The images for the inventory of Isaac Stearns are a little easier to read than his will:
And there was a transcription of it in The Stearns Genealogy and Memoirs by Avis
Sterns Van Wagenen:
A true inventory of the lands, goods and chattels of Isaac Sternes, Sen'r., taken the 28th, of 4th., 1671, who deceased the 16th of 4th, 1671, prized and taken by us, whose names are here underwritten:
Housen and homestall of twelve acres of land.... £100 00
Four acres of upland and two acres of meadow. ... 18 00
Eight acres of upland........................................... 26 00
Six acres of meadow........................................... 30 00
Three acres of marshe .........................................15 00
Fourscore acres of upland.................................... 60 00
Twelve acres of upland ........................................12 00
Nine acres of upland..............................................5 00
Sixty acres of upland.............................................15 00
Fifteen acres of upland ...........................................8 00
Foure acres of meadow land................................... 8 00
Twenty-five acres of meadow land ........................60 00
One hundred and ninety acres of meadow land.......40 00
One hundred and five acres of upland.................... 10 00
Two horses.......................................................... 10 00
Foure oxen.......................................................... 16 00
Six cowes............................................................ 18 00
Two heffers.......................................................... 4 00
Three yearlings ......................................................3 00
Seven sheep and five lambs.................................... 4 00
Wearing clothes, linning and wooling....................... 4 00
Beding and tabell linning......................................... 4 10
New Cloath............................................................4 10
Swine, to the value of............................................. 4 00
Beding and bedstead in the parlor............................ 4 10
Cubbord, stooles and table..................................... 3 00
Beding and bedstead in the hall............................... 3 00
One Moose skin .....................................................0 10
One old bed and other lumber in the old chamber..... 1 00
Sheep's wool......................................................... 0 08
Two old chests, two spinning wheels, a chese
press, and other lumber in ye low chamber ............. 1 00
Beame and scales, waites and measures.................. 1 00
One payer of quarnes and other lumber in the
quarne house.........................................................0 10
Brass putter and iron and other utensils in the
chimne................................................................. 6 10
Beer barrels, pondering tubbs and other small
utensils................................................................. 1 00
Corne and mealle................................................... 1 00
Mault and pease.................................................... .2 10
Lumber in the parlor chamber.................................. 0 10
Two bags of hopes.................................................. 3 00
Cart, plow, chains and other husbandry instruments... 3 00
Salt, meall and chees, other provisions...................... 3 00
Corne growing in the ground..................................... 6 00
Tobacco in the rowle and leafe................................. 0 06 08
Two muskets, one fowling peace, one sword..............2 00
To one cart rope...................................................... 0 05
To sacks and hay in the barns.................................... 0 15
Not footed in original. I make.................................. £524 04 08
(Signed) WILLIAM BOND. SEN'R.
JOHN BISCOE, SEN'R.
HENRY FREEMAN,
"That this is a true coppie of ye orriginall attested in Oct., 1671, and yn put upon Record, and burned in ye fireing of ye court house, is sworn by Isaac Sternes and Samuel Sternes, 1, 8, 72, in open court, at Cambridge."
(From Vol. 4, pp. 129-130.)
pp18-20
Stearns Genealogy and Memoirs, Volume 1 Courier Press Company, Syracuse, New York 1901
A few things struck me:
- The moose skin was only worth 10 shillings. Was this an indication that moose were plentiful in Massachusetts in the time Isaac was living in Massachusetts Bay colony?
- The "one payer of quarnes" puzzled me as to what that might be, so I googled and discovered it
was probably a mispelling of quernes, which were hand operated mills used to grind corn, which
was a crop Isaac grew. The pronunciation may have sounded the way it is spelled though in the inventory.
- Likewise, I think the "two bags of hopes" refers to hoops. But "bags of hopes" is something that
makes me smile.
Update: Fellow genealogist Michael John Neill pointed out that "hopes" was probably a mispelling
of "hops" which is indeed much more logical for Isaac to have than "hoops". "
Showing posts with label Stearns Isaac. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stearns Isaac. Show all posts
Monday, December 14, 2015
Thursday, December 10, 2015
52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2015 WEEK 49: ISAAC STEARNS OF WATERTOWN, MA. PT2
I found Issac Stearns' probate file over on AmericanAncestors.org. As you can see, it's a bit
difficult to read:
Luckily, there was a transcription in the Stearns genealogy :
His will, dated five days before his decease, with his autograph signature, is extant on the files of the Probate Office of Middlesex County, and is as follows:
"I, Isack Stearns, of Watertown, in the County of Middlesex, being sick in body, but through the goodness of God in sound memory, do declare this to be my last Will and Testament, in manner and form as followeth:
"Imp.—ffirst, I return my spirit into the hands of God that gave it, and my body to the earth from whence it was taken.
