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WILL OF ISAAC READ, Sr.

Warren County, New Jersey Surrogate Court Records, Wills Book 1, page 367

In the name of God Amen, I Isaac Read Esquire deaken of the Township of Knowlton in the County of Warren and State of New Jersey being weak in Body, but of Perfict Sound Mind and Memory and Cauling to mind the mortality of my Body and knowing that it is appointed unto all men once to dye do make & Conftitute this my Last Will and Testament in way & manner as now follows ~ First I Bequeath my Soul to that God Who Gave it & my Body to the Earth to be decently buried at the Discretion of my Executors who I shall here after appoint & as Touching my worldly Estate in which God hath pleased to Blefs me with I give devis & bequeath in way and manor as now follows, To wit 2 it is my will & order that all my Just debts and funeral Expenses be paid as Soon as may be Conveniant after my decease ~ 3 it is my Will & I order my Executors to Sell my farm I now live on as Soon as they Convenentlly Can after my Desese as they my Said Executors Shall think to the Best Advantage / forthly and I now order & my will is that my Executors pay to my Grand Daughter Lanor Marye Allon Daughter of John & Asuby Alon alis Azuba Read the Sume of five Hundred Dollars at the time she arrives at the age of twentyone years & not before (fifth) I further order and my will is that my Executors Sell my personalle property at publick Sale and divide the money arising there fore from to Gether with the mony they Sell my sd farm for Equally amongst my three Sons & five Daughters Share & Share alike (viz) Richard Joseph & Isaac Reed Sarah Midleworth Elizabeth Luse Mary Raub Phebe Keer & Hannah Frees/ Lastly my will is & I order all my Estate real & personal after paying Lanor Mary Allon as above directed & all other resonable Expenses & Charges to be equally divided amongst my three Sons & five daughters Share & Share Alike as above directed/And Lastly I nomynate & appoint my Son Richard Reed & my Sonnelaw John Midleworth Executors of this my Last will and testament & Say to them do with the Eastate that I intrusted you with as you wold others Should dou with yours & Say to others Go & do likewise and further I revoke and disanull all my former Wills I have here to fore made. In Whitnefs whereof I have here unto Set My hand & Seal this Twenty first day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight hundred and thirty Eight.

WILL CODICIL

In further Consideration of the within Will & Testement, I now order and my will is that the money that is found in my Pofession Belonging to me at my defese Shall be Equaly divided Between my Eight Children as soon as posable Share & Share alike as whitnefs my hand this twenty Second day of February Eighteen Hundred and thirty Eight—

Witnefs present

State of New Jersey Warren Cy to Wit} Richard Read and John Midlesworth Executors of the within named Will and Testament it Being duly Sworn did despose and say that the within Instrument Contains the true and last will and Testament of Isaac Read the Testator there in named as far as they know and as they Verly beleve and that they will well and truly perform the Same by first paying the debts of the Said decesed and then the Legacies in the said Instrument Specified so far as the Goods Chattles & Credits of the said decesed Cane thereunto Extend and that they will make and Exhibit onto the Surrogate office at Belvidere a true and perfict Inventory of all and Singuler the Goods Chattles & Credits of the Said Decesed that have or shall Come to their hands or to their Knowledge or to the posession of any other person for their use, and render a Just and True account when there unto Lawfully Required—

State of New Jersey Warren Cy to Wit} Henry Mingle one of the witnefs to the within and above named will being duly Sworn did despose and Say that he Saw Isaac Read the Testator within named and sine and Seal the Same and heard him publish and declare & prounounce the above & within writing to be his Last Will and Testement and that at the doing thereof the Said Testatant was of Sound & Disposing mind & memory as far as this deponant nows and as he verily beleves and that Aron Read & Henry Mingle, sined their names as witnefs in the presence of the Testator and Each other

State of New Jersey Warren Cy to Wit} I George W Ribble Surrogate of the County of Warren do Certify the above to be a true Copy of the last will and Testament of Isaac Read late of the County of Warren decesed and that Richard Read & John Midlesworth the Executors therein named proved the Same before me and is duly aurthised to take upon them the administration of the Eastate of the Testator agreably to the said will—

