Notes Exhibited against the Estate of Henry Ackley, Deceased

February 27, 1815

Henry Ackley’s creditors provided the administrators Widow Ruth Ackley and Nathaniel Ackley with notes detailing money owed them.

I recognized family members immediately. James Ackley’s $3.24 claim against the estate might have come from Henry’s father or brother (both men named James Ackley). Nathaniel Ackley was owed $112.57 from his brother’s estate.

Deborah Atwood was born Deborah Purple, a sister to Henry’s widow, Ruth (Purple) Ackley. Anne Purple also was a sister to 4^th Great Grandmother Ruth. Deborah’s note was just $2.00 while Anne Purple’s claim amounted to $82.50. Another Purple sister, Statira, submitted a $62.50 note. I don’t know what kind of business arrangement Henry shared with his sister-in-laws but admit I’m intrigued. Deborah Purple’s husband, Captain Atwood, also brought a $30.00 claim against the estate.

I spotted Rodney Ackley and Samuel Ackley among those owed compensation but don’t recognize their relationship to Great Grandfather.

All of the creditor’s bills combined amounted to $2,907.04. The family incurred some expenses and court fees causing the $2,907.04 to become $3,361.21. Ruth and Nathaniel exhibited the account in Middletown, Connecticut Probate Court.

The administrators subsequently sought the Court’s permission to sell Henry Ackley’s moveable estate to satisfy the creditors. The Court agreed as stated in the following record:

At a Court of Probate held in Middletown, in and for the District of Middle-

            town, on the 27 day Feby A. D. 1815

The adm’rs on the Estate of Henry Ackley late

            of Chatham, deceased

exhibited in Court their Account of Administration on s’d Estate, a-

mounting to the sum of $3361.21

which was accepted and ordered to be kept on file, which Account surmounts

the moveable part of said Estate the sum of               and now

they move this Court for an order to sell moveable Estate

of s’d Dec’d

Whereupon, this Court authorizes and fully impowers the said adm’rs

to sell so much of the moveable Real estate of

the said deceased at private sale for not less than the Inventory Price

or at Public Vendue, after advertising the same in the a Middlesex Gazette

printed in Middletown Three Weeks before said sale--to be sold

at the late Dwelling House of s’d Dec’d at the

beat of Drum, as will procure the aforesaid sum

together with the incident charges of sale, and to pass Deed or Deeds

     accordingly, and then make Return to this Court

for acceptance

                        A true Copy of Record

                             Certified by                                       Clerk.

Source Citation

Probate Files Collection, Early to 1880; Author: Connecticut State Library (Hartford, Connecticut); Probate Place: Hartford, Connecticut

Source Information

Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

Original data: Connecticut County, District and Probate Courts. 

Inventory of the Real and Personal Property of Henry Ackley, Chatham, Connecticut

June 27, 1814

Henry’s inventory was exhibited by his Widow Ruth Ackley and brother Nathaniel Ackley in Middletown, Connecticut Probate Court June 27, 1814. The estate’s total value was deemed to be worth $4,773.21. The three-page inventory listed and assessed his belongings.

As I read through the inventory, I could picture the appraisers David Clark, Samuel Brown and Franklin G. Comstock as they began their task. They started with 4^th Great Grandfather’s wardrobe examining his clothing, bedding and linens. They then entered the kitchen area pricing a kitchen table, ten chairs, various cooking utensils and assorted food preparation items. Perhaps the barn housed a secondhand cart, barrels, numerous tools and farming instruments. The livestock included cows, oxen, sheep, lambs and swine.

Henry Ackley held two notes against Enos Johnson for $100 each. Henry’s earlier dealings with Enos Johnson dated back to December 1811, when he sold him two pieces of land for $650.

