Clues to
the Past - Marie Baron's Estate Inventory
In 1748 Marie Catherine Baron's possessions--also referred to as
her estate--were inventoried and appraised after her death. The
list was handwritten in eighteenth-century French. Because estate
inventories are considered legal documents, the inventory has been
preserved by the Circuit Clerk at the Randolph County Courthouse in
Chester, Illinois. The document is over 300 years old and the
writing has faded and become difficult to read. The following
translation is not complete but includes those household items and
items of clothing that were legible.
- Household Items:
- 14 napkins--20 livres
- 4 linen table cloths--20 livres
- 3 window curtains of brown linen--5 livres
- 2 chests and 1 valise, well bound and closed with a lock--40
livres
- 2 caskets closed with locks and covered with red copper--20
livres
- 3 calico window curtains--24 livres
- 1 bed furnished with a straw mattress, a pillow, a bolster, a
calico bedspread, a feather bed, a green wool blanket--120
livres
- 1 cot--40 livres
- 1 large framed mirror--70 livres
- 1 small cupboard with 6 wine
bottles--15 livres
- 1 old chest closed with a lock--5 livres
- 2 silver goblets--25 livres
- 2 crystal goblets--2 livres
- 1 armchair--12
livres
- 1 square table with
drawers--25 livres
- 20 plates, 1 large dish, 1
small dish, 1 pot--85 livres
- 12 iron forks and dinner knives, 5 spoons, 1 little pewter
basins--18 livres
- 6 crockery plates--3 livres
- 1 small copper cauldron--3
livres
- 1 medium-sized frying pan, 1 grill, 1 fork to draw food from
the pot--15 livres
- 2 medium-sized pans--20 livres
- 1 small cauldron--3 livres
- 1 old wardrobe--20 livres
- 1 frying pan--7 livres
- 1 small framed mirror--6 livres
- Clothing:
- 1 capot*, jacket and
breeches--60 livres
- 1 capot of cadiz and 1 black jacket--40 livres
- 2 jackets of cholet, 1 capot of limbourg--25 livres
- 1 capot of cadiz adorned with silver lace, 1 waistcoat of red
camelot adorned with silver lace and with silver buttons--60
livres
- 1 purse and 1 hat of half beaver--20 livres
- 1 wool belt, 1 pair of gloves--4 livres
- 3 pairs of breeches, one of cotton, one of basin, one of
cadiz--15 livres
- 4 shirts (chemises)--40 livres
- 2 shirts (chemises) of Beaufort linen--20 livres
- 1 dressing gown, 1 taffeta petticoat, 1 cotton dress, 1 calico
dress--220 livres
- 1 pair of silver buckles--15 livres
- 2 old pairs of slippers--5 livres
- Other:
- 1 hunting knife, 1 silver
pistol--30 livres
- 1 bullet mold--20 livres
- 400 hundred pounds of lead--100 livres
- 4 oxen--400 livres
- 4 cows--300 livres
- 2 mares, 2 colts--220 livres
- 40 fowl (chickens), large and small--40 livres
- 1 family of slaves (a Negro, a Negress and 2 baby boys)--2,000
livres
*Capot: a man's knee-length hooded jacket, belted
at the waist with a sash.
Translation of Kaskaskia manuscripts--Private
Papers, V Circuit Clerk Office, Randolph County Courthouse,
Chester, Illinois.
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© Illinois State Museum
31-Dec-96