My 6th Great-Grandfather's Signature

I recently added a new signature to the My Ancestors' Signatures page on this blog.

I was able to add this new signature because I found the probate packet of my maternal 6th great-grandfather, John Waterman.1

Within this probate packet were several documents including John's Last Will and Testament.2

Here's the last page of John's will. The red arrow is pointing to John's signature. 

Here's a close-up view of John's signature.

John Waterman signed his will on 3 January 1742/3. It's incredible to see the signature of one of my ancestors from so long ago. This was before the American Revolutionary War. John's grandson, Dr. Luther L. Waterman, served as a Surgeon in that war. Luther was my 3rd great-grandfather.

John Waterman was born March 1672 in Norwich, Connecticut and died in 1744 in Norwich, Connecticut. John was married three times. I am descended from his third wife, Elizabeth Bassett.

John and Elizabeth were the parents of three children:

1. Mary Waterman (1722-1736)
2. David Bassett Waterman (1725-1809) [my 5th great-grandfather]
3. Elizabeth Waterman (1730-1765)

Probate records are fascinating and valuable genealogical sources. My 6th great-grandfather's signature is an amazing genealogical discovery.

What genealogical discoveries have you found in probate records?

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2020 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

_________________________

[1] Connecticut. Hartford, City of. Wills and Probate Records. Connecticut State Library (Hartford, Connecticut); Probate Place: Hartford, Connecticut, Digital images. Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 [database on-line]. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9049/images/007628900_00696 : accessed 12 July 2020) Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. John Waterman. Images 696-705 of 1417.

[2] Connecticut. Hartford, City of. Wills and Probate Records. Connecticut State Library (Hartford, Connecticut); Probate Place: Hartford, Connecticut, Digital images. Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 [database on-line]. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9049/images/007628900_00703 : accessed 12 July 2020) Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. John Waterman. Image 703 of 1417.

Petition to Sell Land

In a previous post I shared a probate record concerning William Wesley Rardin. It was a Petition to Sell Real Estate and was dated 24 December 1858.

Today I have another probate record to share with you that also concerns William Wesley Rardin. This document is a Petition to Sell Land and is dated 4 February 1859.¹

Transcript of Petition to Sell Land

Probate Court Athens County Feby 4 1859

In the Matter of D. B. Webster        }
Guardian of Wm Welsey Rardin      }   Petition to Sell Land
                     vs                                      }
Wm Wesley Rardin                            }

D. B. Webster Guardian as aforesaid having made a Return of the sale of the premises in said petition described and the said Return & proceedings in the sale having been by the Court examined and the Court being satisfied that the sale has in all respects been made according to Law. It is ordered that the same be approved and confirmed: and that said Guardian execute and deliver to said purchaser a Deed in fee Simple for said Real Estate so sold as aforesaid; on the purchaser complying with the terms of said sale.

Calvary Morris Prob Judge

From this document, it appears that William's land had indeed been sold. Unfortunately, the document doesn't mention the name of the person who bought William's land.

I have another probate record regarding William Wesley Rardin that I will be sharing in a future post.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

 

© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

---

1 "Ohio, Probate Records, 1789-1996," database with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 1 October 2015), Athens > Probate journals 1852-1871 vol 1-2 > image 229 of 597; county courthouses, Ohio.^↩

Selling Land on William's Behalf

In a previous post, I shared the guardianship record of William Wesley Rardin. From that record, it appears that William's maternal uncle, Daniel B. Webster, was appointed as his guardian.

I'd like to share another probate record concerning William Wesley Rardin with you today. This time it's a Petition to Sell Real Estate.¹

The petition is dated 24 December 1858, which is only about two months after Daniel B. Webster was appointed as William's guardian. In 1858, William was about ten years old.

