Some Notes on Ephraim Engle's estate records

Ephraim W. Engle, who died in 1863, circled in red, was my 4th great-granduncle by marriage.  His sister-in-law, my 3rd great grandmother Mercy Ann Darling, was married first to Abner Webb (my ancestor) and then Joshua Walsh (in 1864).  It has been assumed that Abner Webb had died by the time she married Walsh, but the April 1865 probate journal entry below mentions Abner Webb.  Jesse Sill Webb was a brother of Abner Webb, and had married Mercy's sister Nancy Adelia. At this point I'm not sure how Eli Gilbert fits in, except that he was a local attorney at law.  Diagram made with LucidChart.

I came across an interesting mention of Abner Webb when while transcribing probate journal entries on the annual settlement in Ephraim W. Engle's estate in Allen County, Kansas.  Was Abner Webb still alive?  It has been assumed that he died sometime during the Civil War, and almost certainly before September 1864 when his wife married her second husband, but now I'm not sure:

Allen County, Kansas, Probate Journals, Vol A, 1858-1871: page 108, "Eli Gilbert Administrator for Ephraim W. Engle deceased", 5 April 1865; FHL microfilm 1412213; digital image, Ancestry.com database "Kansas, Wills and Probate Records, 1803-1987" (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=9065 : 6 March 2018).

page 108 [NOTE: I've bolded the names]
Probate Court
County of Allen

Regular Term 3rd day
April 5th 1865 at o'clock A.M.

Eli Gilbert Administrator for Ephraim W. Engle de-
ceased appeared for annual settlement in said Estate,
The following accounts were presented, widened as requi-
red by law, and allowed by the court, J.S. Webb account
for the sum of Eighty two 20/100 Dollars, J. S. Webb, note against
E.W. Engle dec'd, for the sum of Twenty three Dollars, Tax Receipts
in the year 1861, for the sum of Six Dollars, Redemption
certificate for the sum of Four 85/100 Dollars, John Secrist pre-
sented a Transcript from the District Court of Jones County
Iowa, in the cause entitled John Secrist against Eli Gil
bert administrator for E.W. Engle deceased, Emily Weed, Abner Webb
and J.S. Webb, for the sum of Eighty Seven 40/ Dollars, J.S. Webb
sworn and examined, Whereupon the Court ordered that said
Transcript be filed with the papers of said Estate, for further
consideration.


I'm going to have to mull over what this entry means, in particular to Abner Webb.  There is mention of Jones County, Iowa, which is where I knew the Webbs/Darling/Engle people to be before some of them moved on to Allen County, Kansas Territory (by 1860).  I'll look into what is available on the District Court in Jones County, Iowa.


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