From the Probate Files: Peter Worden II - New Plymouth, New England, 1680 (Part III)

When the elder Peter Worden left everything including "all my lands Leases tenaments with goods movable and unmovable in ye Towne of Clayton in ye County of Lankester" to his only son Peter Worden II (who accompanied his father to Massachusetts in about 1638) both men would have known what that property was and had some idea of its worth. 

However by 1680 no one seems to have been able to judge what value to put on the property described as "all my estate in old England both land and other estate that came by my wife*" in the Peter II's will. 

["Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-997D-V3D1?cc=2018320&wc=M6BX-F29%3A338083801 : 20 May 2014), Wills 1633-1686 vol 1-4 > image 516 of 616; State Archives, Boston.]

Item an Interest in house and land and mony in old England
not knowing what it may be worth                                              xxx--00---0
Item an house and land both upland and meddows
in the Towne of Yarmouth                                                            500--00--0


Peter II's oldest son Samuel Worden was the main beneficiary of his father's will and he and his mother Mary acted as executors of his estate, giving their oath that the inventory** was true.

["Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-997D-V3D1?cc=2018320&wc=M6BX-F29%3A338083801 : 20 May 2014), Wills 1633-1686 vol 1-4 > image 516 of 616; State Archives, Boston.]

This  2i of March 1680
Samuell Worden and Mary Worden the Relict of the
said Peter Worden maid oath to the truth of this inventory
Before mee John Freeman Assistant?;                   John Miller
                                                                               John Hall Junior:
                                                                               Paul Sears: ????


*Although there are claims made that Peter II's wife Mary's maiden name was Winslow or Seares, I'm not comfortable with either name. In any case, we don't know what property in England she had brought to the marriage.
**I will cover the complete inventory of Peter II in a later post.


© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Timney P. Watts (1805 - 1863) - Probate Records, Part 4, More Doctor Bills

The second physician to attend my great great great grandmother Timney P. Watts Warren Phillips during her final illness was Dr. William D. Hall.*

My transcription:

Mrs Timney Phillips

1863                                                           To Wm. D. Hall Dr

May  20     To visit P. & med to MA** (3.00) 2 large Pl. must.*** & 4 small (1.00)     4.00

         21      "  visit    "      "     "     "    morning & Evening     5.00

         22      "  visit    "      "     "     "    -----     2.50

         22         visit    "      "     "     "    -----     2.50

June  12         visit P. & med to Self (5 pills Blue mass**** & opium     3.50

         13         visit "     "     "     "     -----     -----   3.00

Aug   17     Div. Pulv. (25) (19) visit P. & Med to Self (3.00)     3.25

                   mustard Plasters 50 ---         .50

          20     visit P. & med to self   Am ----  must. Pl to back (50)    3.00

         21      visits per day   P. & med                 5.00

         22      visit P. & med     P.M.                      2.50

         23       visit     "     "                                   2.50

24, 25 & 26   Quinine, mus  1. Laud. & morphine            2.00

Sept  1          mustard (1.00)                   1.00

                                                    40.75

[Description : Estate Papers, Phillips, Nancy (Minor) to Piques, Sarah. Source: Ancestry.com. Alabama, Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Alabama County, District and Probate Courts.]

            Amt forwarded                          40.75
     Med.     a/c of 1862                   $3.45
     St[??]      "     "     1862 & 63           3.40
                                                           $47.60

1862[?]
     Dec 28th ---  Received J.D. Phillips admt.
     Forty Seven & 60/100 Dollars in full of the above
     a/c,                 Wm. D. Hall

Allowed [probate court note]

State of Alabama
Macon County
Personally appeared before
me, John L. Carmichael, an acting
J.P. in & for Sd. County, Dr. Wm. D. Hall, who being duly sworn
deposith & saith, that the above accounts are just &
true & that they have not been paid, nor any part of them.
Sworn to & subscribed before me on this
26th December 1863                          Wm. D. Hall, M.D.

John L. Carmichael Justice of Peace

You may recall from my post about Timney's obituary in the Southern Christian Advocate that stated she died of "bilious fever" which could be a number of different diseases including typhoid or yellow fever.

It appears that Timney's final illness was serious enough that Dr. Hall, who had begun treating her on August 17th, felt the need to confer with her other physician, Dr. Hodnett, 6 days later. Thereafter both doctors made daily visits to their patient who died on September 2nd. The obituary ended with this:

From the commencement of her illness, she seemed conscious of her approaching dissolution, and often spoke of it with composure, expressing herself as willing "to depart and be with Christ," after admonishing those who came to see her as well as those around her, to prepare for death and the judgment.

