Amanuensis Monday - Accounting of the Estate of Thomas Cook 1820

On his TransylvanianDutch blog, John Newmark defines an amanuensis as “a person employed to write out what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.” For more information about this daily blogging prompt, see John’s post Amanuensis – Why?.

I have amassed quite a collection of scans of handwritten documents related to my ancestors—primarily marriage records, deeds, and wills. As I have been transcribing these documents, it occurred to me that most of these documents were not actually written by my ancestors, but rather dictated to someone else, and then transcribed by a clerk into official records.



My two previous posts regarding the estate of Thomas Cook include his will and the inventory. Today I am posting an image and transcript of the accounting of the property sold, or available to be sold, to cover debts which was presented to the court in the May term 1820.

[Source: Wilkes County, North Carolina, Wills, 3: 223, Thomas Cook, deceased; FHL microfilm 393,950.]

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Sunday's Obituary - Rev. John Spurlock

Funeral Services

Held March 20 For
Rev. John Spurlock
__________

Funeral services for Rev. John

Fed Spurlock, age 98 years, 5
months, resident of Jonesboro,
were held March 20th, at Antioch
church.
  Rev. Spurlock, a native of Geor-
gia, was reared and educated in
Bienville parish. He was ordain-
ed as a minister of the Gospel in
1885 and was very active in this
work until forced to retire be-
cause of failing health. Rev. Spur-
lock was of the Cumberland
Presbyterian faith.
  Surviving are six sons, Bill
Spurlock of Paxton, Texas; John
Spurlock of Paxton, Texas; A. H.
and H. R. Spurlock of Jonesboro;
G. H. Spurlock Houston, Tex.,
and C. D. Spurlock of Hodge; eight
daughters, Mrs. E. H. Crawley, of
Arcadia; Mrs. G. V. Conville, of
Arcadia; Mrs. J. L. Thrasher, of
Lufkin, Texas; Mrs. Velma Vance
of Campti, La.; Mrs. Terrell Don-
aldson, and Mrs. Easter Lamb, of
Orange, Texas; Mrs. Reita Thomp-
son, of Crossett, Ark., and Mrs.
Jewel Carson, of Jonesboro. In
addition to his children, Rev.
Spurlock is survived by fifty-
four grand children, forty-five
great grand children, and five
great, great grandchildren.
  Funeral services were conducted
by Rev. Joe Pace, Rev. J. W.
Buckner, Rev. G. L. Scott, and
Rev. Wise. Interment was in the
Antioch cemetery under direction
of Southern Funeral Home.
  Pall bearers were: Sol Thomp-
son, Terrell Donaldson, Linden
Thrasher, Otto Lamb, Dayton
Carson and Travis Pardue.


I don't know who wrote this obituary for John F. Spurlock, my paternal great-grandfather, who died on 18 March 1945. My research shows that statements in the obituary regarding his age and place of birth are in conflict with many other records.

[Source: "Funeral Services Held March 20 for Rev. John Spurlock", undated, unknown newspaper; privately held by Denise Spurlock, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Lomita, CA. Bettye Lou (Conville) Gleason, granddaughter of John Fedrick Spurlock, gave  me this newspaper clipping in Dec 2000; Mrs. Gleason is now deceased.]

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day: August 6

1641: Thomas Holman, one of my maternal 7^th great-grandfathers, son of John Holman and Anna Bishop, was born on this date in Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts. He was a cordwainer (a shoemaker) and served as a soldier in King Philip’s War. He died 4 August 1704 at Milton, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, and is buried at Milton Cemetery.

Photo by Scrib & Barb Kelly; findagrave.com, digital images, (www.findagrave.com : accessed 27 Jul 2011),
 Find A Grave Memorial# 21151415, Thomas Holman,
created by Nareen, et al, 25 August 2007.

Source: Alfred Lyman Holman, "John Holman of Dorchester, Mass., and His Descendants," The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, July 1918, 196; digital images, New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 23 Dec 2010).

