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NOTE: Newsletters from 2007 through 2014 were archived & later moved to a new location here. As a result, some links may not work properly, formatting may be inconsistent, and some previously published articles may be missing
The Spiker Gazette |
Oxford, WV Volume 3 Issue 9 September 25, 2009 |
Family Wills & Estate Auctions |
Written by: Melanie Fouse | ||
After seeing the pictures of the Spiker Buggy, (viewable in last month's edition of the Gazette) I wondered whom it belonged to first and how it would be kept in the family. Which Spiker descendant would be the next in line to “take up the reins” of preserving this family heirloom, or would it one day be sold at an estate auction? The only way to ensure this particular treasure would stay in our family is to put it in the owner’s Will. While thinking of this, I remembered the copies of a Will and an estate auction Bill of Sale that was so generously given to me by Yvonne Haines, a reader of this newsletter and a contributor to the Spiker Family stories (read Yvonne's contribution by clicking here.) She tried to scan them into her computer and email them to me but the ink was so faded on the original that even copies are hard to read and the scans nearly impossible to decipher. After emailing back and forth a number of times, she very generously went out and had them copied and mailed them to me. I reverently read over them and filed them away with my genealogy paperwork where they have remained untouched. Until now. Remembering that I had these in my possession, I wanted to share them with all of you (links at end of article). The Will is Quilly Manley Zinn’s and the estate auction’s Bill of Sale lists the possessions of John Zinn. In case you need to be reminded of the line of descent, it goes like this…John Zinn, Quilly Manley Zinn, Marion Bukey Zinn to Gay Zinn Spiker. If you remember the tombstone hunt we went on, (read the article here) John’s tombstone is the special one with the tree carved into it depicting his family tree, with a branch for each of his daughters on one side and his sons on the other side. (You can view pictures of the original headstone and the new headstone erected by Brad Spiker by clicking here.) (continued at right) | (continued from left)
I’ve transcribed the records exactly as written in the record book, including the capitalizations and the repeated words. It’s slightly harder to read this way but is an accurate transcription of how it looks. After the death of an individual, his or her Will was brought into court where two of the witnesses swore that the document was genuine. After the Will was proved, the executor was bonded to carry out his duties to settle the estate. The court would then order the Will to be recorded. The Will and the Bill of Sale in this instance are in the same handwriting as the respective recorder’s, so I’m not sure if the signatures are actually those of the witnesses, etc. I assume the recorder just rewrote what was on the original Will itself. I particularly enjoyed reading the estate auction record. John Zinn died in 1848 but the estate sale wasn’t recorded until 1851, so I’m not sure what took so long. Of note in the Appraisals was the very first item on the list……"A gray horse (deceased) worth $10.00." Laughing at this, I had to call Mom (Dean Spiker) to inform her but she reminded me that John and his sons had owned a tannery (for animal hides) so they were probably appraising something the dead horse could be used to make. Also, the widow, Ruth Gandy Zinn, had apparently collected some money from the sale before the estate bills were finally paid and it is listed in there that the "widow is indebted to the estate for $59.57". Thought that was interesting as well. A lot of the items were bought by his children but there are a few people from the neighborhood listed as having bought some items. You can read the transcriptions of Quilly Manley Zinn’s Will and the Estate Sale of John Zinn at the bottom of this page.
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Announcements
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PHOTO NO LONGER AVAILABLE (Photo by Cathy Gregis) |
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PHOTO NO LONGER AVAILABLE (Photo by Jeannie Spiker) |
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Dates to Remember
September 1 | BIRTHDAY - Cruz Hayes |
September 10 | BIRTHDAY - Conrad Larew |
September 23 | BIRTHDAY -Alice Matheny |
September 23 | BIRTHDAY - Kelly Hicks |
September 25 | BIRTHDAY - Adreanna Hess |
September 28 | ANNIVERSARY - Cathy & Larry Gregis |
October 7 | BIRTHDAY - Tyler Weidlich |
October 11 | BIRTHDAY - Rheanna Hess |
October 12 | BIRTHDAY - Brada Stotts |
October 14 | BIRTHDAY - Cameron Hess |
October 16 | BIRTHDAY - Tayler Weidlich |
October 16 | BIRTHDAY - Robby Curry |
October 20 | ANNIVERSARY - Delene & Conrad Larew |
October 21 | BIRTHDAY - Carigan Hayes |
October 21 | ANNIVERSARY - Keri & Dana Hurst |
October 22 | BIRTHDAY - Allison Spiker |
October 23 | BIRTHDAY - Alice Spiker |
October 24 | BIRTHDAY - Pete Deremer |
October 28 | BIRTHDAY - John Bob Spiker |
October 28 | BIRTHDAY - John Jacob Hicks |
Last Will & Testament
QUILLY M. ZINN -- Last Will & Testament
Copy of original document submitted by Yvonne Haines
Transcribed by Melanie Fouse {transcriber notes in brackets}
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Estate Auction Bill of Sale
JOHN ZINN -- Estate Auction Bill of Sale
Copy of original document submitted by Yvonne Haines
Transcribed by Melanie Fouse {transcriber notes in brackets}
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