AMANUENSIS MONDAY ~ The will of John VAUGHT (1761-1813)–husband of my maternal 5th great grandaunt and father of 11 children

What does Amanuensis mean anyway?
To put it simply, it means a “person employed to write what another dictates or copy what has been written by another.”

There are 24 people with the VAUGHT surname in my tree. Five of them bear that name through marriage.

Today I’m writing about John VAUGHT who married my 5th great grandaunt, Elizabeth MARTIN in about 1784 in Pennsylvania.  John’s brother, Gilbert Vaught married Elizabeth’s sister, Mary Martin.  It’s not unusual, as we know, for families to intermarry back then.  It’s less common as we go into the 20th century.

John Vaught was the son of Christian Vaught & Hannah Crum.  He was born in Maryland on 15 Dec 1761.¹  He married Elizabeth Martin in 1784.² John is listed in the Indiana DAR book on page 660 as having been in “Pvt in Capt. Wm. Wilson's Co. on duty in Penn's Valley in 1781.”

NOTE/TIP:  I had located a transcription of John Vaught’s will a few years ago.  While it is always nice to find such a thing, I don't like to settle for just a transcription if I don’t have to.  I would much prefer to see the actual entry in a will book, which may include additional information.  I would also prefer to transcribe the will myself.  Sure enough, today, I hunted until I located the images on Family Search.  The will was located in Kentucky Probate Records, 1727-1990, Muhlenberg, Will records, 1801-1814, Vol. 1, pages 170-173

(Click on any image to enlarge it)

Here is my transcription of the will of John Vaught in 1813

In the name of God Amen. I, John Vought, of the county of Muhlenberg and state of Kentucky being in low in health but of sound mind & memory do constitute and ordain this my last will and testament.

First of all I commit my soul to the Almighty God who gave it and my body I request to be buried in a Christian manner by my executors.

And as touching my worldly affects wherewith it has bin please God to gave I gave and bequeath them in a manner and form as as follows (viz.)

After all my just debts is paid First of all I gave and to my beloved wife, Elizabeth, the plantation whereon I now live during her natural life time & her widowhood together with all my farming utensils & stock of all kinds and all the household and kitchen furniture except such as I shall hereafter mention.

Secondly, I gave and bequeath to my daughter, Margaret, one horse and saddle and two cows also her equal part of all my estate at the decease of my widow including the above as part of her portion.
I also gave and bequeath to my son Abraham two hundred and fifty acres of land bought of Peter Myers, he the said Abraham is to pay fifteen dollars to my estate in good trade And it is further understood that this is his full portion of my estate.

I also gave and bequeath to my son, John, one hundred acres of land on the waters Rocky Creek entered and surveyed in the name of Benjamin Biggerstaff and patented in his name. I also gave a mare and one horse & saddle one cow and her increase which is to be considered as his full portion of my estate the above property he the said John has already received and has in his possession.

I also gave and bequeath to my daughter, Eleanor, one horse & saddle & two cows.

I also gave and bequeath to my daughter, Polly, one horse, saddle & two cows to to be raised at the expense of my estate.
It is also my will at the decease of my widow that the whole of my land and other property left be sold and equally divided among my children namely, Margaret Smith, Eleanor & Polly, Francis, Simon & Martin, Samuel & Christopher, the property mention & gave to Eleanor & Polly is considered a part of my equal proportion of my estate.

It is further to be understood that I have hereunto gave my son Abraham one mare & saddle which is also to be considered a part of his portion of my estate.

I do further ordain this my last will and testament revoking all others heretofore made by me and I do also constitute and appoint Elias Smith & my son John Vaught executors to this my last will. In witness thereof I have set my hand & seal in the presence of us June 11th day 1813.

The above & foregoing will was exhibited into court by the executors therein named and proven by the oaths of Gilbert Vaught and Thomas Foster two subscribing witnesses thereto to be the act and deed of John Vaught decd. whereupon the same is admitted to record.
Att. Chs. F. Wing C.M.C.

Question - John’s will mentions 10 of the 11 children I have listed for him in my tree.  The only one not mentioned is Daniel, born about 1794.  Did he die?  Was he out of favor?  Had he already been given his portion of the estate?

With so many Vaught’s in my tree I am learning more and more about this family all the time.