Since her death occurred nearly two months after the fall of Vicksburg which split the Confederate states along the line of the Mississippi River, it's unlikely that her oldest son J.T.S. Warren (my great great grandfather in Texas)  would have been aware of his mother's illness and death for some time.




*I'm not certain which William D. Hall is referred to as I haven't been able to find a record of a doctor of that name in Macon County in the 1860s.
**Is this Martha Ann?
***You can read more about mustard plasters here.
****Blue mass was a laxative given in small doses with opium to counteract the constipating effects of the drug.




© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Timney P. Watts (1805 - 1863) - Probate Records, Part 3, Doctor Bills

In the probate file for my third great grandmother Timney P. (Watts) Phillips there are bills from two different physicians, Dr. Wesley Forbush Hodnett (1812-1900) whose services date to at least August 18, 1858, and continue through to Timney's death and Dr. William D. Hall whose earliest (unpaid) item was an small amount brought forward from 1862 and who attended Timney from May through September of 1863.

Timney's account with Dr. Hodnett details the medical treatment received by the inhabitants of a cotton plantation over a six year span.

Looking at the transcription, we can see that Dr. Hodnett treated both free and enslaved patients.

A.D. 1858. Mrs. Timney P. Phillips Dr. To W.F Hodnett          1.
August 18th   To Prescription & Medicine for Self*   1.50
Sept 30th   To Visit Prescrip & Meds for Frank M.**   2.
                                                                        $3.50
A.D.1859.
Feb'y. 11th    To Visit Prescrip & Meds for Self    2.
"       12th     "        "       "        "      "       "    2.
"       13th     "        "       "        " Lancing Abscess   2.50
"       14th     "  Call Visit Prescrip & Meds for Self   2. 
"       19th     "  Prescrip. & Powders Comp for N.W.***   1.50
March 21st   " Bleeding, Meds. Cath. Pills & Prescrips N.W.H****    2.
"           "      "       Alt. Ton. & Lax. Bitter, for n.w. Hariet    1.
June 17th     " Prescrip.Powders & Drops for N.W.     2.
July 1st        " Visit Prescrip & Meds for n.w. Luckey*****    2.
"      3rd         "        "       "        "      "       "    2.
"      7th         "        "       "        "      "       "    2.
Aug. 3rd      "  Presc. Lance Abscess & Liniment Comp. N.W.   2.
"     29th       " Visit Prescrip & Meds. lit. neg. girl     2.
Nov. 18th     "  Visit & Extracting Tooth for Miss Mollie M.   1.50
Dec. 12th      " Visit Prescrip & Meds. for n.g. Martha Ann   2.
"       15th       "      "       "        "      "       "    2.
"       20th       "      "       "        "      "       "    2.
"       22nd       "      "       "        "      "       "    2.
"         "           "      Cupping Temples Etc. for n.g. Martha A.   1.
                                                                        $40.50
A.D. 1860.
Jan'y 23rd    To Visit Prescrip. Meds. Blisters. n.g. M.A.   2.
Feb'y. 1st       " Vial Collyrium for n g Martha Ann   .50   
"       10th     "  Prescrip. and Meds N.W. Hariet at office   1.50
"       16th     "  Visit Prescrip & Meds. Martha Ann's Eyes   2.
May  28th     "      "       "        "      "    for Self  &c.   2.
"       21st     "  2 Visits Prescrips & Meds. Etc Self   4.
June 19th    "  Bot. Cane. water & Sal Amoniac    "   .50
"       21st     "  Cauterizing Ulcer on cornea (Eye) n.g. M.A.   1.50
July 4th        "      "          "      "      "       "       "       "    1.50
"     10th        "      "          "      "      "       "       "       "    1.50
                     (Carried over)                                               $57.50

