The Worldly Possessions of the Rev. Jacob Cook in 1844
Jacob Cook, second owner of Cook's Mill in Greenville, died in
debt, and because of this we have courthouse records of the
value of all his household goods, farm implements and animals,
and property. Jacob was the brother of
Valentine Cook Jr. (Monroe Watchman, Oct.19, 2006)
and they had
moved here with the family in 1773. Jacob's brothers and
sister married and moved to Kentucky after the American
Revolution and his mother, Susannah, joined them on the death
of her husband, Valentine Sr., in 1797. This left Jacob and
Isabella Humphreys, his new bride, to run the farm, the mill
and to oversee the sale of the rest of the 1050 acres Jacob
had acquired on behalf of his mother and siblings in accordance
with his father's will.
Since Jacob was left with 200 acres and a successful farm and business, the question of why he ended up in debt is an interesting and somewhat elusive one. He had three boys and three girls by his first wife, and three boys and one girl by Rachel Carden whom he married in 1818. We know that Jacob was instrumental in introducing the Methodist faith to the Indian Creek community and donated, with Rachel, the property for the Greenville United Methodist Church in 1820. He was a Methodist Circuit Rider and may have got started as early as 1788 when he accompanied John Smith, the initial Greenbier Circuit Rider, on his rounds.
Being a country preacher must have been a grueling profession
as the circuit lasted four weeks and required the preacher
to ride to a different venue and preach most every day of
each week across an area comprising portions of seven present
counties! According to Morton's history of the county, At
this time the yearly allowance to a preacher was $64, in
addition to traveling expenses as ferriage, horseshoeing,
and provisions for preacher and horse when riding a long
distance
. We are not certain that Jacob was occupied
in this profession his whole career and we have no idea
of who ran the mill, or indeed, how active a business this
was. Census data suggest that in the early 19th Century
there was a live-in farm hand, and later the children would
have been old enough to run the farm.
Jacob Cook died in 1844 at the age of 80 and was indebted
to 26 parties for a total of $774.97 ¾. These creditors
included businesses, government offices and private
individuals, and he specified that all my past debts
and funeral expenses be paid out of my personal estate
.
A detailed list of all his belongings was prepared and these
were appraised, including a few items that were reserved
for family members. A second list was prepared on the
occasion of the sale and this includes the names of the
54 parties who bought articles on that day. Many of these
families have descendants in the area, so their names are
included in the vain hope that articles bought in that sale
may still be identified in local homes!
The appended lists have been derived from the actual sale
data, supplemented by the appraisal, and the information has
been manipulated in a number of ways. First the entries have
been arbitrarily sorted into functional categories, such as
the rooms in which they might have been found. A few of the
prices included fractions and these halves or quarters of a
cent have been left off for the sake of simplicity. These
particular prices appear to represent eighths of a dollar,
or "bits", thus 12 ½ cents, but there are also values
representing sixteenths of a dollar, such as 6 ¾ cents.
The spelling in many cases is phonetic (Kittle
= Kettle)
and has been corrected, and it is fortunate that both appraisal
and sale lists survive because these could be compared in cases
where the meaning is unclear (Hand Irons
versus
Fire Irons
= Andirons).
The property was divided among four sons and was appraised separately because the sons were obliged in the will to contribute to the upkeep of their two maiden sisters in proportion to the value they inherited. Only the total value of each property was included but for this article I have derived separate figures for buildings and acreage. This was straightforward in the cases of the two sons who inherited only land and I found that Lewis' land was valued at $14 per acre and Ward's at $7. Evidently this was because the former got the more valuable farm land, while the latter, a doctor, got hills and woods. For Riley's plot, which included the farm, I assumed $14 per acre, and this left a value of $600 for the dwelling place and farm buildings. Jacob A. got the mill with non-farm land and from this I derived a figure of $565 for the mill, not a round figure, so the assumptions applied here may not be correct.
The lists contain 183 items or lots, of which 157 were
involved in the sale. Riley B. Cook bought 45 of these,
presumably because he was obliged to maintain the household
as well as his mother! Most of the items would be found in
farm houses and farms today and are quite ordinary, while
the prices, of course, reflect 163 years of inflation.
Some categories, such as Spinning & Weaving
and
Harness, Wagons, etc.
have been bypassed by objects
now easily obtained from Walmart and General Motors.
Otherwise, only a few items would raise an eyebrow,
Blowing Horn, Fat Can, Cedar Churn and Lanterns in the
kitchen, for instance. Children would have used the Slates
for school work, while the Broad Axe, with one flat side,
would be used to trim timbers for a barn or shed. Of
course, technology has supplanted many of the items in
the Tool
and Farm Implement
categories.