If you are related to anyone mentioned in this post, I’d love to hear from you.

Sources: 1 - Raymond Martin Bell, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania Families & Records before 1800 Supplement  (N.p) Supplement: 16a in the original book.; 2 - U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

AMANUENSIS MONDAY ~ The will of Stephen Wilson of Lawrenc Co., Ohio - 1871

Will of Stephen Wilson

Lawrence County Probate Court Monday October 2^nd AD 1871.

Pleas in the Probate Court in and for the county of Lawrence and State of Ohio, before Peras R. Polley, Judge of said court, at a session thereof, held in Ironton, on the second day of October in the year Eighteen hundred and seventy one.

       Be it remembered that on the second day of October in the year one thousand and eight hundred and seventy one; There was produced in open court, for the Probate, an instrument of writing purporting to be the last will and testament of Stephen Wilson, late of said Lawrence County, deceased, which will reads in the words and figures following:

       In the name of the Benevolent Father of all and State of Ohio, do make and publish this my last will and testament.

Item 1^st It is my will and devise that the store in Burlington, owned by my son John G. Wilson and myself, in equal proportions, and now carried on in the name of S. Wilson & Son, be continued after my death in the same manner that the business is now conducted, and that my wife Sarah Wilson, to own the interest in said store and business owned by me at the time of my death, and shall receive benefits and profits arising from said business in the same manner, and to the same extent that I could were I then living.

Item 2^nd I devise and bequeath to my said son John G. Wilson, the farm with all the privileges and immunities thereto belonging situate immediately above Burlington, and known as the Bryan and Wilson farm containing fourteen and one half acres more or less.

Item 3^rd I devise and bequeath to my son, Robert S. Wilson, the farm of Solada Creek heretofore conveyed to him by John Ballard, now in his possession and known as the Ballard farm containing two hundred acres more or less together with a forty four acre lot adjoining the same and known as the Old Billy McKee place. The last above mentioned devise is made on condition that my said son Robert S. Wilson, will pay to my son DeWit Clinton Wilson the sum of Five hundred dollars within five years from the date probate of this will, without interest. 

 

Item 4^th I devise and bequeath to my said son DeWit Clinton Wilson, one thousand dollars in Bank Stock owned by me in the Second National Bank of Ironton, together with all the recover___ funds belonging thereto with all the accruing profits belonging to and growing out of same.

Item 5^th I devise and bequeath to my daughter Emila Jane Morris, three thousand dollars to be paid by my executor herein after named out of the residue of my estate not herein above devised in instalments of not less than five hundred dollars per annum without interest.

Item 6^th I devise and bequeath to my beloved wife Sarah Wilson all the residue of my estate Real and Personal not hereinbefore devised, after payment of my just debts and funeral expenses to hold as her own property during her natural life; and after her death all of the property and effects both real and personal above devised to my said wife Sarah Wilson, to be equally divided between all my said children, or their heirs and survivors according to the law of the State of Ohio.

Item 7^th I do hereby nominate and appoint my said wife Sarah Wilson, and my said son John G. Wilson, Executors of this my last will and testament hereby authorizing them to compromise, adjust release and discharge, in such manner as they may deem proper, the debts and claims due me.  I do also authorize and empower them, if it shall become necessary in order to pay my debts, to sell by private sale or in such manner and upon such terms of credit or otherwise as they may think proper all or any part of my real estate, leaving the lands herein before devised as the last, and to execute and acknowledge deeds therefor in fee simple.  I do hereby revoke all former wills by me made.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 16^th day of August in the year 1871

Signed and acknowledged by said Stephen Wilson as his last willand testament in our presence, and signed by us in his presence.

Elias Nigh

George W. Thompson

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

SUNDAY’S OBITUARY ~ Following yesterday’s post–Here are the obituaries for Stephen Wilson (1803-1871) and his wife Sarah Gillen Wilson (1808-1878)  

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

TAX & ESTATE RECORDS ~ What I learned at a seminar featuring Michael Lacopo

San Diego Genealogical Society

Guest Speaker: Michael Lacopo, D.V.M.

Session 1: More than the Census-Our Families did exist within those ten-year intervals

Session 2: Using Tax Records for Genealogical Problem Solving

Session 3:  Estate Files: Are you getting the most out of them?

