--- On Mon, 3/21/11, Madaline Preston <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> While there are 7 horses on the list there is no mention of
> any type of wagon.  There are 2 pewter dishes, 12 plates and 24
> spoons but no table and chairs.  Four feather beds, many bed covers, 2 chests but no other > furniture.  Would these items, normally a part of such a household, be removed from the premises prior to the inventory ...
>>

The inventory does not necessarily include everything in the household.  It only contains items that belonged to the deceased.  The wife’s paraphernalia and separate property are not included in the deceased husband’s inventory. I agree that a table  and chairs seems to be missing, but it was most likely the wife’s separate property.  I’m not so sure about a wagon. Sometimes families raised horses, or kept horses for riding. There might have been a coach or chariot, as they were sometimes called. That was an item sometimes given to women for their separate use.  It is very unlikely that items would be removed, since penalties were severe. 

Langdon Hagen-Long
Virginia Beach

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