The inventory of Charles Roach Senior’s personal estate, returned by Polly Roach, most likely his widow. The year is written 1821 at the top and on the docket, and the sale of the estate (the next paper in this folder) took place on April 20, 1821, which confirms it.
Inventory of the personal estate of Charles Roach Senr., deceased, returned by Polly Roach – 1821
Transcription notes: spelling, capitalization and punctuation follow the original. Words in [square brackets] are editorial notes; [?] marks an uncertain reading and [illegible] marks words that could not be read.
An Inventory of the personal Estate of Charles Roach Senr. decd. taken this 2d March 1821
[Left column:]
Negroes viz.
Jack Roundtree, Sam, Merrill, Shade, Green, John, Mortimer, Henry, Betty, Jude, Holor [?], Sylla, Ferrebe [?], Sophia & Lany
Horses viz.
5 head, three of which are grown mares, one horse & one colt
Cattle viz.
At home 53 head = 53
At Anderson’s on Stock 6 do. = 6
At Elisha Lewis’ on do. 3 do. = 3
Cattle in whole 62
4 Bee hives
Sheep 25 head = 25
97 head of hogs including Sows, pigs & Store hogs = 97
At Anderson’s on Stock 50 head including as above = 50
[9 Bee hives on Stock – struck out]
In Beaufort County with James Lewis on Stock
17 head of cattle, 9 head of Sheep, 90 head hogs including Sows pigs & Store hogs.
[4 Stocks Bees on Stock – struck out]
[Right column:]
Household furniture viz.
6 feather beds beds bedsteads & furniture.
12 chairs & six common tables.
5 Chests (common).
2 pr. And Irons. 2 looking glasses.
2 doz. plates. 2 doz. Cups & saucers. tea pots & C. [etc.] 3 do.
7 dishes. 1 doz. Knives & forks
[15 doz. struck out] small delf [delft] bowls, sheep shears, 2 pr.
2 pots 2 Kettles (Iron). 2 Copper do.
1 frying pan, 1 skillet one spider, 1 tea kettle & 3 dutch ovens. 2 pot trammels, 1 Iron spice mortar, 1 hand mill
1 Loom & 4 pr. of weaving Geer & 9 slays [sleys].
100 lb. seed cotton. about 15 lb. wool. 5 dutch plows
2 stocks. 10 weeding & 3 grubbing hoes. 2 spades & 1 shovel.
5 Club axes, 2 broad axes,
3 or four old Hhds [hogsheads] & some old Bbls [barrels]. 12 old Cyder Bbls. 1 old 32 Gal. still worm &c.
2 Horse carts. 4 Set plough Geer
[Second page, left column:]
2 hand saws 2 small ditto
2 X Cut ditto [crosscut saws].
3 board frows. 1 old set of bench tools. 1 side leather
1 man’s saddle (old).
1 Woman’s ditto.
1 cotton Gin (10 saws)
1 Knife & cutting box.
A lot of Books.
3 pr. smoothing Irons.
1 pr. hand bellows.
1 old riding Chair & harness
3 Linnen wheels. 4 do woolen (old) 5 pr. of cotton & wool cards.
An old Lot of domestic tight ware.
5 honey tubs. 1 Grindstone
2 Sythes & Cradles
2 Iron wedges.
About 60 Bbls. corn.
3 old shot guns.
1 Case with Bottles
1 do. with a few do.
2 pr. Spoon moulds
1 imperfect set of black-smiths’ tools.
A remant [remnant] of a set of Cooper’s tools &c.
23 Jugs of dif. sizes
some Fodder
[Second page, right column:]
2 old Clay Jarrs.
2 pr. Steelyards.
4 old Sieves (3 wire)
2 Riddles. Wood splits [?]
2 half bushels.
3 tin tunnels [funnels] 1 doz. do. pans. 3 pitchers.
6 tea spoons (silver)
20 table do. (pewter)
1 Bason … (do)
1 pan … (Clay)
Notes
Elisha Lewis due by four different installments the 1st due 25th Decr. 1820 [?] & pay. a an. [payable annually] – $109.50
Thomas Hardy’s do – 18.00
All doubtful – $127.50
Accounts viz.
Jas. Holloway’s – $2.40
Alderson Ellison pr. Bk. [per book] – 8.16
Jas. Anderson’s do. – 60.00
$70.56
The whole of which notes & acc[oun]ts are doubtful.
Returnd by
Polly Roach
[Third page:]
1 Canoe boat.
[Back:]
An Inventory of the property of Charles Roach Deceast in the year 1821
About the original
Fifteen slaves are listed by name at the head of the inventory: Jack Roundtree, Sam, Merrill, Shade, Green, John, Mortimer, Henry, Betty, Jude, Holor, Sylla, Ferrebe, Sophia and Lany. The names Holor and Ferrebe are hard to read and may be spelled differently in other records. Jack is the only one given a surname.
The rest of the list shows a large farm: 62 cattle, 25 sheep and nearly 100 hogs at home or kept “on stock” with neighbors (Anderson, Elisha Lewis, and James Lewis in Beaufort County), bees, a ten-saw cotton gin, a loom, spinning wheels, a cider-making operation with a still worm, and blacksmith’s and cooper’s tools.
“On stock” meant livestock kept on someone else’s land or range under a sharing arrangement. Trammels are adjustable hooks for hanging pots over a fire; a spider is a three-legged frying pan; riddles are coarse sieves; “tunnels” is an old word for funnels.
Notes owed by Elisha Lewis and Thomas Hardy and accounts owed by James Holloway, Alderson Ellison and James Anderson were all marked doubtful, meaning the estate might never collect them.
Source: Inventory of the personal estate of Charles Roach Senr., deceased, returned by Polly Roach. Roach Family Papers (#346), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, Box 1, Folder b (Inventories, Wills, and Estates, 1783–1868). Collection guide. Digitized folder: ECU Digital Collections, 0346-b1-fb.
Images courtesy of East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University. View in ECU Digital Collections: 35970.
Part of the Roach Family Papers collection on East Carolina Roots.