Session 4: The German Immigrant experience in the 18^th Century

It’s always fun to attend classes, seminars and conferences.  In a dozen plus years, I’ve never attended one and walked away without more knowledge than I started with.  In addition to learning how to do research by actually doing it, and watching various webinars, I cannot say enough about attending seminars and conferences.

I wrote a blog post about this subject in 2014 and what I said still holds true today.

You can read it here SEMINARS, WEBINARS, SOCIETIES–WILL THEY HELP YOUR RESEARCH?

The San Diego Genealogical Society will be celebrating it’s 72nd year next month.  It’s still very active and up to date. Please visit our web page here San Diego Genealogical Society.

Our speaker yesterday was Michael Lacopo.  He has an impressive resume and once you attend one of his classes, you’ll want to hear him speak again. When I attended a class back in 2016 at Jamboree, I couldn’t wait for another opportunity to hear him lecture.  He’s knowledgeable, easy to understand and has a great sense of humor.

Here are some of the highlights from the seminar:

Session 1 – make sure you are paying attention to where your ancestors went during those 10 year intervals between U.S. censuses.  Michael pointed out, using real examples, the surprising movements that could occur during those intervals.  We all know that, contrary to what me might have been told, our ancestors didn’t always stay put.  There are many resources you can use to obtain information between censuses: tax records, land records, probate records, church records, voter and poll records and newspapers are just a few. 

Session 2 – Tax Records – I learned a lot during this session.  I’ve used tax records before, but not often.  And, I never understood the real value of them until Michael explained it.  I can’t possibly cover, nor do I want to duplicate, what Michael told us.  It is after all his presentation.  Here’s what I realized though – from tax records you can determine what kind of property your ancestor owned and where.  This could lead to you finding probate and land records.  Who was taxed in the same location as your ancestor?  Are they related?  Did your ancestor’s property increase or decrease between taxations?  Take a look, you won’t regret it.  I’m doing just that today and I’ve already located quite a lot of information.

Session 3 – Estate Files – I expect that most of you have looked at estate files, probate records, wills etc.  BUT, are you like me and just look for the actual will among those papers?  I always kind of skipped over the administration papers, bond papers and something called a Vendue List (an auction list of the value of items). Who bought items at the auction?  Michael shared that if a buyer came from a county over or some other long distance, they were probably related.  Why was there still activity going on for a probate 15 years after someone died?  It could have been the executors weren’t doing their jobs.  If there was more than one auction of items, check those names.  Did the same name show up again and again?  Probably a relative.  I now realize I may have missed some extremely important clues to family connections.  I have vowed, as of today, to change my ways.  Michael recommended and so do I, that you use Cyndi’s List as a place to find more links to estate files.  I have a lot of work to do now that I know better what to be looking for.

Session 4 – German Immigrant Experience – This was a case study for one of Michael’s ancestors who came to America from Germany.  But, the things we learned can apply to any immigrant experience.  Learning more about what our ancestors went through, just to get here, makes us appreciate all the more, their sacrifices.

I’ve been busy today revisiting tax & estate records for my own ancestors and my approach is completely different.  Thank you Michael.

YOU MAY FIND THESE POSTS HELPFUL

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS ON LOCATING A PROBATE RECORD ON FAMILY SEARCH

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

FRIDAY FINDS ~ Probate records you can find on Ancestry–1600’s, 1700’s .....and more

This has been a very fun week.  Taking a look at some of my husband’s ancestors on Ancestry, I located one probate record, which lead me to other probate records.

Sometimes you won’t see these records come up as hints when you look at the people in your tree.  However, if you go directly to the database by searching for records in a particular state, you will find these treasures.

TIP:  For finding records by state on Ancestry, go to the menu at the top and use “Search.”  Then “All Collections,” scroll down the page and click on the specific state on the map.  That will bring up every collection available for that state.  I use this search method quite often and find it very useful.




The Connecticut,  Wills and Probate Records section has  327,217 resources.

I located the following records which contain wonderful proof of family connections and, of course, proof of the year or exact date of death of the ancestor.

