
13
6
To an old Saddle parts of a Bridle & Leather Fetters
17
6
To a Wooden Bottle a Sieve & Male Pillion
9
To a Cheese Press & things belonging Woolen Gloves &
12
6
To a Great Plough a Grass Plough & a Seed Plough
7
9
--
To the Stock of Cattle and one Mare
171
10
To a Cart & Wgheels & all the Irons belonging & Sled Chains
9
11
6
To 3 Chains and two Iron Bars and Bar Iron
13
3
2
To a Breaking Up Hoe and a Broad Hoe & 2 old Hoes
1
9
To 4 Axes and Adze and an old hand Saw
2
14
6
To 2 Chizzells a Gouge Shieve A Stock Shieve & a fro
1
5
To 3 Augres Pincers a Beetle & Wedges & Harrow Teeth
3
9
To 2 Bells Old Scyths and 2 Bush Scyths & Tackling
2
6
6
To 2 pairs of Cords and some ox Shoes
17
6
To a Pillion & Horse Tackling & a Curl Rope
3
19
To 21'tt Flax and 4 'tt Horse Tackling
2
8
To 22 ½ tt Wool & a Tow Comb £5-4/ ¾ tt Cotton & an old Blankets 7/5
5
11
5
To about an ounce & ¾ of Silver
£ 2
6
8
To a Swine a Slead & 2 forks
24
5
To 26 Sheep & 525 of Skip Boards
21
11
6
To 225 Oak Board & 150 of oak plank
1
7
3
To half a p'r of Hillyweds Barking Irons & other old Irons
15
To a Grindstone & 2 sickles
1
To the House & Barn & 220 acres of Land at Home
910
To 3 acres of Meadow in Bridge Street Meadow
150
To 9 acres of Meadow in the Pine Swamp & 3 acres more }
Joyning to Sam'l Smith's Meadow }
130
To Two acres of Meadow at Jade Walk
20
To 43 acres of Land in Walpole and 220 acres more in Said }
Walpole lying in another piece }
815
To a Right in the Great Cedar Swamp in Said Walpole
10
                                                                                                                    
=====
===
===
Samuel Morse Seth Clark Edward Turner
£ 2609
6
4

Suffolk Ss: By the Hono'ble Josiah Willard Esq'r Judge of Prob. &c
Henry Smith one of the Executors (Daniel Smith the other Executor
being Indisposed) presented the foregoing & made oath that it contains a
true & perfect Inventory of the Estate of his Father Henry Smith deceased
so far as hath come to his knowledge and that if more hereafter appears he
will cause the Same to be added. The Subscribing appraizers were Sworn
before Justice Clark as per his Certificate                          J. Willard
Boston Oct'o 21. 1743.
Daniel Smith the other Executor Personally appeared before me this
26th of October 1743 and was Sworn in the Form above written.
                                                                                           J. Willard
                                         Ex'd Ss And'w Belcher Reg'r.

The source citation for this inventory is:

Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991, indexed database with digital images,Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), Suffolk County, "Probate Records, Vol 35-37, 1740-1745," Volume 36, Pages 443-444 (images 572-573 of 927), Henry Smith inventory, 1743.

Note that there is £2,035 in real estate and the remainder is the personal estate, with the largest personal items being money in hand and livestock.


===========================================

The URL for this post is:   

Copyright (c) 2016, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

1 comment:

Geolover said...

Thank you for this interesting inventory.

There were some cooking implements, no crane or trammel that I saw, and no cupboard, chest or trunk. I wonder if he was in transition, moving out of the homestead (having given some goods to children) and into someone else's household. Spinning equipment but no loom.

Was he a tailor?