The books reflect the interests and needs of the country preacher. The authors Coke and Wesley were early Methodists, and Arminius and Fletcher were also prominent Protestant writers. The variety and number of farm animals is impressive and crops included corn, wheat, and rye, and presumably hay as indicated by the unharvested meadow entries. Mill machinery is not included, and in those days would have been handmade out of wood and an integral part of the mill. Apart from this, we can conclude that the lists give a pretty complete idea of a 358 acre farm/mill complex that supported Jacob and Rachel and four sons and two daughters, all adults by 1844. The other four children had married and moved to Madison County, Indiana about 1833.
The appraisal had suggested a total value of $976.70 for the objects to be sold and this figure included the books ($26.50) and beds ($65.00) which were reserved. The sale netted $866.94 which exceeded the debts of $774.97 ¾ so the creditors could be paid off. The property was appraised at $5505.00 so adding this to the proceeds of the sale and the value of the reserved items gives a total of $6463.44 for the value of the farm/mill complex. Subtracting the debts yields a figure for the net worth of Jacob Cook to be $5688.46 at the time of his death at the age of 80.
| 1. KITCHEN ITEMS | PRICE | BUYER |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Oven & Lid | $0.62 | Zebide B. Lewis |
| 1 Oven & Lid Hooks | $0.50 | Henry Peighn (Payne?) |
| 1 Old Table & Trays | $0.20 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Pot Rack | $1.12 | Adison Scaggs |
| 1 Pot Rack | $0.40 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Tea Board & Contents | $0.25 | Henry Peighn (Payne?) |
| 1 Large Kettle | $2.37 | John & Armstead Ross |
| 1 Large Kettle | $3.50 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Small Kettle & Hooks | $1.00 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Brass & Tea Kettles | $1.66 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Large Kettle, by Lewis | $3.06 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Grid Iron (Griddle) | $0.40 | A.D. Shanklin |
| 1 Frying Pan | $0.32 | Adison Scaggs |
| 1 Pair of Waffel Irons | $1.25 | John & Armstead Ross |
| 1 Skillet | $0.31 | John Houchens |
| 1 Tea & Coffee Pot | $0.55 | Rufus Lively |
| 1 Blowing Horn & Coffee Pot | $0.25 | William Broyles |
| 1 Fat Can | $0.32 | F.F. Neel |
| 1 Cedar Churn | $0.25 | R.B. Cook |
| 4 Crocks @ | $0.06 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Milk Strainer | $0.06 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Pewter Basin | $0.25 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Glass Lantern | $0.24 | William Mann |
| 1 Lantern | $0.06 | John Houchens |
| 1 Pair Stilyards (Scales) | $2.00 | Thomas McCarty |
| 2. DINING ROOM ITEMS | PRICE | BUYER |
| 1 Round Leaf Table | $2.62 | David Hinton |
| 1 Old Table | $0.25 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Cupboard & Dishes | $6.75 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 China Press, by Caroline | $6.25 | R.B. Cook |
| 3 Chairs @ | $0.50 | Augustus McNeer |
| 3 Chairs @ | $0.48 | George Walters |
| 3 Chairs @ | $0.33 | Peter Hinton |
| 1 Small Chair | $0.25 | Smithen Holden |
| 2 Sets of Table Spoons @ | $0.12 | Josh & And. Canterbury |
| 2 Small Tin Waiters @ | $0.06 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Oil Cloth Cover | $1.00 | R.B. Cook |
| 3. LIVING ROOM ITEMS | PRICE | BUYER |
| 1 Arm Chair | $0.50 | R.B. Cook |
| 6 Windsor Chairs @ | $1.00 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Table | $3.00 | Augustus McNeer |
| 1 Book Case | $5.10 | Madison Lawrence |
| 1 Wooden Clock | $6.12 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Pair of Window Curtains | $0.50 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Carpet | $0.25 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Slate | $0.05 | John Houchens |