2dly.—My will is, that Mary, my beloved wife, should enjoy my whole estate, for her maintainance, so long as she shall live a widow; but if my said wife shall marry again, then my will is that she should enjoy only what the law intended and provided for in the law titled dowers.
"3dly.—I give and bequeath to my grandchildren, the children of my sonne John Sternes, fower score pounds, (which) being added to what my son had formerly, will be a double portion with the rest of my children.
"4thly.—I give unto my son Isaac Sternes, seventy pounds, which being added to what he have had already, will be his proportion according to the rest of my children.
"5thly—I give to my son, Samuel Sternes, seventy pounds, which being added to what I formerly gave him will be his proportion with the rest of my children.
6thly.—I give to my grandchildren, the children of my daughter Mary, deceased, five and thirty pounds; my grandchild, Isaac Lernot, to have ten pounds of the said 35 pounds —the remainder, which will be twenty-five pounds, to be equally divided to the rest; which said thirty-five pounds being added to what I formerly gave my daughter, Mary Lernot, will be an equal proportion with the rest of my children.
"7thly.—I give to my daughter Sarah Stone, forty pounds, which being added to what she formerly had, will be her proportion.
"8thly.—I give to my daughter Elizabeth Manning twenty pounds, which being added to what I formerly gave her, will be her proportion; further, my will is. that the said twenty pounds given to my daughter Elizabeth aforesaid, be secured for the good and benefit of the children.
"9thly.—I give and bequeath to my daughter Abigail Morss, five acres of meadow, lying and being at Samuel's farm, to enjoy and possess for her and her heirs forever: and my will is. that my daughter Abigail Morss. may take the said five acres of meadow either next to Samuel's meadow, or next Capt. Mason's: and besides the meadow. I give to my said daughter Abigail, forty pounds, all which being added to what she have had formerly, will be her proportion.
"10thly.—My will is, that my kinsman Charles Sternes, shall have ten pounds of my estate. Further, my will is, that my whole estate remain whole and unbroken for comfort and maintainance of my beloved wife, as above said, so long as she doth remain a widow—save only the five acres of meadow given to my daughter Abigail, which she is to enjoy presently.
"ffurther, I nominate and appoint my beloved sons, Isaac Sternes and Samuel Sternes. executors, to this my last Will and Testament, and have hereunto set my hand, this fourteenth day of June, one thousand six hundred and seventyone, in presence of.
"Before subscribing, my will is. that when those several legacies are paid out according to my Will within mentioned, then my will is, that the remainder of my estate shall be equally divided among my children then living, and so subscribe the day aforesaid by putting to my hand in presence of,
ISACK STERNES. (This signature was written five days before his decease.) "WILLIAM BOND SEN'R. "JOHN BISCOE, SEN'R."
pp20-22.
Stearns Genealogy and Memoirs, Volume 1 Courier Press Company, Syracuse, New York 1901
Now while the text of the will itself is transcribed, there's some more writing after that is not transcribed and which is difficult to make out:
That this is a true copy of ye originall wch was legally proven & left on file at ye court in October 1671 & yt burned in ye fireing of ye courthouse is attested on oath
1-8-72 at ye courthouse in Cambridge by Isaac Sternes
& Samuel Sternes.
Next I'll take a look at the inventory of the estate.
To be continued.
Sunday, December 06, 2015
52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2015 WEEK 49: ISAAC STEARNS OF WATERTOWN, MA. PT1
My 9x great grandfather Isaac Stearns, the subject of Week 49 of the 2015 52 Ancestors in 52
Weeks Challenge, was a Winthrop Fleet immigrant and a prominent citizen in the early days of
Watertown, Ma. I've been lucky enough to find his probate file and will at AmericanAncestors.org
I've also found a Stearns family genealogy by one of his descendants, Avis Stearns Van Wagenen.
Here's what she has to say about Isaac:
Early in the morning of April 8, 1630, Isaac Stearns and family, Sir Richard Staltonstall and family, Rev. George Phillips, Gov. Winthrop and many others embarked at Yarmouth, England, in the good ship Arrabella and arrived in Salem, Mass., on the 12th of June. The ship Jewell arrived on the 13th. The ship Ambrose on the 18th. The Talbot on July 2. The passengers not being satisfied with Salem as possessing the desirable advantages for a permanent settlement soon proceeded from Salem to Charlestown and were among the first settlers of Watertown, near Mount Auburn, Mass. In 1642 we find his homestall bounded on the north by the land of John Warren; west by the highway; south by the land of John Biscoe; east by Pecjussett Meadow, a part of which meadow he owned. In the distribution of the estate of his son, Samuel, in 1724, this homestall, "where his grandfather had lived,"was assigned to his eldest son, Nathaniel. "Dec. 4, 1638, Isaack stearns and John Page were fined 5 shillings for turning the way about, (i c, changing the highway), and day was given till the next Courte. This was done at a Quarter Courte, holden at Boston, Mass." He was admitted freeman, May 18, 1631, which is the earliest date of any such admission, and he was Selectman several years. In 1647, he and Mr. Biscoe were appointed by the selectmen, "to consider how the bridge over the river shall be built, and to agree with the workmen for doing it, according to their best discretion," says Dr. Francis, in his history, "This is the first mention of a bridge over the Charles River, at Watertown."
