Amanuensis Monday -- 1709 Inventory and 1710 Administrator's Account for Estate of Zechariah Barber (1656-1705)

This week's document for transcription is the 1709 inventory and 1710 Administrator's account of the Zechariah Barber (1656-1705) estate of Medfield, Massachusetts, in Probate Packet 3,180 in the Suffolk County, Massachusetts probate court records:

Image 4 of 20:

Image 8 of 20:

The transcription of these papers is:

Image 4 of 20:

A True Inventory of all and singular y'e goods chattels and

Credits of Zechariah Barbur Late of Medfield (Deceased) as

it was given in and made by the persons hereunto Subscribing

July y'e 8'th 1709 as followeth

Impri'ms To cloathing and armes	1 – 10 – 0
To one feather bed and y'e beding belonging to it	5 –   1 – 0
To one bed and beding one y'e chamber	2 –   0 – 0
To one other bed and two Coverlins one chamber	2 –   0 – 0
To one Trundle bed and beding to it	1 – 10 – 0
To Sheets blankets napkins pillowbeers and other linnin	3 – 19 – 0
To peuter brasse and iron ware in y'e house	3 –   9 – 0
To Chests chairs Table Tubs Killers and other wooden ware in y'e house	3 –   8 – 6
To Cart plough tacklin for y'e team, horse furniture, husband- ry tools wooll and hemp	3 –   8 – 6
To neat cattell, horse kind sheep and Swine	35 –   2 – 0
To y'e home Lot with y'e meadow Lying by it and y'e building on it	42 –   0 – 0
To 4 acres of meadow in broad meadow	20 –   0 – 0
To 2 acres of meadow by noon hill	10 –   0 – 0
To 10 acres of meadow and swamp land by Boggastow brook	18 –   0 – 0
To 10 acres of land by pine swamp near pine valle	16 –   0 – 0
To 6 acres of upland on pine hill near pine valle	02 –   0 – 0
To two acres of upland in bridge Street plain	6 –   0 – 0
To six acres of upland old mill Land	6 –   0 – 0
To Eleven acres of Land in black swamp	2 – 15 – 0
To five acres f Land in Renersion	3 – 15 – 0
To a smale parcel of land lying between y'e bridg and John bowers meadow	0 – 10 – 0
Sum total	190 – 6 – 6
John Harding
Sam'll Barbur
Jonathan Boyden

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Suffolk ss

The acompt of Zechariah Barbur of Medfield Administrator of all and

singular of goods and chattels of his father Zechariah Barbur late of said

Medfield Deceased, as well of and for such and so much of y'e same goods and

Chattels as came to his hands, as of and for his payment and Disbursement out of

y'e same as followeth.

The said accomptant Chargeth himself with all and Singular y'e goods

and Chattels of y'e said Deceased Specifyed in an Inventory

thereof made and Exhibitted in to y'e Register of y'e said County

amounting as by y'e Inventory

Appeareth to the sum of		£190 – 6 – 6
Whereof in housing & Land	£127 – “ – “
And petition for allowance as followeth
Impr'rs paid in y'e year 1706 to y'e province tax	1 –   8 – 0
And to y'e minister's Rate	0 –   6 – 6
And to y'e Town Rate	0 –   4 – 6	1 – 18 – 6
It in year 1707 paid to Do'c. John Harding	1 –   0 – 0
and to Cap'tn John Ware	1 –   9 – 0	1 –   9 – 0
And to y'e province tax	2 –   3 – 0
And to y'e ministers Rate	0 –  10 –11
And to y'e County Rate	0 –   2 – 0
And to y'e Town Rate	0 –   6 – 0
To funeral Charges		1 –   “ – “
It in y'e year 1708 paid to y'e province Tax	2 –   1 –10
And to y'e Ministers Rate	0 – 10 – 5
And to y'e Town Rate	0 –   3 – 0
It in y'e year 1709 paid to y'e Country Rate	1 – 14 – 0
And to y'e Ministers Rate	0 –   8 – 0
And to y'e Town Rate	0 –   5 – 8
P'd for Lett'r of Adm'con & Reg'ring y'e Inv'o		10 – 6
For Allowing & Registring this Acco't		8 – 6
To the Accomptants time & Trouble		1 –   “ – “
		£ 6 –   5 – 6
	Remains	£ 184 –   1 – 0