A.D. 1860. Mrs. Timney P. Phillips Dr. To W.F Hodnett        2.
July  10th  To Amount Brot from page 1st -- $57.50
July  20th  To Cauterizing Ulcer on cornea M.A.'s Eye   1.50
"       20th    "        "               "     "       "       "       "    1.50
Oct.   2nd    " Visit Prescrip & Meds. for n.m. Doctor   2.
"       5th     "  8 Doses Sulph. Quinine for Do.    Do.******   1.
"       6th     "  Visit Prescrip & Meds. for n.m. Enoch   2.
Nov. 12th   " Extracting Tooth for N.M. Enoch   1.
Dec. 1st     "  Cauterizing Ulcer on Cornea M.A.'s Eye   1.50
"       10th    "        "               "     "       "       "       "    1.50
"       20th    "        "               "     "       "       "       "    1.50
                                                                        $71.00
A.D.1861. Mrs. Timney P. Phillips Dr. To Hodnett & Lofton*******
Feb'y. 18th  "  Cauterizing Opasity Cornea Martha Ann's E.   1.50
"       21st    "        "               "             "       "       "    1.50
March 16th " Extracting Tooth for Self ---  1.
Aug. 9th.    "Visit Presc & Meds. for Self ---  2.
"      10th    " 2 Visit Prescrips & Meds. "   "  ---    4.
"      11th    "   "     "          "             "      "   "  ---    4.    
Sept. 20th  " Visit Prescrips. & Meds. for 3 Negroes   3.50
"        21st  "    "        "           "     "       "    "     "           3.50
Oct.  3rd    "    "        "           "     "      for 2 N. Girls   2.50  
"       4th    "    "        "           "     "      for Anarka[?] & M.A.   2.50
"       5th    "    "        "           "     "       "       "                  "  ---   2.50
"       6th    " 2 Visit Prescrips & Meds. "     "                  "   ---  4.50
"      7th    " Call Visits Prescrips & Meds.  "       "        "   ---    2.50
"       8th   "    "        "           "     "       "       "                  "  ---   2.50
"       9th   "    "        "           "     "       "       "                  "  ---   2.50
"        "     " 1 Bot. Terebinth Mist. Comp for Do. "       "    1.
"     10th     "   Visit Prescrips. & Meds. 2 Girls & Old Doct.  3.50
"     11th    "        "         "           "     "          "               "    3.50 
"     12th    "        "         "           "     "          "               "    3.50 
"     13th    " Call Visits Prescrips. Etc. for  "               "    2.
"     14th    "    "       "    Box Mustard & Vial Drops &c "   2.
                                                                       $56.00

A.D. 1862. Mrs. Timney P. Phillips Dr. To W.F Hodnett        3.
June 8th   To Prescrip. Bleeding & Meds. n.s. Hariet   2.50
Sept. 30th  " Visit Prescrip & Meds for n.g. Martha Ann   1.50
                                                                       $4.00
A.D.1863.
April 2nd  To Extracting Tooth for n.w. Hariet   1.
June 30th   " Prescrip & Sund. Meds. for old Doct.    1.50
July 2nd     " Dose Salts and vial Vit.[?] Sol "   "   .75
"      4th      " Visit Prescrip. & Meds. for "   "   1.50
Aug. 5th    " Prescrip. and Vial Med. Etc. n.w. Hariet   1.25
"      23rd   " Visit & Consultation with Dr. Hall         11.
"      25th    " 2 Visits, Prescrips. Att. Etc. Self at night   5.
"      26th   " Sundry Visits  "       "       "      "  &c. in day   5.
"      27th   "    "            "      "       "       "      "  &c. in day   5.
"      28th   "    "            "     "       "       "      "  &c. in day   5.
"        "       "   1 Bot. Terebinth Mist. Comp for Self --- 1.
"       29th   " Visit, Prescrip. Etc. for Self --- 1.50
"      30th    "   "          "          "       "    "    --- 1.50
"       31st   " 2 Visits Prescrips. Etc. for Self --- 3.
"        "        "  Visit Prescrip. & Sun Meds. n.w. Hariet   2.
Sept. 1st    " 2 Visits Prescrips Etc. for Self --- 3.
"        2nd  "  "     "          "         "      "     "    --- 3.
                                                                       $56.00
To Acct. for the year 1861                              56.00
"      "       "    "     "    1860 & Previously -      71.00
                                                                       $183.00

Received of J.D. Phillips Administrator
on the estate Timney P. Phillips, One hundred
and eighty-three dollars in full payment of
the foregoing Account This Jan'y 8th 1867
W.F. Hotnett, M.D.

The State of Alabama
Macon County
Personally came before me
R.T. Davis, an acting
Justice of the Peace in and for the county and state
aforsd, W.F. Hotnett, who on oath says that the
foregoing Accts are just and correct. and that they
This January, 8th 1867.

Sworn to &&
R.T. Davis. J.P.

And here's the sworn statement of neighbor (and creditor as seen here) J.W. Webb that he believed Dr. Hodnett's bill is credible because he had witnessed the doctor's visits during the that time.

