From the Probate Files: Richard Richardson - Frederick County, Maryland, 1761

As promised in Monday's post about my maternal ancestor Milcah Richardson, here is the 1761 Will of her father Richard Richardson, a Quaker. Although he bequeathed enslaved people to each of his children, shortly after his death the Society of Friends universally banned the ownership of slaves and expelled anyone who didn't conform so that transfer wouldn't have taken place.  

In the Name of God Amen Richard Richardson of Frederick County,
& Province of Maryland Farmer being Sick of Body but of but of Sound and disposing mind and
memory and knowing that it is appointed for all men to die do make and Ordain this ^to be my
last Will and Testament in manner and form following, recomending my Soul to God.
hoping through the Mercy to Obtain ^eternal Salvation ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First that my body be decently buried at ye descretion of my Executors hereafter Named~~
2.ly. that all my Just Debts be honestly paid_ _ _ _ _ _______________________________
3.l.y I will and Ordain that all my Lands and xxxx Appurtenances thereunto
belonging Except what is hereafter Excepted to be sold at a Convenient time after my
Decease to ye highest Bidder my Executors first giving Notice by Advertisements in ye
Pennsylvania and Maryland Gazettes of ye time of Sales to be by them Appointed & I 
hereby Impowers them, my Executors to Convey and make over by Proper Deeds to such
Bidder or Bidders & put him or them into Immediate Possession of ye Said Lands after
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _______________________________________

ye Receipt of ye Money & to ^Give discharge ye purchaser or purchasers for such Lands so purchased as Afsd. and I will that ye moneys arising from such Sale shall be divided amongst my
Children hereafter named in manner and form following, First that Twenty pounds amount
Money shall be deducted out of ye Money Arising from ye Sales of ye Land Afsd. which sum of 
Twenty pounds I give and bequeath to my Loving daughter Sophia Mathews, her heirs and
assigns & ye remaining sum to be Equally divided amongst my five Sons Viz. Samuel
Richard Thomas John & William Richardson to them their Heirs and Assigns. & it is my Will
and desire that if any of my Sons ^aforesaid Should die before such Sale can be made as Afsd. sons not to Receive their proportions arising from such Sale or before ye Attain ye Age of Twenty One
years, then and ^in Such case my Will and Desire is that ye Money shall be Equally divided amongst ye Surviving brothers and as two of my Sons are young it is my Will and desire that their
Proportions Arising from ye Sales of ye Lands Afsd. be put out to Interest upon good and
Sufficient Security such Interest is to be applied to ye Maintenance of Afsd. Two young Sons
till they arrive at ye Age of Twenty One years ~~~
4.ly. I will and Ordain that my Executors sell with all Convenient Speed after my decease
that part or Parcel of Land which my which my [sic] Son in Law Edward Mathews now lives on
commonly Computed to be one Hundred acres of Land Called part of Sofiah and formerly
purchased by me from Henry Claqett and thereby Invest my Executors with such power to Convey
the same & I will that ye money arising from ye Sale of ye afsd. being one Hundred acres
of Land be immediately applied to discharge of my debts As to ye Remaining part of my
Estate with which I am now Possessed I give and bequeath in manner and form following Viz
I give and bequeath to my Son Samuel his heirs and assigns a Negro Boy Called Elluk ____
to my Son Richard and his heirs and Assigns a Negro Boy Called Watt Burr Tom To my Son Thomas
his heirs and Assigns a Negro Boy Called Boo To my Son William his heirs and Assigns a
Negro Boy Called Nat. I give to my Son John his heirs and Assigns a Negro Boy Called Sam_____
To my Daughter Milcah her heirs and Assigns a Negro Woman Called Sall a black Walnutt
Cupboard and all my China and Silver pint Cup & a Cotten Counterpin*  _________________
To my Daughter Lucretia her heirs and Assigns a little Negro Girl Called Phebe a set of Silver
                               and Thain??? and three Large Silver Spoons.  
Teaspoons Tongs ^To my Daughter Sophiah Mathews her heirs and Assigns a Negro Girl named Jenny and if she dies without heirs of her Body Lawfully begotten then I give ye Said Negro Girl
to my Daughter Lucretia her heirs and Assigns, I give to my daughter Margaret Peddycourt
her heirs and Assigns a Negro Girl Named Esther nd if she dies without heirs of her Body
Lawfully begotten then I give ye Said Negor Girl to my xxxx Son William his heirs and Assigns
I also give my daughter Margaret Peddycourt as many Feathers as will make a Bed
Boulster and two Pillows, three Ewes & one Sow and Pigs __  ____ _____________
And I Will that all ye remaining part of my Estate after my Just Debts are paid___
shall be Equally divided amongst my Six youngest Children Viz Richard Thomas
Milcah John William and Lucretia. Lastly I Appoint and Constitute my Loving 

