I knew Ralph Ellingwood Sr. had left a will because my cousin Florence O'Connor had included the
text of the will and estate inventory in her book Ancestors and Descendants of Asa Freeman Ellingwood and Florilla (Dunham) Ellingwood. So I went over to AmericanAncestors to see if the
probate file was in the Essex County, MA: Early Probate Records, 1635-1681 database.
And it was .
But it was empty.
Just a photo of a little scrap of paper with the words "No Papers Found"
I downloaded it anyway.
Luckily, cousin Florence had cited her source for the will and inventory, The Essex County
Quarterly Court Files, and using that information I was able to find them on Googlebooks and download them as well:
Estate Of Ralph Ellinwood Of Beverly.
"January 7th 1673 The last will and testament of Raph Ellinwood who being weecke in body but of a good memory first I Comit my body to the earth and my Soule to god that gaue it Secondly I make helen my wife my lawfull executrix and to make use of all my estate to bring up our Children in the feare of the lord. Thirdly I make my son Raph my lawfull heire after his mothers decease but when he is Come to the age of twenty one yeares he is to haue the ten akres which was formerly old Robert Moltons lot and that our son Raph is to pay to our other four sons as namely John Joseph Beniamin & david and our too daughters Mary and Elizabeth each & either of them an equall portion only Raph a doble portion acording as the estate is prised to be paide as each comes to age onely I alow my wife hir thirds dureing the terme of hir life and after hir decease equaly her thirds are to be devided amongst our sons & daughters that then doe surviue."
[no signature] Witness: Thomas Piekton and his wife Ann. Proved in Salem court 3: 5m: 1674 by Tho. and Ann Piekton.
Inventory of the estate of Ralf Ellinwood of Beverly, taken Jan. 30, 1673, by Henery Skerry, sr., Tho. Rootes and John Massey: The lot commonly called Molton's lot, with the building, orcharding, etc., 135l.; plowabell Land, pasture, with part of the orchard, 130li.; 2 Cowes, 7li. 10s.; 2 Heffers with Calf, 5li. 10s.; 2 Oxen, 8li. 10s.; 1 Calfe, 1li.; 1 mare & 2 mare Colts, 3li.; 15 sheepe, with theare lambs, 7li. 10s.; 4 swine & 3 pigs, 3li. 5s.; 6 Loads of haye, 6li.; A Beed part Fethers & partt Flockes with 3 Fether pillowes with a bolster & Covering 3li. 10s.; a flock bed with 3 blancitts,1li. 10s.; 20 Bushels of Ingen Corne, 3li.; 15 Bushels of barly, 2li.; 2 bushels of peese, 8s.; 8 Flitches of Bacon, 3li. 10s.; 2 bushels of Ry, 7s.; 30li. of sheeps wooll, 1li. 10s.; 16li. of hempe, 8s.; 10li. of flax, 10s.; Chaines & Fetters & horse Trases, 16s.; Cart & wheles with a Cops & bolt with plow Iornes, 2li.; 3 Boxes For wheeles, 5s.; 6li. wedges, 2s.; axes & hoes, 8s.; 2 hacks & 1 pare of Fiar Tongs, 10s.; 2 Akers of Salt marsh Ground Laying to the Common, 1li.; 3 Iorne pots and a Scellett, 15s.; warming pan, 10s.; a brace Cettell & scellitt, 1li. 10s.; a barrell of a Gun, 3s.; 5 puter platters & an old pott & porrenger, 1li. 2s.; half a barrel of mackrell, 9s.; 10 bushels of Turnups, 10s.; 1 barrell & half of sider, 15s.; 3 spining wheels, 10s.; 2 Chests, 15s.; 20li. of Cheese, 6s. 8d.; 8li. of Cotten yearne, 16s.; woodden dishes & boles & earthen platters, 5s.; 2 old siths & 2 Repe hooks, 4s.; a sider prees & pounding Troff, 1li.; a connew, 10s.; 4 old bibels & sume other books, 18s.; 4 pare of sheets with pillo bears and Tabell clothes, 4li.; 5 yeards of home maide wollen Cloth, 2li.; mony, 3s.; a towell, 1s. 6d.; his best sute of home spun Cloth, 3li.; 2 wascots, a Cote an drawers, 1li. 5s.; his stockens, shewes, & hats, 1li.; 3 shirts & neck clothes, 1li. 10s.; 3 chaires, 5s.; total, 352li. 12s. 2d.
Attested 3: 5m: 1674 by Ellenor, the widow of the deceased.
Essex County Quarterly Court Files, vol. 22, leaves, 6, 7. pp411-412
The Probate Records of Essex County, Massachusetts: 1665-1674 (Google eBook) Vol II
Essex Institute, Salem Ma 1917
I was puzzled over what the item "connew" was in the inventory and eventually realized it must mean "canoe".
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