Witness my hand and Seal of office the 23^rd day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight & thirty Eight

Isaac Reed of Knowlton Deceased 1838
Warren County, New Jersey Surrogate Court Records, Inventories Book 3, page 109

A true and Perfect inventory of all the goods Chattles rights and Credits of Isaac Reed Esquire Late of The township of Knowlton in the County of Warren & State of New Jersey Deeced maid by us Whose Names are hereunto Subcribed this Fifth Day of March in the year of our Lord 1838

Appraised by us

RULE TO LIMIT CREDITORS

Rule to Limit Creditors of Isaac Read Dec^d Richard Read & John Midlesworth Executors—}

EXCEPTION TO ACCOUNT

In the Case of the Final Account of Richard Read & John Midlesworth Executors of Isaac Read Esq^r Decased and Isaac Read on of the heirs Exceptions}

Warren Orphans Court of the Term of June 1839
It is ordered by the Court that Isaac Read one of the heirs have time to file Exceptions to the within account and appoint William Tinnsman Isaac Crisman and Abraham Newman aduitors to audite and testate the Same—
By the Court

EXCEPTION TO ACCOUNT AUDIT

First Account of Richard Read & John Middlesworth Executors of IsaacRead Deceased, (on Exceptions filed)}

Warren Orphans Court for the County of Warren in the Term of August Term A.D. 1839—

The first account of Richard Read & John Middlesworth Executors of Isaac Read deceased on Exceptions filed on Said account and Auditors appointed to testate the said account report that the same be allowed in all things as reported by the auditors

Barrel with whiskey: possibly produced by Isaac's nephew, Joseph M. Read, who owned a distillery in Hope Township

Box: possibly a bread box.

Brake: a bench like apperatus with blades. "A small bundle of flax was placed across the lower blades and the upper ones broke the straw-like chaff from the fibers" (Arbor 1993:88).

Calico: this printed cloth was first imported to England and her colonies by the British East India Company from Calicut (Calcutta), India. The cloth was also known as chintz. In 1772, John Hewson began printing calico in Philadelphia. Hewson used a copper plate printing process. In 1783, Thomas Bell of Scotland invented roller copper plate printing, making it possible to print long lengths of fabric. These printed fabrics became available to the American market in the early 1800s. They were cheaper then earlier block printed fabrics (Bowman 1991:13; Martin 1986:9-10).

Cask Tallow: tallow was made by rendering the fat of sheep or cattle. Mutton tallow was whiter than beef tallow and was more highly valued. Tallow was used in making candles, a job done in the colder months, so that the candles would harden more quickly. During the first half of the nineteenth century, candles were the primary source of light in the home. Period letters and diaries mention large quantities made by housewifes for consumption by their families. For instance "Mary Guion made 200 on 26 January 1801; Maria Stilliman Church made 360 on 10 January 1834; and Elizabeth Porter Phelps made nearly 600 in October 1790" (Garrett 1990:140-141). Isaac would have needed an entire cask of tallow for about a year's worth of candles

Chairs: 22 chairs are listed in Isaac's inventory. Standard early nineteenth-century parlor sets included 6 chairs, it was not unusual for parlors to contain a dozen chairs. In addition, chairs were needed in the dining room. Chairs were also found in bed chambers and kitchens (Garrett 1990).

Chest: chest of drawers or lidded chests. These were the main storage containers for textiles and clothing. Writing in 1842, Nathaniel Hawthorne described "chest of drawers, which stand on four long slender legs, and rear an absolute tower of mahogany to the cieling [sic] the whole terminating in a fantastically carved summit" (Garrett 1990:127). A well known chest was the Chippendale style. Lidded chests were low, much like the blanket chests of today. They were found in bed chambers and in garretts.

Clover seed: clover was a common feed for animals in the nineteenth-century (Arbor 1993:35).

Coverlid (Coverled): Woven covering or blanket.

Cradle Scythe (crale): a hand operated mowing scythe with long wooden tines. The mower gathered the grain on the cradle, then tilted the cradle to create neat rows of grain or hay (Arbor 1993:51).