[Ancestry.com. Maryland, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1777 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

Original data: Maryland County, District and Probate Courts.]

Cousins Samuel Richardson and Richard Thomas of Frederick County whole and
Sole Executors & I Trustees of this my last Will and Testament hereby revoking and
making Void all former Wills by me made In Testimony whereof I have
hereunto Set my hand & Seal. this Seventh day of January in ye year of Our Lord
1761 _______
Signed Sealed and published to ^be his Last Will and } Richard Richardson [Seal}
Testament in y3 presence of -----------------------------  }
John Darnall              }  On ye 7th Day February 1761 the Above Appointed
Henry Darnall Junr.   }  Samuel Richardson & Richard Thomas of Frederick
Edward Tansey          }   County came before me ye Subscriber and declared that
they and Each of them Do Renounce ye Executorship aforesaid and they will not
take upon themselves ye Burthen of ye Execution of this Testamant In Witness
whereof they have hereunto Set their hands respectively, In my presence
The above Renunciation taken ye Said  }  Saml Richardson
Day and year by Danl Dulany                }   Rich Thomas
                 Commissary Genl.                }      -------------
May 7th 1761 then 
Came Mr. Henry Darnall Junr & Edward Tansey two
of ye Subscribing Witnesses to ye within Will of Mr. Richard Richardson Deceased
and made Oath on ye Holy evangells of Almighty God that they and each of them saw
ye said Testator Richard Richard Richardson sign and Seal ye foregoing Will &
Codicil and also heard him publish ^pronounce & declare ye same to be his last Will and Testament 
and that at ye time of his so doing, he was to ye best of these Deponents' apprehension
and belief of a sound and disposing mind and memory & that the Subscribed
their ^respective Names as Witnesses to ye Said Will & Codicil in the presence of said Testator
and at his Request and that they also say John Darnall ye other Subscribing Witness
to the within Will Sign hi Name and Witness thereto in ye presence of ye said Testator
and also at his Request  

Although his "Loving Cousins" declined to act as executors, Richard Richardson's estate was probated and his son and namesake Richard placed this advertisement in (at least) the Maryland Gazette the following year:

[Date: Thursday, February 25, 1762   Paper: Maryland Gazette (Annapolis, Maryland)   Issue: 877   Page: 4 . This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004.Source: GenealogyBank.com]

*A coverlet.

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

From the Probate Files: Samuel Bixler - Frederick County, Pennsylvania, 1803

This has been a long and productive day for me so I've decided to resurrect this post from two years ago about my maternal ancestor Samuel Bixler* who signed his will on May 15, 1797. It began in the traditional manner by stating his name, place of residence and occupation, and commending his soul to God and his body to "Decent Christian Burial."

When he came to the distribution of his worldly estate, the first bequest Samuel made is to provide for his wife Elizabeth and he was quite specific about what she was to have.

"...and as for my Worldly Estate wherewith it has Pleased God to bless me with
in this life I give Devise and dispose of the Same in the following manner
and form - it is my will and Pleasure that my wife Elizabeth shall have
ninety pounds Specie out of my Moveable Estate and a Good bed and bedstead
& furniture thereto belonging and her Spinning Wheel and a good Chest and
all the Puter and Kitching Whear which she brought to me and my son
Peter Shall Keep her a riding creature Suficient for her use and two Cows and
two Sheep and them shall be used as his own and these during her natural
life if she remains a widow but if not it shall fall to my Children again
and it is further my will that my wife Elizabeth Shall have yearly as long as
she remains a widow Twenty Bushels of wheat and ten Bushels of Rye and
fifteen Pounds of Hackelt flax and fifteen Pounds of Toe and one
hundred Pounds of Good Pork and fifty pounds of good beef and one Pair
of Shoes one Bushel of Salt and she shall have Suficient firewood
brought to the Door and cut suficient for her house and she shall have her
Widow Seat in the house where I live in now And shall have the old Gartain
next to the house and room in the Spring house and three of the largest
apple Trees and two rows in the next orchard and two rows in the Ober orchard
and the one third Part of my Personal Estate and all the Linnen & Woollen
Stuff which remains after my Decease and the remainder of my Personal
Estate Shall be Praised after my Decease and Sold and the money shall be
Equally Divided amongst all my Children Excepting my son Samuel..."**

