The next document in the Probate court file for the estate of my ancestor Joseph
Ellingwood/Ellenwood is short but sweet (at least for his widow Sarah):
"April 7th 1789 Sarah Ellinwood widow of Joseph Ellinwood late of Lyndboro
Deceased referred a Petition to the Judge for Allowance for upholding life and
was allowed nine pounds for that purpose- -
Exam'd per Saml Dana Regr"
This has me wondering. Was the nine pounds a one time payment, or was it a monthly
amount? The estate wasn't settled until a year later in August 1790. I know things were
inexpensive compared to the economy of today and of course people grew their own
food or had farm animals to supply meat. Still, it seems like a long time to stretch nine
pounds.
Also, this file shows how the spelling of family names can change in one file. In the
Estate Inventory, Joseph was referred to as Ellenwood, but in the next two documents,
including this one, as Ellinwood. In the next two documents that I'll post here, he's
called Joseph Ellingwood. I've gotten used to looking for all the variations of the name
doing my research on the family but I use Ellingwood in my tree and files.
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