Dish: may refer to a pewter plate over ten inches in diameter. These plates functioned as serving dishes (Arbor 1994:77).

Dresser: a kitchen piece for storing dishes, etc. It generally contained "cupboards or an open shelf for pots, beneath upper shelves with rails on which to rest the edges of pewter plates and dishes" (Garrett 1990:104).

Frails (fraly): were used to process flax. The frail removed the seeds from the harvested flax. The seeds were then ground at local mills to make linseed oil (Arbor 1993:88)

Forks, rakes and shovels: Forks were used to toss hay onto and off of wagons and rakes were used to turn cut hay in the field so that it would dry faster. Grain shovels were made from one piece of wood and were used to scoop grain (Arbor 1993:51).

Harrow: implement drawn over plowed land in order to break clods, cover sown seeds and level the land. It consists of a wooden frame set with metal spikes (Webster 1983:829).

Hatchel: board with pointed iron spikes used to separate the long fibers of flax from the shorter fibers (called tow). See tow and linen below. Decorated hatchels were often given as engagement presents. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, the wife was responsible for the production of all the texiles in the household. This included everything from the production of yarn, to weaving, to sewing clothes, towels, sheets, etc. In the late nineteenth century, mass produced fabrics, bed linens and clothing gradually replaced homespun fabrics and handmade items (Arbor 1993:88).

Meat Cask (meatcask): before refrigeration meat was preserved by several methods: smoking, drying, potting and salting. Smoked meats were hung from the rafters, dried meat was known as jerky. Potted meats were cooked then placed in a crock and covered with a layer of lard or fat. This method was commonly used on board ship. Salted meat was either dry-cured or brine-cured. Dry-cured meat was packed in a barrel or cask of salt. Brine cured meat was immersed in a barrel or cask containing a solution of salt and water (Arbor 1993:68). Given that salt is mentioned in Isaac's inventory the meat cask probably contained meat preserved by one of the two salting methods.

Mowing Scythe (grascythe): scythe used mainly to cut hay. Unlike a cradle sycthe, this type of sycthe could only cut the hay, it could not gather it up and turn it into piles as it had no cradle attached to it (Arbor 1993:51).

Muslin (muflin): cotton cloth of plain weave. There are two types, the first, is dyed or printed and used for wearing apparel. The second type, is a heavy cotton used for bed sheets, pillowcases, etc. (Webster 1983:1185).

Pung (peng): toboggan (Webster 1983:146).

Reel (real): measuring tool used to wind a prescribed length of yarn into a skein. The reel had a set of gears, which after a certain number of turns made a loud "click" letting the spinster know that the proper amount of yarn had been wound from the distaff on the spinning wheel (Arbor 1993:90).

Sadirons: flatirons used for ironing. These were heated over a hot fire and used to iron until they cooled. Generally two to three sadirons were used by a single ironer, with one or two warming in the fire, while the other was in use. One nineteenth-century housewife recalled, "when I learned that flatirons were once called sadirons, I assumed that the name reflected the ironer's state of mind" (Garrett 1990:169).

Sled: homemade wooden affairs which were used to haul logs over the snow. Generally two sleds were hooked in tandem and were pulled by a team of horses or oxen. These were used until the gasoline powered tractor was introduced. A sled is not the same as a sleigh (Arbor 1994:66).

Sleigh (slay): winter conveyance set on runners. Sleighs were less costly then carriages. Many nineteenth-century families owned them. Sleighs were gradually replaced by automobiles in the twentieth century. Sleighs are not the same as sleds (see above) (Arbor 1994:107).

Spinning wheel (Big Wheel): probably a flyer-type wheel which was primarily used to spin flax. Other types of fibers, such as wool, could also be spun on these wheels (Arbor 1993:89).

Tow and linen (toe and linnen): tow is short fibers of flax spun into irregular yarns. Linen is long fibers of flax which are spun into "line" a smooth yarn. These yarns are used in weaving linen (Regensteiner 1970:36)

Trammel: adjustable hanging iron hook. Cooking pots and kettles were hung over the fire on the trammel. A second type of trammel was an adjustable sawtooth hanger on which an oil or grease land was hung (Arbor 1993:59-60).

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