Great Grandfather's lands appraised at $4,018.00 accounted for the bulk of his estate. He acquired land in the town of Chatham on nine occasions per the town of East Hampton deeds and later sold four of those parcels keeping 167 acres mentioned in the inventory:

   $ 325.00    Sillamen Lot - 13 acres @ $25.00 p/acre                

        65.00    East Champion Lot - 5 acres @ $13.00 p/acre          

      120.00    Kellogg Lot – 8 acres @ $15.00 p/acre                    

   1,408.00    Whitmore, Smith and Colley lots – 88 acres @ $16.00 p/acre                

   2,100.00    Home Lot with building together with 2/3 of the

           Champion barn said called 53 acres                           

 $4,018.00 

As customary, the Court allowed six months for Henry Ackley’s creditors to submit their claims to the administrators.

I haven’t yet transcribed the inventory but included images and hope you find time to read it.  

Source Citation

Probate Files Collection, Early to 1880; Author: Connecticut State Library (Hartford, Connecticut); Probate Place: Hartford, Connecticut

Source Information

Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

Original data: Connecticut County, District and Probate Courts.

Henry’s Administrators and Appraisers Appointed in Chatham, CT

Henry Ackley, age 34 years, died unexpectedly April 24, 1814, in the town of Chatham, Middlesex County, Connecticut. A sickness traveled throughout his neighborhood claiming his life after a week’s illness. His wife and children mourned his passing as well as his mother, father and siblings.

4th Great Grandfather Henry had not yet prepared a written will leaving his widow Ruth (Purple) Ackley and brother Nathaniel Ackley to settle his estate.

May 30, 1814

About a month after Henry’s death, Ruth and Nathaniel petitioned the District Probate Court of Middletown, Connecticut to be appointed his administrators.

The bond was dated May 30, 1814 in the penal sum of $5,000. I’ve been told the $5,000 bond value correlated with the estimated value of the estate. The Widow Ackley and Nathaniel were responsible for seeing an inventory be taken and exhibited in Court by the last Monday in July 1814. They also needed to make an account of Henry Ackley’s estate the following year by the last Monday in May 1815.

Ruth Ackley, Nathaniel Ackley, and Sparrow Smith all signed the bond. However, Ruth didn’t appear at the court proceedings. Her signature was witnessed by Eli William and Ogden S. Ackley. (Ogden S. Ackley was Nathaniel’s son and Ruth’s nephew by marriage.)

The Middletown Probate Court also appointed David Clark, Samuel Brown and Franklin G. Comstock to appraise Henry's estate.

The administrators have been appointed and now the appraisers will list and value Henry’s estate.  Google searches for David Clark, Samuel Brown and Franklin G. Comstock reveal all were members of the Chatham community.

Source

Probate Files Collection, Early to 1880; Author: Connecticut State Library (Hartford, Connecticut); Probate Place: Hartford, Connecticut

Source Information

Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

Original data: Connecticut County, District and Probate Courts.

All brothers-in-law by marriage—the other father-in-law by marriage left 4 widows and about 30 fatherless children

Telling my 4^th Great Grandfather’s story has been a difficult chore. I knew very little of Henry Ackley aside from a few vital facts. He was born about 1780 in Middlesex County, Connecticut, married Ruth Purple in Chatham Dec. 26, 1801 and passed April 24, 1814.

When I read the following newspaper article published in May of 1814, I knew I found something unique.

Middlesex Gazette, Middletown, Connecticut, May 19, 1814

   Singular instance of Mortality in Chatham, East

     Hampton Society

DIED—At Chatham on Sunday the 8^th inst.

Mr. Nathaniel Gates, aged 50, being the 4^th head

of a family that has died within a short time past

out of three houses within the distance of about

20 rods, and all males, and near related by mar-

rage and family connections, three of whom with-

in one month, all brothers-in-law by marriage—

the other father-in-law by marriage to the three

and have left four widows and about 30 fatherless

children to mourn their loss; about 20 of them

young and unsettled in the world. A number

still remain sick in the different families with the

prevailing fever—Mr. Stephen Knowlton died

January 29^th, aged 83, left a widow and 7 or 8

children—Mr. Timothy Fielding died April 8^th,

aged 40, lived five days, left a widow and 9 chil-

dren—Mr. Henry Ackley died April 24, aged 34,

lived 7 days, left a widow and 5 small children—

Mr. Nathaniel Gates died May 8^th, aged 50, left a

widow and 8 children.