CLARKE, Theophilus – 1737 – 6th great grandfather of my husband
CLARK, Deacon Simeon – 1793 – 4th great granduncle of my husband
HALL, Cornelius Clark – 1815 – 3rd great grandfather of my husband
WHEELOCK, Jonathan -  1798 -  5th great grandfather of my husband

I haven’t yet transcribed these records.  I’ve read most of them over once and entered them in my Legacy database.  It takes time to crop, straighten and organize them, depending on how many pages.  Then I save them as JPG images.  Next, I convert those images to one PDF file so that the entire record can be viewed as one document.  Stay tuned for those transcriptions.
 
Here are some pages from the records I located:

1737 - Theophilus Clark - page 1 1793 - Deacon Simeon Clark - page 1

1815 - Cornelius Clark Hall - Inventory page

I’m sure most of you have used probate records in your research.  But, in going back to some of the online records I looked at in previous years, I’ve found many new records added.  Might be worth a peek.

OTHER RECORDS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

WHAT CAN YOU LEARN FROM A PROBATE RECORD?

AMANEUNSIS MONDAY ~ Samuel Morse Probate 1654

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

HOW TO FIND PROBATE RECORDS ONLINE

ONE OF THE BEST SOURCES THAT WE CAN ACCESS AS GENEALOGISTS, ARE THE PROBATE RECORDS OF OUR ANCESTORS

HERE IS THE PROBATE INDEX CARD FOR THE ELIZABETH BURGESS ESTATE.  YOU CAN SEE THE FILE NUMBER IN THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER AND THAT IT NAMES HER GRANDDAUGHTER, SUSAN MILNE AND THE PARTICULAR COURT WHERE THE RECORD WAS FILED, ALONG WITH THE YEAR - 1884.

Here is just a sample of what they can tell us:

• They can contain some solid family connections
• Solve brick walls
• Give us clues as to the financial status of our ancestor
• Tell us if a particular child was “out of favor”
• Give us dates, names & places
• Indicate who were trusted friends based on the executor or witnesses

So, when was the last time you located a probate record for your ancestor?

Have you ever located one?

During my recent research, I was on the Facebook page for Detroit Society for Genealogical Research.

They had two recent articles/posts regarding finding probate records.  One article was posted on October 31 and the next on November 1.  While these particular posts are about Michigan, this information can be used with probate records for any state for which Family Search has records available.  Here is the link:  United_States_Probate_Records

One thing about having a lot of records online is that some of us may not be as well versed in “browsing” through records as we used to be.  Prior to the internet, microfilm and microfiche had to be used to find records.  This involved a LOT of scrolling through record after record.  It’s much easier, in my opinion, to scroll through online records, than to use the microfilm readers.
 
How many of you don’t look at records on familysearch when you see “browse records” rather than the little camera icon?

I have to admit, I was guilty of that, until recently.

Here are the links I referred to from the Detroit Society for Genealogical Research.

Probate Records on Family Search - Part 1



Probate Records on Family Search - Part 2



WHAT’S NEXT?
I located a probate number for my 3rd great grandmother, Elizabeth BURGESS, while searching under the name MILNE.  Why?  Because her granddaughter, Susan married into my MILNE family.  The record shown at the top of this post is the one I located.

I was SO excited.  I went from the index to the actual records and began my search.  I couldn’t wait to find out who she might mention in her probate record.

BUT, AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT….
One of the years that IS NOT in this group of scanned images is 1884.  Yup, no record.  I was very disappointed.  However, I didn’t let that stop me from trying to obtain this record.  I live in California.  No trip to Detroit is in my near future. 
How was I going to obtain a copy of this probate record?

HERE'S HOW
I have friends and family in Detroit.  I contacted a Facebook friend from the group Detroit Genealogy and she has offered to go to the courthouse and get this record for me.  She hopes to have it by the end of the week.  Once I get it, you can bet I’ll be writing about it.
 
TIP:  It’s because of situations like this that I so highly recommend that every genealogist use social media as a source for contacts.  I can’t tell you the wealth of information I have gained and the records I have obtained because of Facebook contacts. 
Please see this post I wrote about the value of Facebook for your genealogy research.

FACEBOOK - HOW IT CAN BE VERY USEFUL IN YOUR RESEARCH

OTHER POSTS THAT YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY
EVERNOTE - A VERY USEFUL AND FREE TOOL
SEMINARS, WEBINARS, SOCIETIES - WILL THEY HELP YOUR RESEARCH?

Happy Hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION