Amanuensis Monday: William B. Jones inventory, appraisement, and sale bill

This document relates to a branch of my family that hasn't featured very strongly my research. In fact, it is the first primary source I have cited for this particular 5great-grandfather. As such, the "facts" I may state in this post are heavily reliant on secondary sources and are liable to error. But let's charge forward anyway.

William B. Jones was my 5great-grandfather, and he was living in Fleming county, Kentucky at the time of his death in 1863. 

These two documents detail his personal estate and the sale thereof.

[in margin:]

Jones Wm B.

Inventory +

Appraisment

A True and Just Inventory and Appraisment

of all the personal Estate of Wm. B. Jones deceased. which

was produced to us by John Lawson his administrator

Notes and accounts to wit.

1 Note on Thos. F. Keerans + Noble Johnson

due 17th March 1861. for                                      $35.00

1 receipt of William O. Phillips for note for )

collection on Isabel Keithley B. T. Hayden )

& Jas. M. McGregor due 1st March 1861 for )    $440.00

with the following credits $42. by A Williams )

Also $4.40c 23 Sept 1861 & $1..6372c

1 Note on Wm. Pickrell & Samuel Estill due 6."

Feb. 1863 -for-                                                     $234.28

1 Note on Jas. Thompson due 1st April 1861 for $21.35

1 [Note on] Jos. D. Pleak and Stalver = 7" Jany 1861 $7.28

1 [Note on] Thos. J. Atchison = 7" June 1861      $14.84

with a credit on same 2nd Aug

1861 for One Dollar

1 [Note on] Abslem Powell due 8" June 1854     $28.75

1 [Note on] account on Allen Page for                 $16.00

1 Double Barrel Shot Gun                                        12.00

1 Silver Watch                                                            8.00

1 Brass clock                                                              5.00

1 Straw Bed & furniture                                              1.50

1 feather Bed Stead & furniture                                 5.00

1 fallen leaf Table                                                        2.00

1 pair fire Irons                                                              .75

1 Shovel & Tongs                                                          .50

3 Jugs                                                                           .50

2 augers. hand Saw. and drawing Knife                    2.10

1 Stand                                                                         4.00

1 Trunk                                                                         2.50

1 Chest & Toilet                                                            2.50

1 Trunk                                                                            .50

1 Look. Glass                                                                  .75

1 Lot Books                                                                  2.00

1 Press & cupboard ware                                            2.00

2 horns                                                                           .25

2 fish Buckets                                                                .50

1 half Bushel & wooden Bowl                                        .50

7 crocks                                                                          .75

1 Lot Tin ware 2 Brass Kettles &c                                2.00

1 pair Steelyards                                                           2.00

2 smoothing Irons                                                          .50

1 Partridge net & 2 dip nets                                          2.00

1 Razor & Strop &c                                                          .75

1 Large Kettle                                                                1.50

2 ovens, Skillet & 2 Leds                                              2.00

3 Stone Jars                                                                    .25

1 Lot Blls. & Tubs                                                             .50

1 hemp hook                                                                    .75

1 hoe, matick. & rake                                                     1.00

1 Box & Old Irons                                                             .50

1 hatchet                                                                          .50

1 axe, Iron wedge, 2 augers & curry comb                  1.00

1 hammer & small skillet                                                 .50

4 chairs                                                                         2.00

5 Pewter plates                                                              .25

1 acct. on Jas. Johnson for 12 Gall. whiskey            12.00

We do certify that the foregoing appraisement was

Truly and Justly made of the personal property

of William B. Jones deceased. which was produced

To us by his administrator. To the best of our

Judgment all of which we respectfully report to

the Fleming County Court.

Given under our hands this 2ond day of April 1863.

G. Pickrell

A. Williams

G. W. Naylor

 

I do certify that the foregoing Inventory contains

all the personal estate of William. B. Jones deceased

which hath come to my hands. this 2ond April 1863.

John Lawson ) administrator

Fleming County sct.

George Naylor & A. Williams who have been appointed

by the Fleming County court to 20 view and

Appraise the Personal estate of William. B. Jones

deceased. Personally appeared before the subscriber

a Justice of the Peace for said county and were

sworn to view and appraise such estate as shall

be produced to them truly and Justly to the best

of their Judgment. - Given under my hand

2ond. April 1863.                G. Pickrell J.P.

At a court held for Fleming County on the 27th

day of April 1863. This Inventory and Appraisment

of the estate of William B. Jones Decd. was produced

in court. examined and ordered to be recorded

which is duly done.

Attest W. J. Dudley clk.

 

Some quick addition gives me a total of $881.10 for the value of his personal estate, providing I have done the math correctly. Putting that total into an online inflation calculator gives a value of $22,214.28 in today's money.

 

Most of the items appearing in the inventory also appear in the sale bill, along with the price for which they sold as well as who bought them.

