Crying, Clerking, and Whiskey at the Vendue

This image comes from the settlement of the estate of Thomas J. Rampley who died in Coshocton County, Ohio, sometime in 1823.

There are three references to the "vendue," specifically payments for the vendue that was held after Thomas' death.

There is a payment to Crispin Treadway for crying the vendue, to James Madden for clerking at the vendue and another payment for whiskey at the vendue. A vendue is simply another word for auction and it's a reference to the sale of household goods and farm items that took place after Thomas' death. "Crying" is simply indicating that Crispin was the auctioneer.

Whiskey at the auction was not unheard of during this time period. Whether it had a positive impact on prices or brought additional purchasers to the auction is another matter entirely.

A new word and new practice discovered in one document!

Buying Pilgrim's Progress in 1823

[click on image to view enlarged]

I love to read estate inventories and lists of purchases at estate sales. Aside from the handwriting, determining what the items are can be quite a challenge and the list of chattle goods can provide an interesting glimpse into the life of the person whose estate is betting settled.

This is a list of items Christianna Rampley bought at the estate sale of her husband which took place in Coshocton County, Ohio, in the fall of 1823. Widows having to purchase items from their deceased husband's estate is not uncommon. Christianna purchased the family Bible and prayer book along with a copy of  Pilgrim's Progress for 12 1/2 cents. I'm inferring from her purchase of these items and from the facts that there were several other  books in the Rampley estate inventory, that the Rampleys were literate. Among the other items Christianna purchased was a loom for $6.00.

She also bought a bottle and glass, a chain trammell, a stone pot and pickles, a bedstead and cord, and a heifer.

I can't quite make out the first item on the list of items she purchased.

Names of purchasers are usually neighbors, family members, and associates. Christianna's son James Rampley purchased items. Her son-in-law, James Shores, bought several items as well. Her brother John Demoss, and fellow native of Harford County, Maryland, Crispin Treadway, also purchased items.

And there is always Google and Google images to get a better idea of what some of these items were.

Was It Really Even a Deed?

My earlier blog post mentioned two "deeds" that were located in the "Complete 'Credit Under' Land Entry of James Shores, assignee of Thomas J. Rampley" of Coshocton County, Ohio."

Here is my question:

Should they even be called "deeds?" After all the claim process to the land in question had not been completed on 21 April 1829--in fact these documents were part of the documentation submitted in support of Thomas J. Rampley's patent being issued to James Shores. 

Just what should these documents be called?  Maybe transfers or assignments are better words. But now that I think about it, maybe "deed" is not how I should have been referring to these documents. 

Judy G. Russell answered this question in the Legal Genealogist on 4 April 2013. 

A Straw Man in a Credit Under File

It is all about how things are ordered and how people are described.

There are two deeds in the "Complete 'Credit Under' Land Entry of James Shores, assignee of Thomas J. Rampley" of Coshocton County, Ohio. Both are dated 21 April 1829. One transfers interest in the patent from Thomas Tipton to James Shores. The other transfers title in the patent from James Shores, Administrator of the Estate of Thomas J. Rampley, deceased, to Thomas Tipton. Both list the same property (part of section 5 in what is now Jackson Township, Coshocton County, Ohio) that is described in Thomas J. Rampley's "Complete 'Credit Under' Land Entry." Copies of both deeds are contained in the records of the complete claim file at the National Archives.

Part of the patent to James Shores obtained on the Bureau of Land Management website.

Why are there two deeds that are seemingly parallel?

There's a reason and the reason is that the deeds are not parallel. They also need to be viewed in the proper order. Both are dated the same date, but one was executed first--the one from James Shores.

The thing is, it was not James Shores who really executed the deed. It was James Shores in his capacity as administrator of the estate of Thomas J. Rampley who deeded the equitable interest in the land claim to Thomas Tipton. Then, Tipton immediately deeded that interest to James Shores in his own right. This was not done to confuse researchers nearly 200 years later.

part of the 21 April 1829 deed from Thomas Tipton to James Shores, obtained in the "Completed "credit under" Land Entry" of  James Shores, assignee of Thomas J. Rampley; National Archives

It was done to keep the title clean and appease the General Land Office. It would have looked odd if Thomas Shores as administrator had deeded the land to himself, particularly since there were heirs of Thomas Rampley who had an interest in the property upon his death. And there were heirs: Thomas' widow, Christianna, and several children--including the wife of James Shores.

Tipton was what is referred to as a "straw man." The intent was never to have him actually own the property in question. The deed to him and the deed from him served to clearly give Shores title and document the payment.

The order of the deeds matters--the deed from Shores was first. The description of Shores matters as well--words like "administrator" are not thrown around in documents willy-nilly.


Citation reminder: We are a strong believer in citing genealogical source material in the spirit of Evidence Explained. However, we choose not to include properly formatted citations in these blog posts. There's always enough information in the post to create a citation and full citations are included in my how-to newsletter Casefile Clues. 

An 1817 Ohio Purchase

There is something gratifying about finding your ancestor's name in a record, particularly one that is not indexed.

This image is part of the entry for Thomas J. Rampley from the Bureau of Land Management Tract books for Ohio. And while these books are not indexed by name, there is organization. It is just that the organization is by location and not by name. I knew that Thomas made an initial payment for property in Section 5 of township 5-7 in Coshocton County, Ohio. The location was the information that allowed me to locate this reference. The tract books cannot easily be searched by name only.

Bureau of Land Management Tract Books , Ohio, Volume 7, Zanesville (Military district), page 1888[sic]; digital image, FamilySearch.com

This reference styles Thomas as "of Coshocton County, Ohio" on 15 November 1817. This is the earliest document I have that provides evidence of his residence in Ohio. 

The image shown here is just part of the image--there is a right hand page as well which contains more payment information. And there's another man who made his initial payment for property in the same section on the same date. 

From other sources, I already knew the other man was an associate of my ancestor and knew him back in Harford County, Maryland, where Thomas was from. I will look at the names of other men purchasing property in the same section. A map of the township would also be helpful and (in this case) the township to the north should be a part of my search as well because section 5 is along the northern line of the township.