Gems from the Archive's estate papers, Part 1

Blame this one on Lyle Johnston, archives assistant. One of Lyle's ongoing projects is to archive (that is, clean, sort, mend) papers in files from the probate court of Cape Girardeau County. These files range from the early 1800s to nearly the present day, and they contain some gems. Lyle likes to call those out to me as I'm working on administrative tasks in my office next to his work area, and we've been compiling these for the better part of a year.

Many of these files contain an inventory of the deceased's estate, and a wealth of information on how people lived and where the money went. I like to think of every file as part of the county's history, and not just what items people owned and how much an auctiongoer paid for them -- you can see how scarce cash money was in some of the low prices, for instance, and spelling was all over the place. To me, that's not surprising, since Jackson High School was established in 1920, Cape Girardeau Central in 1913.

It's dangerous to draw too many conclusions, obviously, but one can gather that many families likely had some livestock in the yard, and made items at home. Spinning wheels and looms far outnumber book collections. The priority was survival, and on this foundation, the county grew.

Original spellings are left intact. If you want to look up these prices' equivalent in today's dollars, as I do, there's a great calculator online for that. Descriptions of the items sold are often infuriatingly brief, leaving out what I personally would consider pretty important information. Well, you'll see.

1813

Feather bead $40.50

1820

Great coat $16.50

Black cow $18.50

Corn in shuck $15.00

1825

Writing paper $1.12

5 cows 2 calfs $7 each

1836

5 hogs running at large $19

1844

Yoke oxen $30

Cofey mill 12¢

Lot of stuff 25¢

Moschetoe (mosquito) bar 37¢

Bowie knife $4.37

Feather bed 43 lbs more less $5.87

1846

3 turkeys $1.06

1848

25 busels corn $5.25

Tobacco smoke smell on the receipts

1852

Blacksmith tools $30

Rifle $7

White tacked steer $5.55

Land surveyor equipment $31

Threasing [Threshing?] machine $100

1860

Bottle catsup 10¢

Can lard $4.05

Demijohn Brandy $3.50

Bay Poney $40.00

Oats in Barn $50.00

Stack of hay $125.00

Various acres corn $44 -- $100

2 Beehives 5¢

2 chisels $1.05

1 can linseed oil 55¢

Root digger 45¢

Squirrel cage 75¢

Walnut table $3.60