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Treasure Chest Thursday - Post 1 - Dear Sis

My grandfather J. J. Spurlock died many years before I was born; because he was estranged from his children, my father did not speak of him. In December 2000, I had the pleasure of visiting Spurlock family members in Louisiana. At that time, Bettye Lou (Conville) Gleason, my first cousin once removed, gave me the following letter written by my grandfather to her mother, Sarah Elizabeth "Sis" (Spurlock) Conville.

Letter from J. J. Spurlock to Sarah Elizabeth Spurlock Conville

Envelope postmarked 25 Oct 1929

The letter, written in pencil on paper now yellowed with age, reads:

                   10/25/29 

Dear Sis 

          I received your letter o.k. and

was certainly glad to hear from

you. sorry to hear of all the deaths

but time is slipping by and old age

will get us all. 

          In regard stone for Ma's grave

I want to do my part but will not

be able to put up the money until

after xmas. I have some big bills

to pay between now and xmas and

just now I dont know where the

money is coming from. but you

can count on me for $40.⁰⁰ in

January. 

          Love to all,

                   your brother

                             Jack 

Hope to be able to visit
you all some day.

Writing on the eve of the Great Depression, my grandfather speaks of having bills to pay. I wonder how he fared during the 1930s. I don't think my great-grandmother's stone was ever replaced; the grave stone where she is buried in Hurricane Cemetery, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, appears to have been made at a time closer to her death in 1893. I am saddened that there is no evidence that he had the chance to visit his siblings in Louisiana  and Texas before his death in 1940.

This is a rare treasure that connects me to one of my ancestors I never knew. I am lucky to have it.

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Workday Wednesday - Jasper Jackson "Jack" Spurlock SS-5

Sometimes it seems like all my ancestors were farmers, but the records tell me differently. Some of the occupations I've found: shoemaker, milliner, wheelwright, mine worker, preacher, and sawmill owner. My dad was a sheet metal worker; I have several photos of him at work. I will be using the "Workday Wednesday" theme for sharing photos, stories, and records related to my ancestors' work lives. If you like, join me in posting on your own blog, or as a comment here, how your ancestors spent "Workday Wednesday!"


My father, Jasper Jackson "Jack" Spurlock, applied for a Social Security number on 24 November 1936; here is a copy of his application:

He noted his address as 129 Harbor Street in Houston, Texas. This was my grandmother's home; even though my dad was working, it appears that he may not have been able to provide a separate home yet for his wife and baby daughter.

I need to do some research about Houston Compress Company for which he was working in 1936.

The best thing about this document is that it has my dad's signature on it; I have only a few samples of his handwriting!

[Source: Jasper Jackson Spurlock, SS no. 454-03-1265, 24 Nov 1936, Application for Account Number (Form SS-5), Social Security Administration, Baltimore, Maryland.]

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day: August 1

1720: Phillip Sheppard, one of my maternal 6^th great-grandfathers, son of David and Sarah (Vickers) Sheppard, was born probably in Cumberland County, New Jersey.¹ He died January 5, 1797, and is buried at the Old Cohansey Baptist Church Cemetery in Sheppards Mill, Cumberland County, New Jersey.²

1728: John Justice and Mary Moore, two of my maternal 6^th great-grandparents, married at Scituate, Plymouth County, Massachusetts. John and Mary had eight children: Mary, John, Simeon, Thomas, Elce, Elizabeth, William (my ancestor), and Ezra.³

¹Rev. Darrell and Sallyann Joiner (carver@ime.net), Cary Family History.

²Thomas Shourds, History and Genealogy of Fenwick's Colony, New Jersey (Bridgeton, New Jersey: George F. Nixon, 1876), 202.

³Thomas Harold Justice, First Justice Families of Eastern Kentucky (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kyfloyd/familyfiles/justice_history_update.htm : accessed 12 Feb 2010).

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Amanuensis Monday - Inventory of the Estate of Thomas Cook 1819

On his TransylvanianDutch blog, John Newmark defines an amanuensis as “a person employed to write out what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.” For more information about this daily blogging prompt, see John’s post Amanuensis – Why?.