 

[in margin:]

Jones Wm. B.

Decd.

Sale Bill

Sale Bill of the property of W. B. Jones Decd.

Constant Lawson        1 Double Barrel Shot gun        5.50

Elizabeth Parker          1 Silver watch                         10.25

Cyntha Jones              1 mantle clock                           1.00

Do.                                1 Straw bed & furniture             .50

Constant Lawson          1 trummel bed & furniture       7.75

G. W. Naylor                  1 table                                       2.50

Sary Barber                  1 pair fire Irons                          0.70

Cyntha Jones               1 fire Shovel & tongs                  .25

Do                                 1 Large Jug                                 .25

do                                  1  do                                            .25

do                                  1     do                                          .10

do                                    1 hand Saw                                .55

do                                    1 drawing Knife & auger            .30

do                                    1 Stand                                       1.00

do                                    1 trunk                                          .25

do                                    1 Chest                                        1.00

do                                    1 Trunk                                        2.05

do                                    1 Looking Glass                            .25

John Lawson                  1 Lot of books                            1.00

John Lawson                  1 Book                                          .75

J. F. Farris                        1 do                                            1.00

G. W. Naylor                    1 do                                              .35

Mary Adanis                    1 Lot of cupboard ware            1.10

John Lawson                   2 horns                                        .25

Cyntha Jones                  2 fish buckets                              .10

do                                     1 half bushel & bowl                    .20

do                                    7 crocks                                        .25

do                                    2 brass Kettles                             .50

do                                    1 Lot tine ware                               .10

do                                    1 Pewter bason                              .10

do                                    1 pair Steelyards                            .50

do                                    2 smoothing Irons                        .25

Elizabeth Parker             1 Partridge net                              1.05

John Lawson                  2 Dip nets                                        .15

do                                    1 razor & strop                                .25

Cyntha Jones                1 Large Kettle                                    .25

do                                    1 Skillet & led                                   .25

do                                    1 Oven & led                                    .25

Louisa Grimsley              1 do                                                  .25

Cyntha Jones                3 Stone Jars                                    .25

do                                    1 Lot of barells                                .50

do                                    1 hemp hook                                    .25

do                                   1 grubing hoe                                    .10

do                                    1 hoe & rake                                    .10

S. L. Tinsley                    1 box & old Irons                            .20

Cyntha Jones                1 hatchet                                          .10

John Lawson                 1 axe & Irons wedge                        .25

Eliza Summers                2 augers & curry comb                  .45

John Lawson                 1 Hammer & Skillet                            .10

Jane Thomas                4 Chairs                                            2.55

Louisa Grimsley            5 pewter plates                                    .40

J. W. Foudray                1 Lot fish poles                                    .50

Fleming County oct.

The foregoing is a true List of the Sales of the

personal estate of Wm. B. Jones Decd. made

17th April 1863.                    John Lawson

Administrator

At a court held for Fleming County on the

27th day of April 1863. This Sale Bill of the

estate of William B. Jones Decd. was produced

in court. examined and ordered to be

recorded, which is duly done:

attest W. I. Dudley   clk.

 

Comparing the appraisement and the sale bill, it is easy to see that few William's items sold for their appraised value, most of them bringing in less than expected.

 

The buyer appearing most frequently on the sale bill was Cyntha Jones, who was William's widow. I was able to identify two more of the buyers, as well. Constant Lawson was William's daughter by his first wife, and John Lawson was her husband.

 

Sources:

Fleming, Kentucky, Probate records, 1798-1966, Will records, 1859-1865, Vol. L, pp. 396-398 (images 208-209 of 329), Inventory & appraisement for the personal estate of William B. Jones; digital images, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 2 Mar 2025). 

Fleming, Kentucky, Probate records, 1798-1966, Will records, 1859-1865, Vol. L, pp. 398-399 (image 209 of 329), Sale bill for the personal estate of William B. Jones; digital images, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 2 Mar 2025).

 

John Stephen Craig - a new find!

Way back in 2013, I wrote a post sharing the first newspaper articles I had ever seen regarding the murder of my great-great-grandfather John Stephen Craig. Since that was written, I have discovered other articles, containing very little additional information, and that seemed to be all there was.

But last weekend I was exploring Newspapers.com, and a number of articles showed up in my search results. I wasn't even looking for articles about his death; but they matched my search terms and appeared anyway. Most of these I ignored, as clippings I have examined and reexamined. But a few grabbed my attention, appearing in a newspaper I had never before accessed. It was the Omaha Daily News, and I diligently looked at every article that popped up from that press, although with little expectation of learning anything new.