Transcript of the Petition to Sell Real Estate

In the Matter of Daniel B. Webster  }
Guardian of Wm Wesley Rardin        }        Petition to Sell Real Estate
                    vs                                         }
Wm Wesley Rardin (a Minor)             }

This cause came on to be heard and no person appearing for the Defendant; and the court being satisfied that the Defendant has been duly notified of the pending and prayer of petition, and that it will be for the benefit of said Minor to sell the Real Estate in said Petition mentioned. On a Counsel for Petition it is ordered that George S. Simpson, Peter Grovsenor & S. W. Foreman, being first duly sworn according to Law, do upon actual view of the premises, appraise the Real Estate in said petition mentioned as the property of Wm Wesley Rardin: described as follows to wit; one undivided 1/2 of 1/2 of 3/4 of Section No 23. Town No 6. in Range No 12 in the Ohio company's purchase, in the County of Athens and State of Ohio. And of their proceedings make due return forthwith to this Court. 

Calvary Morris Prob Judge

This document is very interesting. I didn't know William had any property to sell. Where did he get this property? Did he inherit it? If so, from whom? I didn't see anything about property being given to William by his maternal grandmother, Mary (Tyler) Webster, in her will. Why was it necessary to sell William's property at the time of this petition? It stated that it would be for his benefit. Where were his parents? If they were alive at this time, were they having financial difficulties? Were they unable to support William? Did they have a say regarding this petition to sell William's property? Did they agree with the decision to sell the property?

As you can see, I have lots of questions. I still don't know for sure when William's parents, Moses Rardin and Samantha (Webster) Rardin, passed away. I've found conflicting evidence regarding Samantha's date of death, which I will share in a future post. There are other probate records regarding William Wesley Rardin which I will also share in future posts.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

 

© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

---

1 "Ohio, Probate Records, 1789-1996," database with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 1 October 2015), Athens > Probate journals 1852-1871 vol 1-2 > image 224 of 597; county courthouses, Ohio.^↩

William Wesley Rardin's Guardian

In a previous post I shared the Last Will and Testament of my 4th great-grandmother Mary (Tyler) Webster. Her grandson William Wesley Webster was mentioned in her will.¹ Mary gave William the sum of one-hundred dollars in Item One of her will.

Further research in the probate records on FamilySearch produced this document about William. It's a guardianship record. My records indicate that William was born around 1848. This record was dated 14 October 1858, so William would have been around ten years old at the time.

Transcription of Probate Document

Probate Court Athens County Oct 14th 1858

In the matter of Wm Wesley Rardin Minor child of Samantha Rardin. On motion to the Court It is ordered that Daniel B. Webster be appointed Guardian of Said Minor and that he give Bond in the sum of Five hundred Dollars with Daniel B. Stewart Surity, conditioned according to Law, and thereupon the Said Guardian, having first filed the statement of the Estate of his Said Ward according to Law, appeared in open Court, accepted said appointment, gave Bond accordingly, & having been sworn as the Law directs. Letters of Guardianship were issued to him.

Calvary Morris Prob Judge

William Wesley Rardin's appointed guardian was Daniel B. Webster. William's mother had a brother named Daniel Bromley Webster. So, I think it's safe to assume that William's guardian was his Uncle Daniel.

My knowledge about probate records is not what I'd like it to be. I had questions about guardianship law in Ohio during this time period. I tried to find answers online on my own, but couldn't seem to find the answers I was seeking. So, I turned to Facebook. I belong to several genealogy Facebook groups and asked my questions in two of those groups - Genealogy Bloggers and Genealogy! Just Ask!. I also asked my questions in my own timeline as well. Within a very short time, wonderfully helpful fellow genealogists were coming to my aid. I wondered about the circumstances that would require guardianship of a minor child. For example, would the guardianship mean the child was orphaned?

These wonderful genealogy friends of mine answered my questions. Several people said that no, the child does not have to be an orphan to have a guardian. A couple of interesting links were shared with me as well. Here they are ~ Guardians for the kids? by Judy G. Russell and Ohio Probate Records in the FamilySearch Wiki.

Probate records really are fascinating. They give us an interesting glimpse into the lives of our ancestors.

I found additional probate records that pertain to William Wesley Rardin and will share those in future posts.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

 

© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

---

1 "Ohio, Probate Records, 1789-1996," database with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-27661-22836-43?cc=1992421 : accessed 1 October 2015), Athens > Probate journals 1852-1871 vol 1-2 > image 218 of 597; county courthouses, Ohio.^↩