Isaac Stearns' pedigree has not been ascertained, nor is it certainly known from what town he came, but it has been found that his wife was from the Parish of Nayland, in Suffolk, and his first three children were born there. Mr. Somerby obtained the following extract from the parish register of Nayland:
"Baptized, Jan. 6, 1626, Mary, dau. of Isaac Sternes.
"Baptized, Oct. 5, 1628, Anna, dau. of Isaac Sternes."
The names and ages of these two daughters seem to correspond with the supposed ages of the eldest two girls of the first Isaac Stearns, of Watertown; for, in the early records, Anna and Hannah were often used, the one for the other.
Mr. Beedham, of North Wales, England, sends the following items:
"1622, marriage of Isaac Sternes and Mary Barker.
1623, baptism of child of same.
1626, baptism of child of same.
1628, baptism of child of same."
pp17-18
Stearns Genealogy and Memoirs, Volume 1 Courier Press Company, Syracuse, New York 1901
The reference to Mary (Barker) Stearns being from Nayland Parish in Suffolk England is interesting,
since my immigrant ancestor Richard Barker is said to have come from there as well. I'll have to look into that to see if they are related.
I'll discuss Isaac Stearns' will and probate in part 2.
To be continued.
Weeks Challenge, was a Winthrop Fleet immigrant and a prominent citizen in the early days of
Watertown, Ma. I've been lucky enough to find his probate file and will at AmericanAncestors.org
I've also found a Stearns family genealogy by one of his descendants, Avis Stearns Van Wagenen.
Here's what she has to say about Isaac:
Early in the morning of April 8, 1630, Isaac Stearns and family, Sir Richard Staltonstall and family, Rev. George Phillips, Gov. Winthrop and many others embarked at Yarmouth, England, in the good ship Arrabella and arrived in Salem, Mass., on the 12th of June. The ship Jewell arrived on the 13th. The ship Ambrose on the 18th. The Talbot on July 2. The passengers not being satisfied with Salem as possessing the desirable advantages for a permanent settlement soon proceeded from Salem to Charlestown and were among the first settlers of Watertown, near Mount Auburn, Mass. In 1642 we find his homestall bounded on the north by the land of John Warren; west by the highway; south by the land of John Biscoe; east by Pecjussett Meadow, a part of which meadow he owned. In the distribution of the estate of his son, Samuel, in 1724, this homestall, "where his grandfather had lived,"was assigned to his eldest son, Nathaniel. "Dec. 4, 1638, Isaack stearns and John Page were fined 5 shillings for turning the way about, (i c, changing the highway), and day was given till the next Courte. This was done at a Quarter Courte, holden at Boston, Mass." He was admitted freeman, May 18, 1631, which is the earliest date of any such admission, and he was Selectman several years. In 1647, he and Mr. Biscoe were appointed by the selectmen, "to consider how the bridge over the river shall be built, and to agree with the workmen for doing it, according to their best discretion," says Dr. Francis, in his history, "This is the first mention of a bridge over the Charles River, at Watertown."
Isaac Stearns' pedigree has not been ascertained, nor is it certainly known from what town he came, but it has been found that his wife was from the Parish of Nayland, in Suffolk, and his first three children were born there. Mr. Somerby obtained the following extract from the parish register of Nayland:
"Baptized, Jan. 6, 1626, Mary, dau. of Isaac Sternes.
"Baptized, Oct. 5, 1628, Anna, dau. of Isaac Sternes."
The names and ages of these two daughters seem to correspond with the supposed ages of the eldest two girls of the first Isaac Stearns, of Watertown; for, in the early records, Anna and Hannah were often used, the one for the other.
Mr. Beedham, of North Wales, England, sends the following items:
"1622, marriage of Isaac Sternes and Mary Barker.
1623, baptism of child of same.
1626, baptism of child of same.
1628, baptism of child of same."
pp17-18
Stearns Genealogy and Memoirs, Volume 1 Courier Press Company, Syracuse, New York 1901
The reference to Mary (Barker) Stearns being from Nayland Parish in Suffolk England is interesting,
since my immigrant ancestor Richard Barker is said to have come from there as well. I'll have to look into that to see if they are related.
I'll discuss Isaac Stearns' will and probate in part 2.
To be continued.
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