N. B. The widow of Timothy Fielding, and the widow

of Nathaniel Gates, are daughters of Mr.

Stephen Knowlton, deceased. The widow of Hen-

ry Ackley is daughter of Mrs. Knowlton.

The family connections need some explanation. I mentioned earlier Henry Ackley married Ruth Purple. Ruth’s parents were Edward Purple and Mary Hodge. Edward Purple died in 1794 and the following year Ruth’s mother married Stephen Knowlton.

Stephen Knowlton married three times. A daughter, Hannah, from his first wife married Nathaniel Gates. Sarah, who married Timothy Fielding, was Stephen Knowlton’s daughter by his second wife. Mary (Hodge) Ackley became his third wife in 1795.

Middlesex Gazette

Published Middletown, Connecticut

May 19, 1814

Daniel Piper’s Ten Children, Brick Wall Ancestor, Part 4

When Daniel Piper died in 1823 at Augusta County, Virginia, I knew about six of his children. After his death, a flurry of documents would reveal four more youngsters.

Henry Stofer administered what little remained from Great Grandfather’s personal estate. Henry was Daniel’s son-in-law and the husband of Polly Piper. Henry and Polly were Augusta County residents too.

April 1, 1823, a guardianship bond in Rockingham County, Virginia named William K. Piper an ‘orphan of Daniel Piper’. William was a minor under the age of 21 years. George W. Piper petitioned Rockingham County Court to be his younger brother’s legal representative. He married Evaline Walters July 1, 1839 in Albemarle County, Virginia. They had seven children and resided in Augusta County.

In October 1823 another son-in-law, John Joseph, purchased ¼ acre at a public auction in Staunton that Daniel mortgaged in 1813 to Adam Shuey. I haven’t yet found what John Joseph did with the ¼ acre.

Several months later guardianship bonds in Augusta County identified three of Daniel Piper’s younger daughters—Fanny, Sarah, and Eliza. December 22, 1823, Joseph Piper, Christian Echard, and Henry Stofer appeared in Augusta County Court on behalf of the three sisters.

Joseph became guardian to his sister Fanny. A few years passed, and Frances married Lawrence Snapp August 1, 1827 in Rockingham County. I couldn’t locate Fanny or Lawrence in 1850 but found three of their children in her sister Sarah’s household.

Eliza Piper’s guardian, Christian Echard, was the husband of her older sister Margaret. Eliza married John Hartigan March 10, 1825 in Rockbridge County Virginia. I don’t know much about Eliza and John. They were living in Botetourt County, Virginia when the 1850 federal census was taken with seven children.

Henry Stofer became Sarah Piper’s guardian. Sarah and Henry’s wife, Polly Piper, were sisters. Sarah and Isaac Craver wed in Augusta County June 6, 1826. She died Feb. 28, 1869 at Barterbrook (Augusta Co.).

The siblings lost a sister April 21, 1825 when Polly Stofer died. Polly’s husband Henry seemed to be a trusted family member when he acted as Great Grandfather’s administrator and became Sarah Piper’s guardian. The year after Polly’s death, Henry remarried. It wasn’t until 1827 that a hint of trouble surfaced.