One front-page article announced his death and its circumstances, giving much of the same information that I have already seen, yet adding a number of details I had not seen. I read with interest:

FIND BODY OF MURDERED MAN IN VACANT LOT
Say Robbery Not Motive for Killing of John Craig, 70, Expressman.
MONEY IN HIS CLOTHING
Home Where He Lived With Son Shows Apparent Evidence of Struggle.
MAN'S SKULL CRUSHED

John Craig, 70, an expressman, Eleventh and Paul streets, was slain by an unknown assassin some time Wednesday night. His body was found with the skull crushed in a vacant lot near his home at 6 a. m. today.

He had been dead several hours in the opinion of Policeman Antone Franel. Robbery is not believed to have been the motive for the crime as Craig had not been robbed of a gold watch and $7.95 in money, which Franel found in his clothing.

The injury could not have been received accidentally, according to police, as the body was not lying near any hard object against which Craig could have struck his head in a fall, and the victim could not have walked to the spot after receiving the injury, which is believed to have caused death instantly.

Evidence of Struggle.

Examination of the one room hovel, Eleventh and Paul, where the old man had lived for thirty eight years, showed that the door had been broken in. The room also bore evidence of a struggle, a can, containing two loaves of bread, being found under the bed, and the other furniture being disarranged.

Detective John Dunn, accompanied by Matthew Craig, 3818 Franklin street, a son, were unable to find a sum of money, which the latter's father was believed to have hidden in the hut.

Among the personal effects found on Craig's body were two tickets to the Orpheum theater for last night.

Police are undecided whether Craig had started to the theater and was struck down, where he was found, or whether he was slain by a man who broke into the cabin.

Harry Craig, another son, who resided with his father, could not be found this morning. He and been operating a small store, owned by his father, a few feet from where they lived, while his father conducted an express business

Go to Daughter's Home.

During his search for Harry Craig, Dunn went to the home of Mrs. Harry Stroesser, 417 North Fortieth street, a daughter. She said she had not seen her brother or father for a long time, that they had been forbidden to come to her home by her husband.

Stroesser, however, said he saw his father-in-law in Micky Gibson's saloon at 5 p. m. yesterday with three men, Stroesser is a city carpenter.

"I did not speak to Craig when I met him," said Stroesser. "We never spoke to each other."

Matthew Craig told police today that he had a premonition of danger last night while eating dinner, and that he was unable to finish his meal.

"I felt as though some misfortune were impending, but I didn't know what it was," he said.

He said his father had driven a negro robber from his store about a year ago with a pistol and that the negro threatened to "get revenge."

County Attorney Magney announced that an inquest will be held Friday or Saturday.

As I scrolled down the page to read, something stunning caught my eye. The article was interrupted by a photograph. Could it be? Could it really be a picture of John Craig himself? Forcing myself to submit to the suspense, I focused on the task at hand, allowing myself to scroll to the bottom of the picture only after reading the words above.

And there, at the bottom of the picture, was his name. It truly was a portrait of my 2great-grandfather, the first I had ever seen.


 

I stared in shock. It really was him. After a few moments to realize what I was looking at, I zoomed in and tried to take him in. Strangely, I could see little family resemblance. But I could appreciate his magnificent mustache, and wonder at his piercing eyes. Is it merely a fluke of the newsprint, or did he have heterochromia? It looks as though one eye was a light color like blue, and the other eye was a dark color like brown.

This extraordinary visual image was not my only discovery, either. I also found an article that gave a much clearer explanation about why John's son Harry, who was held for the crime, was released.

EXONERATE SON OF MAN FOUND MURDERED

Harry Craig, Held for Investigation, Proves an Alibi at the Inquest.
Harry Craig, held by police for investigation in connection with the murder of his father, John Craig, 62, found dead Thursday morning, his head crushed, proved an alibi and won his freedom at an inquest Saturday afternoon.

Craig accounted for his actions from late in the afternoon preceding the murder until the following day and was released by order of County Attorney Magney.

He proved to the satisfaction of the jury that he was at Micky Gibson's saloon at 7 p. m., the night of the murder to keep an appointment with his father, who did not come to the saloon; that he was at the Millard hotel at 8 o'clock; in a pool hall at 9 and in bed at the Millard at 10.

Mrs. Harry Stroesser, a daughter, testified that she knew of no enemies of her father. The verdict was that Craig was killed by a blow on the head, inflicted by an unknown person.

Funeral services will be held at 4 p. m. today.

Sources:

"Find Body of Murdered Man in Vacant Lot," Omaha Daily News, 22 Feb 1917, p. 1, col. 1; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 Feb 2025).

"Exonerate Son of Man Found Murdered," Omaha Daily News, 25 Feb 1917, p. 1, col. 5; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 Feb 2025).

