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Inventory of the Estate of George Hall of Taunton–with notes

By Kathryn Hall | January 11, 2016

Having just read The Mayflower, Nathaniel Philbrick’s ambitious and brilliant rendering of the Plymouth community, I’m finding the histories of those ancestors more palpable, more approachable than ever before. One impulse, then, is leading to this additional post of the inventory of the estate of George Hall of Taunton, my Earliest Known Ancestor, this time with notes, for I found myself reading the inventory much more closely, realizing there were far too many items on the list about which I knew nothing. Some remain as originally listed, as their intention is obvious, but for the more obscure and lesser known items I’ve attempted to illuminate a more modern description. I believe this will shed a bit more light on what George and his family found of value, thus illuminating their lives in the 1600’s. Remarkable, no? If anyone has further knowledge of the articles on this list, your comments will be welcomed. My notes are in brackets. Thank you. KH

Inventory of the Estate of George Hall of Taunton

A true Inventory of the estate of Gorge hall of Taunton in the Iurisdiction of Plymouth in New England; (yeoman) deceased october 30th 1669 and exhibited to the Court held att Plymouth aforsaid the first of March anno: domine 1669 on the oathes Mistris Mary hall Widdow
Impr: his wearing apparrell woolen and Linnine [linen] 05 00 00
Item a bedsted and bed and furiture therto appertaining 10 00 00
Item a white Couerlid [coverlet] 002 10 00
Item a bed 3 bolsters a Rubg and 2 blanketts 03 00 00
Item sheets table Linnine with other Linnine [linen table cloths, called to this day “linens”] 03 00 00
Item new homade cloth 6 yards 001 04 GO
Item 1 Chest 001 00 00
Item bookes and papers 001 02 00
Item lether [leather] 001 12 00
Item 2 trunckes and 3 boxes 000 09 00
Item 2 old trapps 000 05 00
Item nailes 000 15 00
Item powder and lead 000 06 06
Item lockes and snite bills [The only reference I can find to “snite bills” is to hedgehogs. I’m certain the reference here is to some kind of apparatus used in building or common work, probably made of metal.] 000 05 00
Item Ioyrners tooles [joiners tools] 002 05 00

Here is an old joiners tool box found in the UK. We don’t know if George had such a box, but this portion of the inventory is describing his carpenter’s tools as would be found in such a box.

tools

Item more tooles 002 06 06
Item old Iron 000 05 00
Item sawes & more tooles and Iron barrs 001 06 00

Item a sledge a paire of fetters & forkes 000 07 00
[Fetters are leg irons or shackles. I found one reference to “fetters and forkes” used in Africa, but no further information. One must assume fetters and forkes were used to restrain someone.]
Item Cordage flax [flax rope] and gertwebb 000 14 00
Item woole 000 06 00
Item hndJrons [andiron: one of a pair of metal stands, usually of iron or brass, for holding logs in a fireplace.] spitt peele [A “spit” is a long, thin metal rod pushed through meat in order to hold and turn it while it is roasted over an open fire. A peel is a flat shovel used to place bread into an oven or to remove same.] and other Instruments 002 00 00

peel
a baker’s peel

Item hookes and hinges 000 03 00
Item a pillian [pillion: a cushion attached to the back of a saddle for an additional passenger] 000 10 00
Item Indian Corne 14 bushells 002 14 00
Item brasse pannes 002 00 00
Item 2 brasse potts & brasse posnetts and skillitts [skillets] 001 04 00
Item 1 Iron pott 1 spice Mortor and pestell [mortar and pestle] 001 04 00
Item a warming pan a frying pan a skillett 2 paire of pot hookes and a treiuett 000 12 00
Item 2 brasse kettles 001 00 00
Item pewter dishes spoones a skimer and tin vessells 001 03 00
Item 1 siluer spoone 000 04 00
Item serchees seiues and boxes a smale barrell and a keading trough 000 15 00
Item 2 barrells of Cyder 001 04 00
Item empty Caske 000 18 00
Item parte of a barrell of beife [beef] 000 12 00
Item Tubbs and pailes and other lumber 000 16 00
Item & spining wheele a paire of bellowes a winowing sheet [a piece of cloth set up under the winnowing basket or machine to catch seeds as the grain is winnowed] 3 seiues & other old lumber 001 00 00
Item 3 Cowes 10 10 00
Item a mare 05 00 00
Item 6 swine 05 00 00
Item a yoake of steers 07 00 00
Item a yearling 01 00 00
Item a yeake of oxen 10 00 00
Item plow Chaines a doubble share 3 shares and Coulters & 2 sett of harrow teeth [piece of equipment that uses many flexible iron teeth mounted in rows to loosen the soil before planting] 03 13 00
Item 5 hundred of Iron 05 10 00
Item boxes hoopes and other Iron pertaining to a Cart 00 18 00
Item a Cart Rope 000 07 00
Item Creditt 013 12 06
Item a share in the Iron workes 030 00 00
Item a Cyder presse [cider press] 02 00 00

Here is an old cider press. Perhaps it approximates what George and Mary had to work with.

cider
———–
suma totalis 170 15 00
———–
February 8th: 69/70
Aprised by
Richard Williams
Walter deane
Plymouth Colony Wills, vol. III, p. 17
George Hall

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