Document A.108 · estate inventory · transcription: verbatim
Inventory of John Cooper of Warren Co., N.J. — Warren Inventories vol. 9, pp. 332–333; taken 2 March 1867 by executor Roderick B. Cooper and two freeholders. $242.40.
- repository
- Warren County Surrogate's Court, Belvidere, N.J.
- collection
- Inventories, vol. 9 (of the bound vols. 8-9, 1862-1870), via FamilySearch collection 2018330, image 592
- identifier
- pp. 332-333 — the inventory begins at the foot of p. 332 and finishes at the head of p. 333. The volume's own alphabetical index (FS img 395) lists "Cooper John — Inventory — 333."
- date
- 1867-03-02
What is transcribed: The complete inventory, the appraisers' signatures and the proof.
People named
| As written | Role | Identified as | What this document says |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Cooper | deceased | John Cooper 1786–1867 | |
| Roderick B. Cooper | executor | Roderick Byanton Cooper 1838–1889 | |
| Alfred Buckley | appraiser | ||
| Robert C. Stodard | appraiser |
What this document records
It is the other half of the index line
The 1912 state index reads "Cooper, John, 1832U. W. 1867. Inv. 1867" ([A.37]). [A.107] is the W.; this is the Inv.
A small farm and no land
$242.40 of personalty, and better than half of it is three cows and four tons of hay. A line-back cow $45, a white cow $40, a [Roan?] heifer $50, four tons of hay $60 — $195 of the total. The rest is a household: apparel $5, bed and bedding $6, a clock $3, a cupboard $8, a gun $1, six chairs $1.50, a kit of tools, two sad irons, a lot of irons, a skep of bees $4, and a lot of boards $17. An inventory covers personal property only, so whatever land the will devised to Roderick is not here and its value is unrecorded.
It sets up the maintenance question
$242 is what Roderick received in chattels to discharge a lifetime obligation — to keep his brother Samuel, "he being incapable of maintaining himself" ([A.107]). Whatever made that workable was the land, which this document does not value.
Transcription and notes
Provenance, how this pairs with [A.107], and what $242.40 of chattels means against a
lifetime maintenance obligation are in the source: and coverage: headers and are not repeated
here.
Data from the document [verbatim]
Heading: "John Cooper."
- "A true and perfect inventory and appraisement of the personal Estate of John Cooper, late of the County of Warren died, made by Roderick B. Cooper, Executor and Alfred Buckley, and Robert C. Stodard, two disinterested freeholders, this 2d day of March 1867."
Itemized appraisement (item — value):
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Apparel | $5.00 |
| Bed and Bedding | $6.00 |
| Clock | $3.00 |
| Cupboard | $8.00 |
| Gun | $1.00 |
| 6 Chairs | $1.50 |
| 1 Kit [of] Tools | $1.00 |
| 2 Sad Irons | $0.40 |
| Lot of Irons | $0.50 |
| 1 Skip [skep] of Bees | $4.00 |
| A lot of Boards | $17.00 |
| 4 Tons of Hay | $60.00 |
| Line back Cow | $45.00 |
| White Cow | $40.00 |
| [Roan?] Heifer | $50.00 |
| Total | $242.40 |
- Appraisers' signatures: "Alfred Buckley", "Robert C. Stodard" [Stoddard], "Appraisers."
- Proof: "The original inventory and appraisement of which the foregoing is a true Copy, was proved before me by the oaths of Roderick B. Cooper, Executor and Alfred Buckley one of the appraisers, on the 29th day of June A.D. 1867. [signed] Wm. L. Hoagland, Surrogate."
(On the same opening: an unrelated Philip Weller inventory of Knox Co., Ohio [June 1867] above John's, and a Daniel Smith of Mansfield, Warren Co. inventory [July 1867] below — neither Cooper-related.)
Notes (identifications → [p.113]/[p.621]; conclusions there, not here)
- = p.113 John Cooper of Independence, confirmed. The inventory is made and proved by Roderick B. Cooper as Executor — exactly the sole executor named in John's will ([A.107]) = his son [p.621]. Dates align: will proved 19 Feb 1867 → inventory taken 2 Mar 1867 → inventory proved 29 Jun 1867.
- Closes the [A.37] open item: the "Inv. 1867" companion to the "W. 1867" (file 1832U) is now imaged. Both halves of John's probate are in hand.
- A modest, livestock-heavy personal estate ($242.40) — the bulk is farm value: 2 cows + a heifer = $135, 4 tons of hay $60, boards $17, a skep of bees $4; household goods are minimal (bed, clock, cupboard, 6 chairs, apparel, a kit of tools, a gun). This fits the "labourer who worked a small (~20 ac) farm" picture from [D.470] (occupation "labourer," but $500 real estate) and the [K.56] Hart-land purchase.
- Real estate is NOT in this inventory (as expected — an inventory covers personal estate only). John's ~20 ac of Hart land ([K.56]) passed by the will's devise to Roderick ([A.107]), not through the inventory.
- Appraisers Alfred Buckley & Robert C. Stoddard — Independence/Warren neighbours (potential future name-index entries if they recur).