Friday's Photo: Receipts and Other Items Signed by George L. Giddens of Sampson and Duplin Counties in North Carolina

J.O. Clifton was the son of John L. Clifton. The document was signed by
John W. Giddens and George L. Giddens, who owned the Steam Mill and were brothers to J. O. Clifton's second wife, Patricia Giddens. 

I don't have a photo of my 2nd great-grandfather, George Lullen Giddens. I'm sure there must have been photos taken. At age 21, he was found on the 1860 census as a "dauguerman," which sounds as if his occupation at that time had something to do with photography. 

Although not photos of George, photos of these items tell a little more of his story, and I thought this would be a good way to share with those who are interested. 

George was born in Wayne County, NC, but spent most of his adult life living in Sampson and Duplin Counties. He was a merchant, often a postmaster, and also did some farming. For more about George, read my 2020 post, George Lullen Giddens, a Merchant from North Carolina.

These items came from a huge collection of papers amassed by John L. Clifton found at the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Duke University. John L. Clifton, a clergyman, businessman/merchant, and possibly attorney, carefully saved and named almost every receipt and document. Receipts and small items like these were found in large boxes, one for each decade.  

I had been at the library for most of the morning looking at larger items in the collection and was dismayed when I opened that first box full of tiny pieces of paper. Little did I know what treasures I would find.

#52ancestors Post Thirty-Six: Mitchell Giddens was a Shoemaker

August 4, 1834 - Sale of shoes, by Mitchell Giddens, as well as patching, mending,
and adding soles to shoes for Jesse Oates. This was found with other receipts
paid by the administrator of Jesse Oates' estate.

This week's writing prompt for #52ancestors is work.  I choose to write about Mitchell Giddens as one of the few documented facts about Mitchell is his occupation of shoemaker. 

December 25, 1833 - Sale of shoes, by Mitchell Giddens, as well as patching, mending,
and adding soles to shoes for John L. Clifton. 

According to a handwritten record from another family member's research, Mitchell was born on October 12, 1802, and died on December 18, 1852.  Dates for other family members have been accurate so I can only assume this is correct. I suspect these dates were copied from a Bible, but I may never know. 

Friday's Photos: The Gresham / Clifton Family

Gresham / Clifton family members at a family reunion
in the late 1940s - possibly Baylor County, Texas. 

The men in this photo, copied when visiting a distant cousin from my Hairston family in 2001, were identified today. From left to right - Bill Clifton, Pete Clifton, Fate Gresham, and Alton Clifton. 

Fate Gresham was the son of William Gresham and Stella Chisum. Stella, my grandmother's first cousin, was the daughter of Martha Elizabeth "Mattie" Hairston Chisum Thompson. 

Pete Clifton was Fate's brother-in-law, the husband of Fate's sister, Frances Jewel Gresham. Bill and Alton are the sons of Frances Jewel and Pete. 

Diana

© 2015

Create Portraits of Your Ancestors with Probate Inventories – Part I

Reading inventories found in probate records are an excellent way to learn more about our ancestors.  Many assumptions can be made about an ancestor’s wealth and lifestyle by paying close attention to the possessions owned by that ancestor.  In my office, I have a desktop computer connected to two monitors, a printer /scanner, a portable scanner, a netbook, and an iPad. There are shelves of genealogy books, a closet full of binders labeled with family names, speech pathology books, many travel books, a microfilm machine, old newspapers on microfilm, and several pictures of my children. Just from my brief inventory, you can assume that I am a well-traveled, tech savvy, mom and speech-language pathologist with an obsession for genealogy.

If you are lucky enough to find a probate inventory for one of your ancestors, you may have the opportunity to view an intimate portrait of his or her home and daily life.  Few other documents contain such information.  Note the value of the inventory for a clue of their prosperity. Look at furniture and household items, livestock, and crops.  The inventory may or may not have included personal property of other family members, slaves, or land.  What is found in the inventories are determine by the local government at the time of death.

Not all probate records will include an inventory and not all probate inventories are found with probate records. Inventories may be found in will books, with administrative bond records and even in deed books. Where you find the records will, again, depend upon the locality at the time of death. 

Below is the inventory of the estate of John W. Giddens, brother to my great-great grandfather, George L. Giddens. John died in 1896 in Sampson County, North Carolina. The inventory was recorded in Record of Assets No4 page 362. This inventory was filmed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and can be borrowed and viewed at local family history centers.   

I am not sure who inventoried the estate below.  Often two or three men in the community were appointed to settle the estate.  Appointed men inventoried and put a value on each item in the estate.  You can sometimes see by the lists, the order that they moved through the family estate.  These men could be neighbors, relatives, and/or local officials. Three men appear to be handling this estate and may have completed the inventory; W.W. Clifton, JP, J. K. Boyett, and J. D. Clifton.

Record of Assets  - John W. Giddens – Sampson County -  1896

• Fifty bushels of corn valued at $20
• 700 lbs. Fodder valued at $2.80 {feed, hay, etc.}
• Lot Sweet potatoes valued at $300
• Bale of lint cotton (480lbs) valued at $33.60 {ginned cotton}
• Lot cotton seed valued at $2.90
• 507lbs seeded cotton valued at $12.00 {unginned cotton}
• One Black horse (10 or 11 years old) valued at $45.00
• One Buggy valued at $5.00
• One cook stove, 2 tables and safe valued at $5.00   {The safe may have been a pie safe used to store baked goods, flour and other kitchen items.}
• One Lounge valued at $1.00  {chaise Lounge or sofa}
• One desk valued at $1.00
• 9 chairs valued at $2.80
• One clock valued at $2.00

The total value of estate items was $136.10.

From the list of household goods, I can hypothesize that John and his wife lived simply. He may have grown some crops, but note that there are no tools listed. At one time he was a merchant and owned a turpentine distillery. Land and a home were not mentioned.  As I know that this John W. Giddens owned businesses and bought and sold land frequently, I know that I might have to look farther to determine his actual wealth. 

Resources

Probate Inventories: A Window to Your Ancestor’s World – Patricia Law Hatcher, CG, FASG

Probate Records – From BYUtv.org. Learn about the kinds of records generated by the probate process and details found in wills.

Next – Part II – A large probate inventory for John Giddens, of Wayne County NC,  who died in 1802.

Diana

© 2011, copyright Diana Quinn