52 Ancestors - EARLIEST: Morris Jollett's Inventory

The earliest concrete sign that the Jolletts were in colonial Virginia dates to 1732. On the 27^th of September of that year, the estate of Morris Jollett was appraised and entered into court. Two months later, Morris Jollett’s son William signed upon oath and ordered the inventory to be recorded. The order was recorded on February 7, 1733.

The record is not easy to read, but I submit it here as an invitation for others to render an opinion on what poor ol’ Morris left behind. One word that is particularly puzzling looks like “Joyron.” The context and comparison to other letters, specifically the “r” in “Mortor” and “Grinding,” make me think it is a terrible spelling of “iron.” What else could it be?

An Inventory and Appraisement of Morris Jollett Estate

Westmoreland County, VA

September 1732

Two cows & two calfs

Two cows & five heiffers

One plow and a small grinding stone

?? of puter

?? of old iron

One pair of old small stillards [? Not sure of that]

One old halbord and old box iron

One brass candlestick and small brass bottles

One old spice mortor

[?] iron pots old

Old [?] plow old tables

One old gun and weavers loom

Two old cots [coats?] and a pair of breches

One old Tub with a parcel of old feathers and other lumber

A parcel of earthenware, [?] glass bottles

A parcel of very old B???

Small [ ? ]mpory

One small cake of bees wax

A frying pan, ax, roofhook all old

Old pail old hoe old piggins

Two old loads of beds loads old furniture

One mare & old saddle

Herd of hogs small goat

4 geese

TOTAL VALUE was 22 pounds, 13 shillings, 4 pence

In Witness to an Order of Court bearing Date this 27^th Day of September 1732 We whose names are under written being first sworn by a Magistrate have valued & appraised above Inventory.

Daneil Gobbs

Charnock Cox, Jr.

Daniel Crabb

Westmoreland County in a Court held for the County this 28^th Day of November 1732

This Inventory of the Estate of Morris Jollett deceased was returned into Court upon Oath by William Jollett his son and Administrator and ordered to be Recorded.

Teste

G. Turberville CCW

Recorded the Seventh Day of February 1733.

GTCCW

A few EARLIER documents exist for Morris Jollett in transcription form. They include records of a patent for his cattle brand in 1711 and again in 1716. Three years later he was a witness in an inquisition into the death of a man who had drowned.

I’m not sure how Morris Jollett is related, but surely he must be. I’m just a few generations away from connecting the dots between his son William to Thomas Jollett and then my 4G grandfather James Jollett in Greene County, Virginia.

A more difficult challenge will be to connect Morris and son William to John Jollitt who arrived on the Tristram and Jane in 1637. He was turned over as an indentured servant to Nathaniel Floyd. Interestingly enough, Floyd himself had come to Virginia in 1625 as an indentured servant. Sometime around 1627 he obtained his freedom and purchased land on the Warwick River.

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

Wendy

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