Rockingham County, Virginia Chancery cause 1829-0002 Daniel Piper vs. James F. Patterson documented a new sibling, Daniel A. Piper. Henry Stofer played a role in this suit. Daniel’s bill of complaint explains:

   “To the worshipful the County Court of Rockingham in Chancery Sitting humbly complaining Sheweth to your worship your orator Daniel Piper that sometime in the year 1827 when your orator was confined by severe illness and totally incapable of attending to business a certain Henry Stofer who was considerably indebted to your orator on various accounts came to the Town of Harrisburg and under pretense that he had consulted your orator and obtained his consent to the arrangement called on your orators Brother and stated to him that your orator himself had agreed on a settlement of their accounts to execute his note to your orator for the sum of $100 and that the said Stofer was to have a note executed by your orator to him for the sum of $50. Your orator denies that any such arrangement took place between your orator and said Stofer. Notwithstanding which your orators Bro. G. W. Piper gave to the said Stofer a note for fifty dollars to which he signed your orators name and took at the same time the said Stofers note to your orator for the sum of $100. On the day after the said fifty Dollar note was executed to Stofer assigned your orators note to a certain J. F. Patterson who sued our orator on such note in the County Court of Rockingham . . .”

Edward T. Schultz’s book Maryland Commandery, No. 1, Knights Templar, Stationed at Baltimore, State of Maryland contained a biography and portrait of Daniel A. Piper. He was born in 1802 and moved to Baltimore, Maryland in 1838. Daniel A. Piper filled several positions in the Grand Lodge of Masons of Maryland and was a member of the group for almost 50 years. He was initiated into the Order in Rockingham Co., Virginia. He died June 25, 1875 survived by a wife and two daughters. The wife passed five days after Daniel.

Now I would like to turn my attention to the older siblings:

Joseph Piper was born in Virginia about 1789. On April 1, 1812 he married Lydia Lowman, a daughter of Barnhard Lowman. Joseph Piper remained in Augusta County for some years before relocating to Hawkins County, Tennessee by 1840. His known children were George M. Piper, Albert M. Piper and William Piper.

Elizabeth Piper born on Oct. 26, 1790 married John Joseph in Staunton, Virginia Feb. 2, 1809. They became parents to nine children—Alfred, Eliza, Mary Ann, Julia Ann, John Andrew, William Wilson, Daniel Piper, Mary Jane, and Elizabeth Eve. Elizabeth died March 22, 1873 in Churchville, Augusta County.

George W. Piper, probably born in Shenandoah County Dec. 7, 1792 married Jane Young Rutherford June 3, 1816. When a young man, he lived in Harrisburg, Rockingham County. I found the family in Washington County, Virginia when the 1850 federal census was enumerated.  According to Find-A-Grave.com, George and Jane’s children were Caroline Helen, Elizabeth Miranda Jane, Archibald Rutherford, Jane Ann Burgess, Maria Elizabeth, Daniel Robert, Mary Frances and George Elbert Piper.

Polly Piper born about 1794 married Henry Stover Feb 4, 1814 in Augusta County. She died a young woman April 21, 1825 and is buried in Bethel Presbyterian Church Cemetery located at Middlebrook. Polly and Henry’s home place was at Middlebrook per the 1820 census. Young children were in the home so perhaps Polly was a mother.

Margaret Piper was born Feb. 10, 1796. She married Christian Eckart (also known as Echard) in Rockbridge County, Virginia July 6, 1818 where they made their home and raised eight children—John C., William King, Elizabeth E., Martha Ann, Francis Catherine, Caroline H., Joseph, and Mary Virginia. Margaret died Jan. 4, 1842.

Although Daniel Piper is still my brick wall ancestor, I’m glad I was able to add some details to Great Grandfather’s life story. Piper family feel free to contact me. Maybe we’ll break down that brick wall.

Note to Reader:

Tough Nut to Crack, Daniel Piper, Brick Wall Ancestor began my recent blog post series about my 4^th Great Grandfather Daniel Piper from Augusta County, Virginia. I told of his marriage in Shenandoah County, Virginia to Elizabeth Acker. By 1800 they had moved to Augusta County. Constable Daniel Piper, Brick Wall Ancestor, Part 2 continued his work history in Staunton, Virginia beginning in 1805 lasting until 1815. The City of Staunton’s land records prompted me to write Daniel Piper’s Staunton, Virginia Properties, Brick Wall Ancestor, Part 3.