 

Amanuensis Monday: Abraham Steinbruch will, 1801

This is the will of my 6great-grandfather Abraham Steinbruch (also spelled Stainbrook). I love how, reading it aloud, you can practically hear his German accent in his misspellings of various words. It does, however, make it somewhat difficult to read. In this transcription, I have added bracketed "translations" whenever it seemed a particular word might cause consternation. (Bracketed words or phrases followed by a question mark continue to indicate an uncertain transcription, as usual.) There are, I admit, still a few places where I remain puzzled. What, for instance, is meant by "one Hough the jois"? I suspect "Hough" may be a misspelling of "half," but that doesn't seem to quite work in the context of the passage. It doesn't help that I have no idea what "jois" could mean. Still, I think I have managed to make sense of most of this will.

Abraham Steinbruch's Will, In the name of God Amen I Abraham Steinbruch of Penns Town-
ship County of Northumberland in the State of Pennsylvania Yeoman, being, weak in Body but of
sound and perfect mind and memory considering the uncertainty of this mortal life Do make and pub-
lish this my last Will and Testament in manner and form following - ( that is to say first I Give
and bequeath unto my dearly beloved wife Eva my best bed and bed sted and one cow the Joise
in the Stock and however those come on my place to live is to find for said cow sufficient
and good food and baster [pasture] for said cow and one Sworm of Bees, one Iron pot her spinnen weel,
ten buchel of weed ten buchel of Rye fore Buchel of buckweed fore buchel of Indian corn
one Hough the jois one quarter of acer of flacks [acre of flax] to be sowed in good Ground the said
witto [widow] to find the sack one Protor tick fore Buter spones [Butter spoons] and also to live in my Dwell=
ing House to have and to hold all the above artigles ass long my said wife Remains
a witto & no longer _ Item I Give and Devise unto my son Jacob Steinbruch his Heirs and
assigns for ever one hundred and twenty five acres my land & allowance of six per Cent un=
divid being measured of from any plantation and to being the same he at present lives on, and
to be cut of in manner to begin at the corner of Philip Jordon then along miller's line and
then to the old place of said A. Steinbruch then a strate line to make up the [Cumparonent?]
of acres of Land as aforesaid and that to be cut of after my Desd. and further is my will that
my son Jacob is to have the above described land free and clear of all the rest of my Children
and in the rest of my Estate my son Jacob is to fall in with the rest Schare & Schare alike _
Item I Give and Devise unto my Son fridrig his Heirs and assigns forever the sum of thirty
pounds which is all he is to have and now more becose he went and dit live me fore years be=
fore his age _ Item further is my Will that my sons that is to say Aberham & Beter is
to have of out the rest of my Estate Share & Share alike _ Item further is my will that my
Dathers that is to say Barbara and Mery and Catharine is to have of out of the rest of my
Estate Share and Share alike to them or to their heirs or assigns _ And further I do appoint my
Dearly and beloved frands John Prentzius and John Herman my whole and sole Exeds. of this
my last will and Testament hereby revoking all former wills by me made and Gave
them bower [power] to act in my Estate the same as if I was present my self In witness whereof
I have hereunto set my Hand and Seal the fifteenth Day of April in the Year of our Lord
one thousand eight Hundred and on, 1801. Abrah Stein bruch (seal) Siened Sealed published & Declared
by the above named Abraham Stainbrook to be his last will and Testament in the presence of us
who have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses in the presence of the Testator [no at least?]
under tint the words forever before sinet [signed] Jacob Bishop Johannes Zoutour Johannes Herman
Northumberland County ss,, Be it remembered that on the fourteenth Day of may in the year of our
Lord 1801. before me Jeremiah Simpson Register for the County afsd personally cometh Jacob Bishop, John
Pontius & John Herman the three subscribing witnesses to the foregoing will who being duly sworn accor=
ding to Law, saith they were personally present & did see Abraham Stinebrook the Testator sign seal
and declare the foregoing writing to be his last will & Testament, and that at the time of his so pub=
lishing the said Will he was of sound and disposing mind & memory as the Deponents do believe accor=
ding to the best of their Knowledge._ And that they repectively subscribed their names as witnesses
at the same time in the presence of each other._ and further saith not Jacob Bishop Johannes [Pontius?]
Johannes Herman Sworn & Subscribed the day & year afsd; cer. Jacob Simpson Regr.
Be it remembered
that on the Fourteenth Day of May in the year of our Lord 1801. before me was proved
and approved the last will & Testament of the said Abraham Steinbruch Deceas'd, Of which the forego=
ing, Record is a true Copy, and Letters Testamentary issued in due and Common Form of Law to John Pontz=
ius and John Herman, Executors therein named, on the same Day, Witness my Hand._

Jeremh. Simpson Regr.

Source:

Northumberland, Pennsylvania, Wills, 1772-1907; index, 1792-1930, Abraham Steinbruch's will, p. 245-246, vol. 1 (image 143 of 811 "Wills, no. 1-3 1772-1845"); digital images, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 30 Dec 2024).