52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2016 WEEK 17: JACOB DANA OF CAMBRIDGE, MA. PT2

8x great grandfather Jacob Dana's probate file is not as much as a "hot mess" as that of my other ancestor Nathaniel Stow Jr. But, as my mother might say sarcastically, it is "a thing of beauty and a joy forever."

First there is the handwriting on some of the court documents which, while not illegible, is a bit of a challenge to decipher.

Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.)Case 5848 Image4

Then there are the images with multiple small sips of paper with records of debts on the estate being paid.

Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.)Case 5848 Image15

Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.)Case 5848 Image16

Finally there is the creative spelling used in the estate inventory:

Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.)Case 5848 Image2

"sadel and pilyan" (saddle and pillion)
"brass and putter and iren weare" (brass and pewter and iron ware)
"one trundell beed and beeding" (one trundle bed and bedding)

Transcribing this one will be a piece of cake though, compared to Nathaniel Stow Jr.'s file!
  

   

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2016 WEEK 17: JACOB DANA OF CAMBRIDGE, MA. PT1

Continuing on with my Dana family ancestors...

My 8x great grandfather Jacob Dana was the eldest living son of Richard and Ann (Bullard) Dana. Here's what William Richard Cutter wrote about him:

(II) Jacob, son of Richard Dana, was born in Cambridge, December 2, 1654. died December, 1698. In the division of his father's estate, he received "the dwelling house and half the barn, with all the appurtenances, as one single share, or half his double portion"; "one-third of all the land near the house," consisting of about five acres; "4 acres on the south pitch of the hill bounded by John McKeen north and west, Thomas Chaney south, and Daniel Dana east, and the remainder of his third part of the upland lying by the roadway, etc., subject to rights of his mother and the payment of three pounds annually to her." He married, probably in 1678, Patience ____, who was buried June 3, 1712. He died in 1698, and his widow was appointed administratrix, January 23, 1698-99, the inventory being dated December, 1698-99. Children: Jacob, born October 12, 1679, died young; Elizabeth; Hannah, October 25, 1685; Experience, November 1, 1687; Patience, Samuel, mentioned below; Abigail; Jacob, 1698. p1143


New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation, Volume 3 Lewis historical publishing Company, N.Y., N.Y., 1914

Some family genealogies say that Jacob's wife was Patience Sabin of Rehoboth, Ma. but I haven't found any marriage record either in Rehoboth or Cambridge. Given that the two towns are in different counties and regions of Massachusetts, (Rehoboth is in Bristol County, southwest of Boston near the Rhode Island border.) I don't think it's likely she was a Sabin.

I'll discuss Jacob's probate file in Part 2.

To be continued.