The detail above and my transcription come from FamilySearch's Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999, Frederick County, Wills 1794-1803 vol 3

["Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-24294-37256-52?cc=1803986&wc=SNYC-FM3:146535301,147314001 : accessed 12 August 2015), Frederick > Wills 1794-1803 vol 3 > image 309-310 of 332; Hall of Records, Annapolis.]

Even though in his 1797 will Samuel said he was "weak in Body" he didn't die until four years later and his will was brought to Frederick County's probate court by his oldest surviving son Peter Bixler*** on June 14, 1803. Elizabeth and her brother-in-law Samuel Flickinger, who had both been named as executors along with Peter, signed a document refusing to act in that role, leaving the administration of the estate to Peter.****

In the inventory of Samuel's estate, taken in July of 1803, the total value given was $557.78. It's clear from the list of the livestock and crops in the fields that the property was still a working farm, but in the descriptions of the tools and household goods the words "old" and "broken" appear constantly--what's missing are the things I would expect to find in a house that was occupied. To see what was customary, I looked at inventories taken before and after Samuel's and they list clothing, linens and food supplies (like wheat, coffee and bacon), and although old stuff is included it doesn't predominate.

While it doesn't appear to me that Samuel was living there, the house wasn't derelict--it still held three beds (although no bed linen), some walnut furniture, a clock worth $24 dollars and two iron stoves, a ten plate with pipe ($20)***** and an six plate one ($10). At the end of the inventory list my fourth great grandfather Emanuel Bixler and his brother Benjamin signed the record as the nearest relatives and Peter Bixler, as "Acting Executor" swore on his oath that the foregoing was a "True and Perfect Inventory of all & Singular the Goods and Chattles of the said Deceased that have come into his hands and possession at the time of the making thereof."

All of the detail above comes from FamilySearch's Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999, Frederick County, Inventories 1803-1805 vol 4.

["Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-24262-57284-84?cc=1803986&wc=SNYH-ZNL:146535301,146999701 : accessed 12 August 2015), Frederick > Inventories 1803-1805 vol 4 > image 70-71 of 299; Hall of Records, Annapolis.]

Samuel Bixler, who appeared in the 1790 U.S. Census, was not named anywhere in the 1800 Census which only listed the head of each household. But their 29-year old son Peter's household included a free white man and woman aged 45 or older which would describe Samuel and Elizabeth. I think it's possible (though not provable) that Samuel's health, already poor in 1797, worsened to the point where he and Elizabeth moved in with their son sometime before 1800.

[Year: 1800; Census Place: Westminster, Frederick, Maryland; Series: M32; Roll: 10; Page: 198; Image: 205; Family History Library Film: 193663. Ancestry.com. 1800 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Second Census of the United States, 1800. NARA microfilm publication M32 (52 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Second Census of the United States, 1800]

*He is my maternal fifth great grandfather. His granddaughter Leah Bixler married Frederick Grove (or Groves) and their daughter Delilah's marriage to Dick Worden brings them into my line through my grandmother Anna Delilah Webb.
**Some clarification is needed here, although I think you can guess what "Puter and Kitching Whear" are, unless you happen to be familiar with linen production you wouldn't know what hackled flax is but if you watch this video you'll know all about it. Flax tow is the name given to the shorter fibers left over after hackling; you can see a picture of it here (and buy a pound or two if you want). The "old Gartain" is, I think, a lapse into German (garten) and the "Ober orchard" probably is too. If you want to understand what a spring house, here is a video tour of a stone one in Forks Township in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. (We don't know any details about the Bixler's spring house but the principle would be the same.)

***His oldest son Samuel died the previous year.

****You can see 58-year old Elizabeth's signature on this document in my previous post about her here.

*****Read all about this kind of stove here

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.