The oth'r Articles above not carryed out were pd out of

the Income of y'e Estate.                            Z

                                                       Zechariah barbur

Ju. y'e 19'th of May 1710

The source citation for this probate case file is:

Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Probate case files, Packet #3,180 (20 images), Zechariah Barber of Medfield, administration filed 1709; "Suffolk County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1636-1893," indexed database and digital images, New England Historical and Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (https://www.AmericanAncestors.org : accessed 26 June 2020); from records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives, digitized images provided by FamilySearch.org.

This probate packet contains 20 separate papers: the papers with actions on them include a 1709 bond and letters of administration; a 1709 Inventory of personal and real property; a 1710 administrator's Account; a 1717 Order to apprise the Real Estate; a 1717 Real Estate Inventory; a list of the Heirs and a calculation of their shares; a 1717 Administrator's Account; the 1717 Bond and order of the Court..

Zechariah Barber died 11 August 1705 in Medfield, leaving a wife Abiel (Ellice) Barber (1662-1716) and seven living children aged 2 to 19. Administration was filed on the estate of Zechariah Barber on 28 May 1709 in Suffolk County Probate Court by his eldest son, Zechary Barbur, now age 23. A bond of £300 was posted by Zechary Barbur, Theophilus Clark and Samuel Smith, the son Zechary Barber was appointed Administrator of the estate of his father. An inventory of the real and personal estate was taken on 8 July 1709 by John Harding, Samuell Barbur and Jonathan Boyden. The inventory totaled £190 6s 6d. The real estate included:

* home lot with a meadow and buildings (£42)
* 4 acres of meadow in broad meadow (£20)
* 2 acres of meadow by noon hill (£10)
* 10 acres of meadow and swamp by Boggastow brook (£18)
* 10 acres of upland by pine swamp near pine valley (£16)
* 2 acres of upland in bridge street plain (£6)
* 6 acres of upland old mill land (£6)
* 11 acres of land in black swamp (£2-15s)
* 5 acres of land in Ren???sion (£2-15s)
* small parcel of land between the bridge and John Bowers meadow (£0-10s)

The inventory was accepted on 23 August 1709 by the Court. Zechariah Barbur filed an account on 19 May 1710, requesting approval of charges and fees of £6-5s-6d, leaving £184-1s-0d. Nothing more was done until after Abiel (Ellice) Barber, the widow of Zechariah Barber, died on 14 August 1716. By Massachusetts law, her one third portion of the estate was put back into the estate of her husband.

An Inventory of the real estate was taken on 5 November 1717 by Samuell Barber, John Fisher, and Ebenezer Mason. The real estate was apprised for £152-10s-0d. A bond of £300 pounds was filed by Zechariah Barber, Nathaniel Partridge and Samuel Ellice, on condition that the real estate be distributed by Administrator Zechariah Barber to his siblings (Joseph, Abiel, John, Ruth, Elizabeth and Mary). A committee stated that the land holdings were not capable of a division among the children.

On 17 December 1717, the Probate Court ordered Zechariah Barber, the administrator and eldest son, to have the whole estate and pay his six siblings, or their guardians, £19-1s each plus 5% interest per annum, within one year. There were 8 shares, since the son Zechariah was the eldest child, he received two shares. Zechariah received the whole estate of their parents and had to pay each sibling their share.

Zechariah and Abiel (Ellice) Barber are my 7th great-grandparents, through their daughter Ruth Barber (1696-1761) who married Henry Smith (1680-1743) as his third wife in 1730.

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NOTE: 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."

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