Doing the Math—are five heirs missing?

By Laurie on Sat, 01/25/2025 - 19:01

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About 1778 Henry Snow died, and the court records of Bedford County, Virginia, have few things to say about his estate. One part has me scratching my head. I have uploaded the page from the will book that I’m questioning.

I’ve added up the cash paid into the estate (found across bottoms of pages 274 and 275) and it was totaled correctly on the document.

I’ve added up the cash paid out of the estate for expenses (found at the top of page 275) and it was totaled correctly on the document.

The middle section of page 275 is the part that has me scratching my head. This section has not been totaled in the document. The section first shows Mary’s 1/3 part paid to her. When I do the math—subtract the cash paid out for expenses from the cash paid in and calculate 1/3 of it as Mary’s part, it matches what is recorded on the document as given to her.

After subtracting Mary’s 1/3 part, there would be a 2/3 part left to divide between the five people listed after her. However, if I add up what the other five heirs are paid, it only totals another 1/3. There is 1/3 not accounted for in the account.

If there were five other heirs of Henry (ten total not including the widow Mary), the math would work out. If that was the case, did the clerk pause in his work and neglect to pick up in the proper place—like in the middle of the list of heirs?

Or were there only five total heirs and for some reason they only got half of what they were entitled?

Or is something else going on?

There is nothing more after this document concerning Henry’s estate, so this is what I have to work with. I’d appreciate other opinions about what’s going on here.

Thank you!

Laurie

Link to page at FamilySearch in case you want to see the pages before and after. (Another estate starts on page 276.)https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9T3-PQNY-V?cat=275249&i=188

 

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Submitted byEEon Sun, 01/26/2025 - 11:27

Laurie, that's an interesting document. As you note, viewed alone, the math does not add up. On the other hand, viewed alone, several things do not add up.

  • The “order” by which this document was recorded calls it an “inventory and appraisement.” But it clearly is not that.   There is no inventory of any property—personal or real—and no appraisement.  Instead, it’s a list of moneys received by the estate and moneys paid out.  
  • This document would be either a final accounting or an annual accounting. Before they got to this point in the probate, there should be at least five other actions:  a request for administration, an appointment of the administrator, an order to make an inventory and appraisement and appointment of the men to do that, an inventory and appraisement, and an estate sale.
  • What does the list of sums paid into the estate, itemized on p. 274, represent?  Were these sums received from those who purchased property at the estate sale? Were these debts due to the estate by note? Did Snow keep a store? Or was he a tradesman who would have debts due to him by those who used his services? 
  • The accounting shows that Mary Snow “paid into” the estate 71£ and 8 shillings, then received 60.1.1 as her “widow’s third.” Clearly other relevant things have transpired before this. Typically, at the estate sale, the widow would have bid on the items she wanted. Their value would then have been deducted from her share at the time of the final accounting. If that occurred in this case, then she bought at the sale considerably more than what she was due. She would have needed money of her own, from somewhere, to cover the difference.
  • The amount Mary “paid into” the estate suggests that she took possession of her husband’s real estate—or a significant part of it.  If there was a typical estate sale, the 44£ 5sh from Col. James Callaway (and possibly the 11£ 12sh paid by Jonathan Radford) suggests that they bought part of Snow’s land as well.

All this leads to new questions:

  • Have you done a thorough search of Bedford County court, land, and probate records, or did you find this one document by using FamilySearch’s online search?  Documents dealing with probate also, often, appear amid the county’s land conveyances.
  • Did Henry Snow leave a will that disposed of his real and personal property, thereby leaving only notes and cash at hand to be dealt with?   (The fact that John Snow is called administrator suggests that he was not appointed executor via a will. But even with wills, there were instances in which an administrator (or administrator de bonis non) was appointed.
  • How exhaustively have you studied all Snows in the county? Do you have cause to believe there were other heirs?  (The online genealogical accounts of his family include dubious statements and situations.)

Submitted byLaurieon Tue, 01/28/2025 - 09:28

Thank you for your help. I thought I had respond the same day, but I must have done something wrong as it never appeared. Sorry about that.

The Bedford County order and will books have four entries about Henry’s estate. These are the only references to his estate that I’ve found in the Bedford order books and will books online at FamilySearch. At this point, I’ve only worked through these and need to see what else is available offline.

Order Book 6 page 141

[1778 February 24]

“On the Motion of John Snow (Mary Snow having resigned her right of Admon. to him) Admon is Granted him on the Estate of Henry Snow decd. who made oath thereto & gave bond & Secy. [according] to Law.

Thomas Leftwich, Wm. Butler Uriah Leftwich & Thos. Arthur or any three of them being 1st sworn are aptd to appraise the said Decedents Estate.”

Order Book 6, page 142

[1778 March 23]

“An invy. of the Estate of Henry Snow Decd. retd. & O Rd.

An acco. of the sale of the estate of Henry Snow decd. Returned by the admr. & O Rd.”

Will book 1 has the inventory and appraisement recorded on page 273 and it continues to the top of page 274. It was made by Uriah Leftwich, Thomas Arthur, and William Butler. It is undated. The appraised value was £139.9.0.

The next entry on page 274 is the “account” of Henry’s estate by John Snow that is being discussed. Although the order book called it an account of the sale of the estate, it’s not like any I’ve seen. It looks more like a settlement.

I, too, noticed Mary Snow’s large amount of cash paid into the estate. I thought maybe it could be Henry’s cash on hand when he died assuming this Mary Snow was Henry’s widow. I thought maybe the cash-paid-in section was a combination of cash on hand, notes that had been collected, and the sale of items from the estate.

One thing I noted was the estate process moved very quickly. Seemingly all said and done in one month—if the account was the only one made.

Henry apparently owned no land at the time of his death. The only land found for Henry was 410 acres patented to him in 1767 and sold to Thomas Snow in 1771.

There’s no indication that Henry had a will. I have, and still am, working the Bedford (and Bedford County’s descendant counties since the area kept falling into new ones) and and Lunenburg (where the above land was located previous to Bedford's formation) records for all Snows and associates.

My 4x great grandfather was Frostin Snow of Surry County, NC (not to be confused with Frost & Snow and his son of the same name and place) and then Lincoln County, KY. I can connect this Frostin Snow of Surry County, NC to the Frost Snow in Bedford County, VA, records by a 1767 will he witnessed and a 1768 deposition he made. The Bedford County order books have one 1769 entry that ties Frost Snow to a Henry Snow. The entry is cryptic but is: “Callaway vs Frost Snow, Henry Snow SplBl  & Impl [special bail and imparlance].” I assume that Frost and Henry had some kind of close relationship if Henry was willing to be special bail for him.

Frostin was born 1731-1740 based on census records or abt. 1744 based on the deposition. Then there was a Henry Jr. and a John Jr. along with a Thomas and John in the early county records. The Henry Jr. would be too old to be Henry’s known grandson by his son Thomas. So to answer your question “do I have cause to believe there were other heirs?” maybe. It’s hard to judge ages in these times to know whether these other Snow males could be grandsons or maybe the younger sons of Henry if there were five children left off.

Thanks for any further thoughts and observations.