The earliest dated paper in the Roach estate folder, this is a plain list of what David Roach owned when he died in early 1783. No values are given and no slaves are listed.
Inventory of the personal estate of David Roach, deceased – March 8, 1783
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 David Roach Deceast, March ye 8th 1783
35 head of Cattle
5 head of Horses
16 head of Sheep
22 head of hogs
4 Beds & furniture
1 Desk
3 Chests
1 Loom
2 Linning [linen] wheeles
1 Wolling [woolen] Do. [ditto, wheel]
5 Slayes [sleys] & 2 Harnis [harness, for the loom]
2 pare Cards
2 Tables
8 Chears
4 putes [pewter] Dishes
6 Do. Basons
12 Do. plates
12 Do. Spoons
3 Iron pots
1 Do. Kittle
1 Fryingpan
1 Iron Skillet
1 Gun
1 Box Iron
1 Looking glass
1 Case of bottles
2 plows
4 axes
4 hoes
Some Carpenters & Joyners & Turners Tooles
2 Juggs
1 Candle Stick
1 grindstone
1 pare of Sheirs [shears]
1 Flax Hackel [hackle]
3 books & 1 Slate
1 pare of Stilliards [steelyards, a balance for weighing]
1 pare Firetongs
1 pare Iron wedges
1 grubing hoe
1 Lantern
6 knives & forks
1 froe
[Back:]
Inventary of the Estate of David Roach, Deseast
About the original
The household was a working farm: cattle, horses, sheep and hogs; a loom with its sleys and harness, wheels for spinning linen and wool, wool cards and a flax hackle, so cloth was being made at home. There were also carpenter’s, joiner’s and turner’s tools, three books and a slate.
“Putes” is read as the writer’s spelling of pewter; the dishes, basins, plates and spoons below it are marked “Do.” (ditto). A box iron was a hollow smoothing iron heated with a hot coal or iron slug. A froe is a blade for splitting shingles and staves.
Faint writing shows through from the front on the back of the sheet; the only separate writing on the back is the docket.
Source: Inventory of the personal estate of David Roach, deceased. 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: 35965.
Part of the Roach Family Papers collection on East Carolina Roots.
