Once I learned which county to look for Absolom's probate (see Part 3 blog post first), I was off and running with renewed vigor. Let's dig into the probate file for Absolom. After I was back at the hotel after being at the library for the day, I could look up the actual probate files the index was referencing on FamilySearch.org. Bear with me as this is a longer post, but the documents are SO COOL!
What I found was that Absolom was a merchant (we knew that already from the 1850 Census), but that he owned two stores - one store was in Capon Bridge, West Virginia and one store in Frederick County, Virginia. If you look at the map below, I marked the two areas with yellow stars and you can see just how close Capon Bridge is to the county line. I am guessing on the location of the one in Frederick County, as it is not yet known the exact location, but one would guess it is near the cemetery where Absolom is buried.
The probate file is quite lengthy because the administrators of his probate were forced to sell both store contents to recover money from the investments. I would imagine it would be costly to own two stores, and he probably owed creditors as well. The probate file is page after page of selling the contents, and there are some pages missing from the file. Even so, we may not have a complete picture of everything that happened with the probate, but I was still able to glean some information.
Here is the first entry in the probate file and is dated the 7th day of February 1854 (he died on 30th of December 1853) and states the following:
"This following is an inventory of the merchandise at Capon Bridge in the County of Hampshire belonging to the estate of A Dailey dec'd taken by Robert B Sherrard and James W Grove as the administrators thereof on the 7th day of February 1854 as follows to wit:"
Then it goes on to list the store contents for 23 pages. It starts out with the cloth that would have been up for sale - plaids, black cloth, cassimere (a closely woven smooth twilled usually wool fabric (as for suits), etc. and then continues just as you would think of a general store with Hardware, Books & Stationery, Boots & Shoes, Hats & Caps, Glassware, Tinware, and Groceries. I have included another page so you can get an idea. Can't you just see the store all lined with goods? The total appraisal of the contents of the Capon Bridge store came to $1,835.66 which in today's money would be about $60,926.87.
The second entry in the probate file is for the personal property of Absolom and is also dated the 7th day of February 1854 and states the following:
"This following is an inventory of the personal estate of A Dailey dec'd made by Robert B Sherrard and James W Grove as the administrators there on the 7th day of February 1854 with a column on the right hand in which the undersigned appraises appointed by the County Court of Hampshire have annexed the value of the several items to wit:"
You will notice household items in the personal inventory such as a mahogany bureau, pictures & frames, an eight-day clock, split bottom chairs, a keg of brandy, bushels of corn, lard, etc. This would have been the personal property of Absolom and his wife Margaret at their house. The inventory of the personal property continues for two more pages, and I have included an excerpt of them here. The total appraisal of the personal property came to $1,979.03 which in today's money would be about $65,685.42.
The third entry in the probate file is the accounting for the merchandise sold from the store and the sale lasted seven days from February 28th through March 13th, 1854. The administrators recorded who purchased the item(s) and for what amount and states the following:
"The following is a statement of a sale of merchandise sold at a sale made by Robert B Sherrard and James W Grove administrators of the estate of Absolom Dailey dec'd on the 28th day of February 1854 as follows viz:"
The sale goes on for 42 pages and experts in genealogy will tell you that you should examine who purchases items at an estate sale for clues (remember our FAN club), but this is a little trickier. I imagine lots of people came out to buy items and the 42 pages list LOTS of people. Just think about us going to a store that is closing and looking for a good bargain! The total amount of this sale was $1,838.01. In today's money that is $61,004.86.
There are some last names that appear with repetitiveness such as:
- Carlyle
- Colbert
- Hook
- Kerns
- Peacemaker
- Oats
- Pugh
- Whitaker
In addition, as you look at the pages, you will notice George Dailey purchases Shoe Knives for $0.14 and Black Satin for $1.60. There was also a purchase from a Samual Dailey as well for 32 yards of cotton. But, other than that, no other Dailey's are listed in the inventory.
The next sale is for the personal property of Absolom and the entry is not dated but happens sometime before the 26th day of March 1854 (this is the date it was entered into the courts) and states:
"The following is a list of the property belonging to the estate of A Dailey dec'd sold at a sale made by Robert B Sherrard and James W Grove Administrators thereof on the {blank} day of {blank} 1854 as followeth viz:"
George purchases the following for a total of $49.56:
- Lamp - $0.08
- Cooking Stove and apparatus - $17.00
- Kitchen Table - $17.66 1/4
- Stone Jar - $1.00
- Dishes - $3.37 1/2
- Horse Net - $3.70
- Desk - $4.00
- Book Case - $1.25
- Window Blinds - $1.50
Mrs. Dailey purchases the following for a total of $123.56:
- Brass Kettle - $1.00
- Safe - $8.00
- Bed Bedstead and Bedding - $12.00
- Keg of Vinegar - $1.56
- Bureau - $2.50
- Clock - $2.50
- Pair and Irons - $1.50
- Bay Mare - $75.00
- Cow - $19.50
There is another inventory and sale and 20 pages of the book are missing. It looks similar to the other sale and this is for the Frederick County, Virginia store. With 10 pages of an inventory included and 20 pages of the sale, there is still a lot to see. The sale lasts for 4 days and is dated around August 6 -10, 1854 and the entry starts with the following:
"The following is an inventory of merchandise belonging to the estate of A Dailey dec'd at Commerce Hill Frederick County VA taken by Robert B Sherrard and James W Grove Administrators thereof on the {blank} day of {blank} 1854 viz:"
The total for this sale is $1,322.40 and is $43,891.40 in today's money. George Dailey again purchases a few items.
George purchases the following for a total of $1.08:
- Shoe Knives - $0.14
- Purses - $0.73 1/2
- Pack of Envelopes - $0.07
- Set of Teaspoons = $0.14
Last names that show up frequently include:
- Peacemaker
- Grove
- Kerns
- Whitacre
- Braithwaite
- Sherrard
- Heironimus
- Light
- Pugh
- Triplett
- Dehaven
- Engle
I would imagine it would take a while to close out the probate for Absolom. Given the sheer magnitude of the sales of the two stores, I am imagining they also had to collect from people who might have owed Absolom money on credit from the store. In the next entry, you start seeing the administrators giving an account two years later in July 1856 for the happenings surrounding the accounts and where they stand.
Sherrard gives his account and excerpts are below:
Then Grove gives his account and excerpts are below:
We then see another record of account in July 1858. I will point out that James Dailey and George are both listed in this account.
In typical probate closure, there would be a final closeout proving to the court all the debts are paid and owed. It would also show the disbursement to the widow or others, but of course, this is missing from the records. I have searched for them but have not found anything to date. Some of the records are just missing.
To sum up all this probate stuff, it is pretty neat to see all these old documents and how they dealt with a person dying intestate (no will). It proves nothing further in our quest to find the parents of George Dailey. However, I will say that I believe it does show they were very close. Not a lot of Daileys appear in these records - George, James (only once), and a Samuel (only once), and George does show up very frequently.
In the next post, we will look at deed records (A.K.A. other cool old documents)!
FAN Club Listing (I will continue to add to this)
- John Parlett (bondsman listed on James and Rachel marriage)
- Absolom Dailey (1850 US Census Head of Household)
- Margaret Grove (Wife of Absolom Dailey)
- John Grove (Minister for the marriage of Absolom and Margaret)
- Robert B Sherrard (Administrator of Absolom Dailey's probate)
- James W Grove (Administrator of Absolom Dailey's probate)
Hampshire County West Virginia Probate Records, Inventories 1855 (missing p.1-98 & some pages are part missing); Pg 147-261; https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99VT-Q375?i=353&cat=220785
