Inventories of estates show name of decedent and township, date filed, itemized list of possessions and assets, appraised valuation, and signatures and affidavit of appraisers and administrators. Administrators' Accounts and Administrators' Bonds are also filed with this collection prior to 1776. Other estate related papers sometimes included before 1776 were: Orphans' Court papers, Renunciations, and Vendue Lists. Inventories were sometimes filed with the wills and may be at the courthouse. Appraisers often included widow's allotments in the inventories. Any additional information such as occupation, cause of death, or the listing of enslaved persons or indentured servants are noted in the database.
Prior to 1752, documents between the months of January and March were subject to double dating, as a result of the conflict between the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Therefore, documents filed between 1 January and 25 March have two years listed; one from the old Julian calendar and one from the new Gregorian calendar.
System of Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically and then chronologically within each letter.
LancasterHistory is committed to preserving and providing access to materials chronicling Lancaster County's heritage. As a historical resource, this document reflects the racial prejudices and actions of the era. In order to maintain the historical integrity and context of collection items, LancasterHistory does not censor historical documents or edit language, titles, or organization names when transcribing original content.
Additional Notes
Enslaved children listed, one boy and two girls.
1 item, 2 pieces
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Copyright
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Credit
Courtesy of Lancaster County Archives and LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Classification
RG-03-00-0133
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Digitization of this document was funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, PHMC Appl ID # 202010016624, 2020-2023.
Renunciations are papers filed in the Orphans' Court by executors of an estate who do not wish to administer that estate. They show the name of the decedent, the decedent's place of residence, the name of the person renouncing administration, the name of the replacement administrator to be appointed, and date. The relationship between the decedent, the executor, and the administrator is usually shown. Arranged chronologically and then alphabetically within each year.
System of Arrangement
Arranged chronologically and then alphabetically within each year.