Here's my transcript of Mr. Webb's testimony:

State of Alabama
Macon County

Personally came before
me an acting Justice of the
Peace for the county and State aforesaid
J.W. Webb who being duly sworn says that he
was a frequent visitor and near neighbor of
Mrs. Timney P. Phillips during the time that the 
within account was made, and he frequently
saw Dr. W.F. Hodnett attending there as the family
physician that he knows the fact of his being the 
regular attending Physician during the time em-
braced in the within acct. and that he has exam-
ined this Acct. and believes it to be correct.
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 12 day
of April 1867.

J.W. Webb

Sworn to &&
R.T. Davis. J.P.

What we can surmise from the above account is that my third great grandmother final illness had reached a point where Dr. Hodnett was called to consult with Dr. Hall who had been treating Timney since May, 1863. Since this post is already very long, I'll deal with his much shorter bill next time.

Note: All the images in this post are to be found at: Source: Ancestry.com. Alabama, Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Alabama County, District and Probate Courts.

*"Self" in this context refers to Timney herself.
**Frank Morgan, one of the children living with her in the 1860 U.S. Census, his sister Mollie was also treated by Dr. Hodnett.
***"N.W." is the abbreviation for "negro woman" and usually the name of the indivvidual is given. "N.M." and "n.g." designate the patient as a "negro man" and "negro girl" respectively.
****This entry refers to Harriet, one of Timney's slaves. Here are the names of the four enslaved persons listed in the inventory of her estate:

*****Lucky, one of the enslaved persons Timney acquired from her second husband, was in her mid-60s by this time. (This partial list below of slaves in John P. Phillips' estate in 1852 also includes Harriet.)

******"Do." is the abbreviation for ditto used here instead of the more usual ".
*******I don't know who "Lofton" is.


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Alyce Hall Lived To At Least 105 Years Old

We have all come across a human interest story about someone who has lived over a 100 years.  Apparently one of my 3rd cousins once removed, Alyce Hall (nee Alice May Roberts) (b 1906), lived to at least 105!

According to the one of the articles further down, no one knew much about her early life.  I can at least supply some of that information:

Alice is a great great granddaughter of George W Hartley and Rebecca Paul, through her mother's mother's line.

My grandfather George Hartley Jr is a great grandson of the same George W Hartley and Rebecca Paul, through his father's father's line.

Based on my genealogy research, Alice was born to Stephen Henley and Laura M Hartley on January 28, 1906, likely in Porterville, Tulare, California.  Her older brother was Edward Ray Roberts (1903-1988), who married Ruth Goodwin and had at least 3 daughters.  Edward lived most of his life and died in Brea, Orange, California, so it is possible he and Alyce were in regular contact.

When Alice was 7 her mother Ada died, and by the 1920 Census 14 year old Alice was living with her mother's sister, Mabel "May" George (Henley) Hoover in Porterville.

On July 20, 1925, 19-year-old Alyce Mae Roberts married Paul E Hall in Santa Ana, Orange, California:

Orange County, California, “California, County Marriages, 1850-1952),” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8934-DCB?mode=g&i=1577&wc=96P2-FM9%3A148354301%3Fcc%3D1804002&cc=1804002 : accessed 2 Apr 2016), entry for Marriage Licence no. 2471, Alyce Mae Roberts and Paul Hall, 20 Jul 1925.

He was a salesman, she a stenographer.  Detail closeup of the marriage licence.

They are in the city directories from then on in Santa Ana up until 1954.  There was no indication that they ever had children.  Paul was variously described as a garage manager, auto mechanic/repair, automobile representative, and ultimately as a manager.

I find mention of Alyce Hall in Santa Ana in the NewspaperArchive.com database beginning April 27, 1974 edition of The Santa Ana Register where it is evident that she had taken up golfing at the Santa Ana Country Club. In brother Edward's obituary in 1988 it listed her as living in Santa Ana.

Paul E Hall died September 10, 1981, possibly in Newport Beach, Orange, California.

The last record I could find on Ancestry for Alyce was a 1993 Public Records Index entry for Newport Beach, California.

So I was a little surprised and pleased to find a number of online articles on the Daily Pilot ("a daily newspaper published by the Los Angeles Times to serve the communities of Newport Beach and Cost Mesa in Orange County" according to Wikipedia) that mentioned Alyce:

In an article about the Santa Ana Country Club pioneers celebration dated September 18, 2001:

Alyce Hall, 95, has been one of the club's oldest members, but she moved to Vermont last month to be closer to family and reportedly will not be in attendance Saturday.

 This did not prove to be a lasting move, as she got a mention in the Daily Pilot 5 years later on January 23, 2006, in celebration of her 100th birthday:

Celebrating 100 years of health
January 23, 2006|By By Lindsay Sandham

Newport Beach resident Alyce Hall reaches landmark age surrounded by her many friends.Alyce Hall has never taken vitamins. She rarely visits the doctor. And she adds what most would call excessive amounts of salt to just about everything she eats.

Nonetheless, the Newport Beach resident is turning 100 on Jan. 28.

Her friends -- who joined her in celebrating early at a party on Sunday -- attribute her longevity to her phenomenal attitude toward life.

"Her attitude is, 'Everything is great. Everything is fabulous.' I have never heard her say anything wasn't perfect," said Newport Beach resident Joan Short, a longtime friend. "She just has a marvelous attitude."

Short and Beverley Trask, another close friend, organized the celebration for Hall. They chose to host the party at the Santa Ana Country Club because Hall was a member for 69 years, joining in 1931.

"We just wanted all her friends to come and wish her a happy 100th," Short said. Hall will be celebrating her birthday again next weekend -- one party with all of her bridge-playing friends and another with her relatives.

"She's a pretty special lady," Trask said. "She's done an awful lot in her lifetime."

Hall has had many fabulous birthday celebrations. She spent her 97th on a boat cruising the Antarctic.

"She was there with all the penguins for 14 days," Short said, adding that the ship's captain thought it was magnificent -- a 97-year-old woman suiting up three times a day for 14 days to crawl into a Zodiac and cruise around the glaciers.

"He just said it was one of the highlights of his whole life."

Hall said every birthday has been wonderful, but she was especially pleased with Sunday's turnout.

"Nobody can beat this," she said, looking around the room full of all her closest friends. "With all these wonderful friends -- I know all of them."

4 years later she was again featured in the January 28, 2010 Daily Pilot article:

‘She’s always the lady’
Woman is loved by the residents and employees in her retirement home. She loves to ride in cars, one employee said.
January 28, 2010|By Tom Ragan

She’s going strong despite the pair of hip replacements; and, oh yeah, despite the fact that she turned 104 Thursday.

Alyce Hall has become somewhat of a legend around the halls of Newport Beach Plaza, a retirement home on Superior Avenue in Newport Beach.

Everybody wants to be her friend. Everybody is her friend. And they all sang “Happy Birthday” as the cake was rolled out.

She was born Jan. 28, 1906. To put that in perspective, she was 23 years old when the Great Depression hit, and, by today’s standards, she was virtually middle-aged during World War II.

Technically speaking, however, “middle age” really didn’t arrive for Hall until she was 52 years old, in 1958, when people still feared the Soviets and were cranking up Elvis Presley.

“She’s not one to sit down and not want to go anywhere,” said Karen Ashley, a nurse at the 110-member retirement home. “She loves car rides.”

Hall was born in Northern California, married a man named Paul and worked as a bookkeeper most of her life, according to Marge Ecker, a close friend. But Hall’s husband has long since died and, unfortunately, not much else is known about the history of her life, as there are no surviving family members, Ecker said.

Hall never had any children. That’s where the retirement home folks and employees step in and oblige.

“We all love her,” said Jennifer Gifford, program supervisor for the home. “She’s so full of life, and she’s always the lady. She always jokes about how she wants to wear my boss’ high-heeled shoes.

“As for the trick to living a long life, she has long attributed her longevity to having played a lot of golf in her day. In fact, she still wears the gold medallion around her neck — the one that shows she once made a hole in one at the Santa Ana Country Club.”

When she turned 100, she went on a cruise in Iceland, Ecker said, adding “We’ll see what next year brings.”

The last mention I have found for her was the next year, in the January 28, 2011 article "105 Candles":

105 candles
January 28, 2011

Alyce Hall, a resident of the Newport Beach Plaza Retirement Community, turned 105 on Friday. She was born in Northern California on Jan. 28, 1906. Friends and other well-wishers celebrated Hall's latest milestone two days early, on Wednesday, by singing "Happy Birthday" for her and sharing a birthday cake in her honor at the retirement home at 1455 Superior Ave. The birthday gal, left, is pictured here with longtime friend Margie Ecker.

I don't find anything after that.

It was great to learn so much more about her than what I had found in the records.  I guess I should take up golf and get a better attitude if I want to live that long.  But alas I think she got her longevity from her father's side (he died at 95), and her father's father died at 87.





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