Kent County DE Archives Court.....Et Al, Et Al 1945 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/de/defiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Gayle Triller gaylelt@comcast.net July 16, 2009, 10:09 am Source: Calendar Of Kent County Delaware Probate Records 1680 -1800 Written: 1945 CALENDAR OF KENT COUNTY DELAWARE PROBATE RECORDS 1680 -1800 Compiled by- Leon deValinger, Jr. State Archivist Published by the Public Arcliives Commission State of Delaware Dover, 1944 THE NEW YORK PfBLIC LIBMRY 315613B ASIOB, LHNOX Afl» B 1945 t An edition of three hundred volumes printed on one hundred percent rag paper by the Milford Chronicle Publishing Company Milford, Delaware Frontispiece, Meriden Gravure Company Meriden, Connecticut THE PUBLIC ARCHIVES COMMISSION STATE OF DELAWARE MRS. HENRY RIDGELY President DOVER, DELAWARE GENERAL J. ERNEST SMITH Vice President WILMINGTON, DELAWARE DR. FRANK S. HALL Secretary DOVER, DELAWARE MISS LAURA S. RICHARDS GEORGETOWN, DELAWARE MRS. EDWARD W. COOCH COOCH'S BRIDGE, DELAWARE MR. JAMES E. GOSLEE STOCKLEY, DELAWARE FOREWARD This publication marks the culmination of careful and arduous work in classifying, collating, and calen- daring the probate records of Kent County, Delaware. The material has been compiled and recorded on file cards in the Hall of Records. The use of the cards is necessarily restricted to those who can come personally to Dover, and many historians who wish to have access to them or those interested in tracing Delaware ancestry are prevented by distance from using them. For these reasons the need for a Calendar has been felt for a great while. The Commission believes that this volume will stimulate research in Delaware history and be of wide use to persons of Delaware descent. It will also draw attention to the rich collections of Delaware historical matter yet to be published in the Archives of our State at the Hall of Records in Dover. For the Public Archives Commission by the President. MABEL LLOYD RIDGELY PREFACE Those seeking social, economic, or genealogical data of Kent County will not find a richer source than its probate records. Knowing that the territory within the confines of the State of Delaware was ruled by the Swedes 1638-1655, the Dutch 1655- 1664, the Duke of York 1664-1682, and the Penn Proprietors 1682-1776, one naturally questions why this volume begins with 1680 rather than an earlier date of the Swedish or Dutch regimes. The Swedish and Dutch settlers were subject to practically the same laws that were in effect in the homeland. In accordance with the legal procedure of that time wills could be made orally or in writing. In either case the will was made before a notary or some similar public judicial officer. As public recording of the wills was not required the notaries retained among their own papers the few wills that were made with the result that these records have since become scattered or lost. With the acquisi- tion of the Delaware territory by the Duke of York the system did not change noticeably because the laws governing this terri- tory were not published until 1676. There were still no probate records of this county as it was not separated from the jurisdic- tion of the Whorekill Court and created as St. Jones County until 1680. With the establishment of a separate county public records were ordered kept with the result that recorded probate records begin at this time. The transition from the government of the Duke of York to William Penn in 1682 brought a change of name from St. Jones to Kent County and better laws and regu- lations for recording probate records. It should be borne in mind that the volume is a calendar and does not attempt to give a complete abstract of the wills and administration accounts. The calendar was selected as the form for publishing this material as it serves as a guide to the records available and supplies most of the information generally re- quested. It is recognized that a complete abstract would have enhanced the value of this work but it would also have curtailed considerably the period of years that could have been included within the scope of this volume. 4S> All of the original probate records in the Hall of Records have been compared with the recorded copies in the Kent County Court House in an effort to obtain as complete and accurate a record as possible. When both the original record and the recorded copy are extant the Register of Wills liber and folio are cited as well as the Archives volume and page on which the original document is mounted. All of the probate records are arranged in chronological order by the probate date of the wills and by the date of granting letters of administration in the case of intestate estates. By this means a fairly accurate estimate may be obtained of the death date of each decedent. In the absence of the date of probate or granting letters of administration, the date when the will was made or the settlement date of the administration account is used. Only in proper names has the orthography been preserved. When more than one spelling of a name occurs, as it frequently does, or when an interpretation has been supplied the alternate spelling and the added information appears in brackets. It should be remembered that the Gregorian Calendar was not adopted in Delaware and the other English colonies in America until 1752. Under the old Augustine Calendar the year began on March 25th and December was the tenth rather than the twelfth month. Thus a date appearing in the text as 1682/83 will indicate that the year 1682 is nearly terminated and that 1683 is approaching. Furthermore, the difference between the Augustine and Gregorian Calendars will explain why some probate records would appear to be probated before they were made. Dates recorded in the Quaker method of dating have been transposed to conform with either the Augustine or the Gregorian Calendars. For example, 12th of 10th month 1682 has been changed to December 12, 1682 according to the Augus- tine or Old Style Calendar. Even more confusing to research workers than the calendar changes are the relationships contained in some of these early probate records. Frequently, step-father or step-mother is intend- ed when the record states father-in-law or mother-in-law. In <9fa other instances the step-parents will be designated as father or mother. There are also instances when the word cousin is used instead of nephew and niece. The compiler has not attempt- ed to interpret such inconsistencies but has presented them as they appear in the document. The word "copy" in parentheses following the word "Will" indicates that the document in the files at the Hall of Records is not the original record. The original document being missing the hiatus has been filled with a contemporary manuscript, typed, or photostat copy. Unless thus indicated the probate record in the custody of the Public Archives Commission is the original document. There are some wills in which the foreign residence of the testator causes the reader to wonder why such a probate record was included with those of Kent County. These foreign wills were recorded in this county either to show what disposition was made of the non-resident's property within the county or because he may have, made a deathbed will while visiting here. A notable example of a foreign will is that of John Penn, The American, who as everyone knows did not die in Kent County, Delaware. Nevertheless, his will was probated here August 13, 1747, after being probated in England nearly a year earlier, because of his property in this county. In the compilation of this text with its multiplicity of details every effort has been made to achieve accuracy. To this end much time has been spent in checking and rechecking. De- spite these precautions there are undoubtedly some discrepan- cies that have been overlooked. We can only ask our readers to be understanding if such errors do occur. Finally it should be pointed out that this volume could not have been produced if it had not been for the wholehearted sup- port of the Public Archives Commissioners and the careful work of Mrs. Wallace Hufnal, Misses Naomi C. Urian, Elsie Bloth, Virginia E. Shaw, Mrs. Evelyn S. Griffin and Mrs. Priscilla W. Fleming in the preparation of this text for publication. LEON DEVALINGER, JR. Dover, Delaware State Archivist 1944 <10^ ABBREVIATIONS acct account Admin Administration Adm'r Administrator Adm'x Administratrix Arch Archives bro brother c circa C. T. A Con Testamento Annexo (with the will at- tached) dau daughter D. B. N De Bonis Non (of the goods or property not yet administered upon) dec'd deceased Exec'r Executor Exec'x Executrix Hd Hundred Jr Junior K. Co. Kent County N. C. Co New Castle County n. d no date nunc nuncupative Penna. Hist. Soc. . Pennsylvania Historical Society Phila Philadelphia Prob Probate Reg. of Wills . . . Register of Wills Sic Indicates a literal quotation Sr Senior vol volume Wits Witnesses File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/de/kent/court/etal30gwl.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/defiles/ File size: 9.5 Kb