For every estate inventory you find online (for example, those of Revolutionary war veterans) there must be thousands, if not millions, of others in files, in boxes, in books, tucked away in dusty (or well-kept) corners of courthouses and state archives. Among the 476 pages of photocopied material I brought back from my visit to the North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh is an estate inventory for Mary Stacy, deceased, widow of Buckner Stacy, who lived in Montgomery County, North Carolina. This was dated March 31st 1849, and is a fascinating look at a time and place long vanished:
1 spider
1 skillet
1 pot, oven & hooks
2 baskets of grind stones
1 plow
2 axes
2 augers
2 hoes
1 wagon
11 bushels cotton seed
5 bushels corn
1 sow & 8 choice shoats [young hogs]
1 coffee mill
1 Bible
1 cupboard
1 lot crockery
1 table
1 clock
1 Bureau
1 pr. sheep shears & scissors
wheel
1 pr. steelyards & candle moulds
1 bell
lard stand & contents
1 churn
1 Bed & furniture
andirons
4 chairs
100 lbs. bacon
1 lot sugar & coffee
Most of these items sold for just a few cents; the most expensive item on the list was the wagon, which sold for $22. The names of the community members who bought these items are illuminating, too - many of them were the sons-in-law of Mary & Buckner, and a granddaughter, Eliza Stacy, bought a looking glass for 92 cents.
Along with this inventory, I also brought home an inventory and a will for Buckner Stacy, who died in 1842. His much shorter inventory included:
1 black mare 24.60
1 bay mare 70.85
1 dark red cow 7.00
1 black heifer 2.26
10 head of sheep 9.00
Bill 435.50
Ann 430.10
Ben 650
George 550.25
Ally 5.00
These last items were obviously slaves. One of the stipulations in Buckner Stacy's will was "that my executor should expose to publick sales my negro man West and the proceeds be applied to pay my debts".
Yes, it was a different time and place.
1 spider
1 skillet
1 pot, oven & hooks
2 baskets of grind stones
1 plow
2 axes
2 augers
2 hoes
1 wagon
11 bushels cotton seed
5 bushels corn
1 sow & 8 choice shoats [young hogs]
1 coffee mill
1 Bible
1 cupboard
1 lot crockery
1 table
1 clock
1 Bureau
1 pr. sheep shears & scissors
wheel
1 pr. steelyards & candle moulds
1 bell
lard stand & contents
1 churn
1 Bed & furniture
andirons
4 chairs
100 lbs. bacon
1 lot sugar & coffee
Most of these items sold for just a few cents; the most expensive item on the list was the wagon, which sold for $22. The names of the community members who bought these items are illuminating, too - many of them were the sons-in-law of Mary & Buckner, and a granddaughter, Eliza Stacy, bought a looking glass for 92 cents.
Along with this inventory, I also brought home an inventory and a will for Buckner Stacy, who died in 1842. His much shorter inventory included:
1 black mare 24.60
1 bay mare 70.85
1 dark red cow 7.00
1 black heifer 2.26
10 head of sheep 9.00
Bill 435.50
Ann 430.10
Ben 650
George 550.25
Ally 5.00
These last items were obviously slaves. One of the stipulations in Buckner Stacy's will was "that my executor should expose to publick sales my negro man West and the proceeds be applied to pay my debts".
Yes, it was a different time and place.
RSS Feed