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Authors: Marsha Hoffman Rising
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40 acres of land in Franklin County. She further granted him all of her household and kitchen furniture and livestock.
The following unusual deed even provided a specific date of birth, as well as clues to family connections.
Cole County, Missouri, Deed Book B:197: 17 February 1835, John Walker of City of Jefferson certified that James C. Wills, a negro who was 21 years of age on the 12 November 1833, was born in my house while his mother, a freed woman named Nancy, belonged to me. Nancy was set free by the will of Courtney Walker, recorded in Jessamine County, Kentucky. Nancy lived with Walker until she was 25 years of age, at which time she was entitled to her freedom as well as her offspring. James has lived with me from the day of his birth until he came of age and is to be considered a free man since 12 November 1833.
Clues to Aid in Estimating the Time of Death
1. PROBATE. A common method for estimating death is to assume that a death occurred between the time an individual made his will and the time it was proved in court. If he died intestate (without a will), the
first
letters of administration will be issued by the court within two to three weeks of his death; creditors do not want to wait long after an individual has died to be paid what is owed them, and that process can't begin until the bond has been filed and the letters of administration issued. There are times when the letters of administration may be delayed, perhaps due to the death or relocation of an administrator, or an extension of settlement due to disputes, so you must be alert to those circumstances. A new administrator may have been appointed if complaints were made about the original one by those standing to inherit or by creditors who are not being paid promptly.
Receipts in the probate packet may indirectly give you the date of death. First, find the last date the deceased rendered some type of business.
From Figure 2-10 on page 48, we know John Griffis was alive 5 January 1842. Next, try to locate the receipt for the date the coffin was built (see Figure 2-11 ) or the shroud was purchased (see Figure 2-12 ).
The last doctor's visit can give an excellent idea of when death occurred. In this instance, Dr. Terrell last visited on May 31, the coffin was built in June, and the widow relinquished her right to administer the estate on June 6. When did John Griffis die?
If a probate case remains open for some time but there is no indication of dispute or legal entanglements, the closing of that estate may indicate that the widow has now died. Charles Wildish died in 1898 inWaukeshau, Wisconsin. His estate was settled in 1916. Why? Because his widow died that year. Cornelia Southern of Greene County, Missouri, died in 1898. Her land was not sold until 1909. Why not? Her husband had just died.
2. LARGE GAPS IN THE AGES OF CHILDREN recorded in census records may indicate the death of a child or child-bearing wife. This clue can help you determine possible remarriages.
3. CIRCUIT COURT MINUTES can be an overlooked source for estimating a death date. Figure 2-13 on page 49 is an example of Greene County, Missouri, circuit court minutes reporting a death in a case that had nothing to do with probate proceedings.
4. TAX LISTS are one of the better ways of tracking individuals over discrete time periods. If you are able to follow an individual for several consecutive years and then he suddenly drops off the tax roll, three possibilities arise: he moved away, he reached the age of exemption, or he died. Clues to a death written on the tax rolls are notations such as “Henry Musselman's widow,” “Peter Brubaker's Ex” (meaning executor), or “Christian Hershey's estate,” as were found in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, records. Kentucky has an excellent set of early nineteenth-century tax lists; the widow may be listed for one or two years after her husband's death, but then she will drop off even though she is still alive.
Figure 2-10
The following unusual deed even provided a specific date of birth, as well as clues to family connections.
Cole County, Missouri, Deed Book B:197: 17 February 1835, John Walker of City of Jefferson certified that James C. Wills, a negro who was 21 years of age on the 12 November 1833, was born in my house while his mother, a freed woman named Nancy, belonged to me. Nancy was set free by the will of Courtney Walker, recorded in Jessamine County, Kentucky. Nancy lived with Walker until she was 25 years of age, at which time she was entitled to her freedom as well as her offspring. James has lived with me from the day of his birth until he came of age and is to be considered a free man since 12 November 1833.
Clues to Aid in Estimating the Time of Death
1. PROBATE. A common method for estimating death is to assume that a death occurred between the time an individual made his will and the time it was proved in court. If he died intestate (without a will), the
first
letters of administration will be issued by the court within two to three weeks of his death; creditors do not want to wait long after an individual has died to be paid what is owed them, and that process can't begin until the bond has been filed and the letters of administration issued. There are times when the letters of administration may be delayed, perhaps due to the death or relocation of an administrator, or an extension of settlement due to disputes, so you must be alert to those circumstances. A new administrator may have been appointed if complaints were made about the original one by those standing to inherit or by creditors who are not being paid promptly.
Receipts in the probate packet may indirectly give you the date of death. First, find the last date the deceased rendered some type of business.
From Figure 2-10 on page 48, we know John Griffis was alive 5 January 1842. Next, try to locate the receipt for the date the coffin was built (see Figure 2-11 ) or the shroud was purchased (see Figure 2-12 ).
The last doctor's visit can give an excellent idea of when death occurred. In this instance, Dr. Terrell last visited on May 31, the coffin was built in June, and the widow relinquished her right to administer the estate on June 6. When did John Griffis die?
If a probate case remains open for some time but there is no indication of dispute or legal entanglements, the closing of that estate may indicate that the widow has now died. Charles Wildish died in 1898 inWaukeshau, Wisconsin. His estate was settled in 1916. Why? Because his widow died that year. Cornelia Southern of Greene County, Missouri, died in 1898. Her land was not sold until 1909. Why not? Her husband had just died.
2. LARGE GAPS IN THE AGES OF CHILDREN recorded in census records may indicate the death of a child or child-bearing wife. This clue can help you determine possible remarriages.
3. CIRCUIT COURT MINUTES can be an overlooked source for estimating a death date. Figure 2-13 on page 49 is an example of Greene County, Missouri, circuit court minutes reporting a death in a case that had nothing to do with probate proceedings.
4. TAX LISTS are one of the better ways of tracking individuals over discrete time periods. If you are able to follow an individual for several consecutive years and then he suddenly drops off the tax roll, three possibilities arise: he moved away, he reached the age of exemption, or he died. Clues to a death written on the tax rolls are notations such as “Henry Musselman's widow,” “Peter Brubaker's Ex” (meaning executor), or “Christian Hershey's estate,” as were found in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, records. Kentucky has an excellent set of early nineteenth-century tax lists; the widow may be listed for one or two years after her husband's death, but then she will drop off even though she is still alive.
Figure 2-10
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