I have amassed quite a collection of scans of handwritten documents related to my ancestors—primarily marriage records, deeds, and wills. As I have been transcribing these documents, it occurred to me that most of these documents were not actually written by my ancestors, but rather dictated to someone else, and then transcribed by a clerk into official records.

Last week I posted the will of Thomas Cook, one of my maternal 4th great-grandfathers. This week I have transcribed the inventory of his estate which was presented to the court in Wilkes County, North Carolina, in the May Term 1819 by his executors R. Martin and Randolph Mabery. Here are my thoughts regarding the contents of his estate, followed by an image of the document and the transcription.

Thomas Cook was a landowner. He owned horses, cattle, and other farm animals, farming implements and tools. It appears that he, or others in the household, engaged in brewing and weaving. He was a slaveowner as were others of his time and place. He was literate: he owned seven books and a family Bible. At first I thought he was musically-inclined as a tin trumpet is listed on the inventory; however, I have learned it's more likely the tin trumpet was a hearing aid!

There were a number of items listed in the inventory with which I was not familiar. In addition to the term "tin trumpet" noted above, here are some (but not all) of the other terms I had to look up:

• Hogshead (a cask or barrel holding 60 to 140 gallons of liquid)
• Piggin (a wooden pail with a handle formed by continuing one of the staves above the rim)
• Spider (an iron frying pan with legs to hold it above the coals in the fire)
• Steelyards (a portable scale) 

[These definitions are from A to ZAX: A Comprehensive Dictionary for Genealogists & Historians by Baebara Jean Evans.]

The executors of the estate noted at the bottom of the inventory that the property listed was for the use of Thomas Cook's widow and family to live on.

[Transcript]

An Inventory of the Estate of Thomas Cook Deceased.   

Four Hundred and forty acres of Land._One Negroe Woman Named
Virgin about 60 years old._One Negroe Man Named Benjamin
about 30 Years old to be sold._One Negroe Man Named Charles a
bout 30 years old._One Negroe Woman Named Hulda about 22
years old._One Negroe Girl Child Named Kiziah about one year old._
Three Head of Horse creatures._One Year old colt._Four cows._Three
yearlings._Two Young Calves._Twenty one Grown Hogs._Twenty
three small Hogs._Ten Sheep._Six lambs._Four Beds & furniture
with their Bedsteads & Chords._One Table._One Chest._One Small
Trunk._Seven Chairs._One Cupboard and some crockery ware._Three
pewter Dishes._Eight pewter plates._One small Bason._A part of a
case of Knives and folks._Sex metal Spoons._One Mans Saddle.
One old Womans Saddle._One Bridle._One smoothe Gun, Shot bag
and Horn._Two cotten Wheels._One linen Wheel._One Reel._Four
glass Bottles._One tin Trumpet._One pair of candle moulds._One
small looking glass._One Iron shovel._One pot brammil._One flat Iron
One family Bible._Seven Books._Two water pails._Two piggins._
Three tin pans._Three pots._Two Ovens._One Spider._One Skillet._
Four pair pot Hooks._Two plows._Two pair of Chain braces._Two
collars and Haims._Four Hoes._One Mattock._One sproutting Hoe
Three Axes._One cross cut saw._One Hand saw._One Iron Wedge._
One frow._Two Augurs._Two small cags._Fourteen Hogsheads._
Three Geese._One Loom and geers._One cutting Knife and Box._
One Coopers Adze._One Hammer._One pair of Steelyards.
N.B. the above property is for the use of the decd. Wi-
dow and family to live on.

                                                                     R. Martin                 )
                                                                     Randolph Mabery   ) Exrs.
North Carolina)
Wilkes County) May Term 1819.

The above Inventory was
Return’d on oath by the Executors.

                                         Test
                                         R. Martin. Clk.

 
[Source: Wilkes, North Carolina, Wills, 3: 199, Thomas Cook, deceased; FHL microfilm 393,950, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.]

© 2011 Denise Spurlock