I’m very excited to share with you my newest book – Lincoln County Kentucky Probate Book A, 1781-1791: Wills, Account, Appraisements, Dower, Guardians, Inventory, Sales, Settlements, published on Amazon September 20. 

Lincoln County was formed from what was originally Kentucky County, Virginia, in May of 1780, with an effective date of November 1, 1780.  I am assured by my sister that lives in the county, there is a sign on the border of Boyle and Lincoln announcing you are entering the first county of Kentucky.  However, since the first three counties – Fayette, Jefferson and Lincoln – were formed at the same time, and the effective date was the same, it is not technically correct.  But we forgive the county for making the assumption!  These three counties are the birthplace of our lovely state and contain the oldest records – except for those very early records that originate in Virginia from around 1774, when Harrodsburg became our first settlement, until 1780.  Think of all those early settlers who came with high hopes of new lands and visions of a new life.  Our early ancestors learned to love this land, loved calling it home.  My ancestors were not here in 1780, but they came five to fifteen years later – before 1800  – and both sides of my family have been here since!  My ancestors came from Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina, and both my mother and father’s people are still here!  Well, Ritchey and I did move to Michigan for six years, but that was really just an extended vacation!

Many who lived in early Lincoln County fought in the Battle of Blue Licks – as you read those first wills and inventories you will meet those individuals – Silas Harlan, Joseph Lindsay, William McBride, John Kennedy, Clough Overton, Henry Miller, John Fry, Edward Bulgar, James Smith and Francis McBride.  Kentucky’s first governor, Isaac Shelby, is listed in many of the inventories or as a witness to wills.  Daniel Walker, John English, Thomas Filson, David Floyd, Paul Froman, Alexander Hannah, Nathaniel Hart, William McAfee – this book is a who’s who of early Kentucky.  Unfortunately, a fire in January of 1803 destroyed most of the early records of Fayette County.  Jefferson and Lincoln are the only two counties with records that date back to the very early days of our state.

A probate book contains not only wills but inventories, appraisements, sales, dowers, etc.  You may think those dreary reading, but they are quite interesting.  What was in the household of your ancestors?  Each will is fully typed.  The other entries given the pertinent information – name of person, date, value of items, some items listed, etc.  I was very interested to see so many books – particularly Bibles – in the inventories.  Pewter dishes, brass candlesticks, various articles of clothing, spinning wheels, looms, beds and furniture, various dishes and pots, knee buckles, looking glass, etc. 

I had to research a few of the terms.  The following is a list that may be helpful during your reading.

Loom and tacklin or tackling – refers to a hand-operated weaving loom with its necessary gear, rigging and accessories, such as shuttles, reeds and heddles  It was a highly valuable asset passed down through generations to sustain a household’s livelihood.  In 1785 English clergyman Edmund Cartwright patented the first power loom, using gears, pulleys and shafts driven by water or steam power.  

Fire dog (more commonly spelled firedog) referred to one of a pair of metal support stands – also known as an andiron – used to hold logs off the ground in an open fireplace.

Mattock was a heavy, hand-held agricultural and digging tool used primarily for breaking up hard ground, grubbing out tree roots, and clearing land. During the late 18th century, it was an indispensable piece of equipment for farmers, homesteaders, and laborers tasked with taming dense wilderness or preparing rocky soil for cultivation.

Gridiron was primarily a heavy-duty kitchen utensil made of parallel iron bars used for open-fire cooking. Long before the word became synonymous with American football fields, it was the 18th-century equivalent of a modern barbecue grill grate

Tartar emetic was a widely used and highly toxic chemical compound prescribed in medicine to induce violent vomiting and sweating. During the late 18th century, medical theory heavily relied on “depletion therapy” – the idea that illnesses were caused by an imbalance of bodily fluids or “humors”. Doctors and pharmacists routinely used tartar emetic to purge the body of these supposed corruptions.

Mooning knife (more commonly referred to today as a half-moon knife, moon knife, was a specialized tool used primarily in the leather tanning and currying trades

Douran plate refers to a printed copperplate engraving plate or an illustration print from a book depicting a Durrani tribesman from Afghanistan.

Smoothing iron was a solid, hand-forged cast-iron tool with a flat bottom and an attached metal handle, used to press and remove wrinkles from clothing and linens.

Plank in 18th-century inventories, a “plank” frequently referred to a plank table or plank bench. These were rudimentary pieces of furniture made from thick, solid slabs of timber resting on basic legs or trestles, common in modest households.

Frumpery in an 18th-century inventory, the term “frumpery” refers to a collection of old, out-of-fashion clothes, cheap finery, or worthless household odds and ends.

Quill wheel (also called a quilling wheel) refers to a hand-powered mechanical wheel used by weavers to wind thread or yarn onto a small tube or bobbin called a quill.

Hackle refers to a textile preparation tool used to comb and clean flax fibers so they could be spun into linen thread.

Tablespoon of plate refers to a tablespoon made of silver or gold.

Maul ring is a heavy iron or brass reinforcing band. It was tightly fitted around the head of a wooden maul, a heavy wooden mallet or sledgehammer used for splitting wood, driving stakes, or performing stonemasonry, to prevent the wood from splitting under heavy impact.

Still cuts refers to equipment components used in alcohol distillation.

Flesh fork refers to an oversized, two-tined (two-pronged) cooking tool used in the kitchen to handle large pieces of meat. What people today commonly call a carving fork or a pot fork was known historically as a flesh fork.

Pair of stilliards refers to a steelyard balance. This was a common portable weighing scale used by farmers, merchants, and tradesmen to weigh goods like meat, grain, wool, or flax.

Plow irons and double trees refer to essential components of animal-drawn agricultural equipment. Because 18th-century farm implements were primarily crafted from wood by the farmer or a local carpenter, the valuable metal parts and harness rigs were listed separately for taxation or probate valuation.

One more note – until page 173 pages were numbered on the right and left.  At that point the clerk decided to number only the left hand page.  So I gave the right hand page the notation of 173a, and so on until the end.