| 1 Slate | $0.15 | Robert Scags |
| 2 Pair Hand Irons (Andirons) @ | $0.03 | R.B. Cook |
| 4. BOOKS (Appraisal only) | PRICE | INHERITOR |
| Coke's Commentary, 4 Vols. | $10.00 | Four Sons |
| Universal Gazeteer | $2.00 | Four Sons |
| Field's Scrapbook | $0.50 | Four Sons |
| Greek Revolution | $0.75 | Four Sons |
| Riley's Narative | $1.75 | Four Sons |
| Wood's Dictionary, 2 Vols. | $2.50 | Four Sons |
| Arminian Magazine, 2 Vols. | $0.75 | Four Sons |
| Home on the Plains | $1.00 | Four Sons |
| Military Biography | $1.00 | Four Sons |
| Memoir of Benson | $0.50 | Four Sons |
| 2 Geography Books @ | $0.25 | Four Sons |
| Portrait of St. Paul | $0.50 | Four Sons |
| 2 Grammar Books @ | $0.25 | Four Sons |
| 3 Arithmetic Books @ | $0.25 | Four Sons |
| 2 of Fletcher's Works @ | $0.37 | Four Sons |
| Wesley's Life and Journal | $0.50 | Four Sons |
| 3 numbers, Walsh | $0.25 | Four Sons |
| 15 Other Old Books @ | $0.13 | Four Sons |
| 5a. BEDROOM (Appraisal only) | PRICE | INHERITOR |
| 1 Bed & Furniture | $35.00 | Caroline Cook (Daught.) |
| 1 Bed & Furniture | $30.00 | Rachel Cook (Wife) |
| 5b. BEDROOM ITEMS | PRICE | BUYER |
| 1 Feather Bed | $7.93 | A.C. Humphreys |
| 1 Bed & Furniture | $7.40 | George Walters |
| 1 Bed & Furniture | $6.50 | Robert Scags |
| 1 Double Cover Lid (Coverlet) | $2.35 | John Miller |
| 1 Bureau, Old | $4.25 | George Walters |
| 1 Small Bureau | $1.50 | John Maddy |
| 1 Chest | $1.00 | Sally Cook |
| 1 Small Table | $0.41 | George Walters |
| 6. SPINNING & WEAVING | PRICE | BUYER |
| 1 Spinning Wheel | $0.25 | George Walters |
| 1 Flax Wheel | $0.40 | John & Armstead Ross |
| 1 Flax Wheel | $0.40 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Flax Hackel | $0.90 | Jacob Piles |
| 1 Reel | $0.19 | James Johnson |
| 1 Weavers Reed | $0.87 | Charles Maddy |
| 1 Weavers Reed | $0.50 | Meredith Upton |
| 1 Weavers Reed | $0.40 | Meredith Upton |
| 1 Weavers Reed | $0.38 | Joshua Lowe |
| 1 Loom & Tacklings | $5.25 | David Hinton |
| 1 Smoothing Iron | $0.39 | R.B. Cook |
| 7. TOOLS | PRICE | BUYER |
| 1 Axe | $1.01 | Meredith Upton |
| 1 Broad Axe | $0.62 | R.B. Cook |
| 2 Axes @ | $0.10 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Axe, Old | $0.25 | Thomas McCarty |
| 1 Iron Wedge | $0.31 | John & Armstead Ross |
| 1 Iron Wedge | $0.37 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Crosscut Saw | $0.61 | Thomas McCarty |
| 1 Hand Saw | $0.38 | William Allen |
| 1 Mason Hammer, Old Irons | $1.00 | Robert Shanklin |
| 2 Dogs, Crowbar, Clasps, etc. | $2.50 | Jacob A. Cook |
| 2 Large Augers @ | $0.31 | Adison Scaggs |
| 1 Grind Stone | $0.15 | John & Armstead Ross |
| 1 Square | $0.32 | Jacob A. Cook |
| 1 Tar Can | $0.06 | F.F. Neel |
| 8. FARM IMPLEMENTS | PRICE | BUYER |
| 1 Bull Tongue Plow | $0.26 | John & Armstead Ross |
| 1 McCormick Plow | $3.06 | John Hinton |
| 1 Shovel Plow | $0.10 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Iron Harrow | $4.31 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Patent Plow | $1.91 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Mowing Scythe | $0.12 | A.D. Shanklin |
| 2 Sickles @ | $0.14 | James Sullivan |
| 1 Mowing Scythe | $0.50 | John Miller |
| 2 Scythes, 2 Hames & Bands @ | $0.15 | Samuel Miller |
| 1 Mattock | $1.00 | John Hinton |
| 2 Hoes @ | $0.13 | John Miller |
| 1 Shovel | $0.25 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Pair Sheep Shears | $0.50 | Richard Thomas |
| 1 Old Sack Chain | $0.35 | John Thomas |
| 1 Wheat Fan | $8.50 | James Johnson |
| 1 Feed Trough | $1.50 | John & Armstead Ross |
| 1 Cutting Box | $0.62 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Wheat Fan | $8.50 | James Johnson |
| 1 Rifle Gun, by Lewis | $7.05 | R.B. Cook |
| 9. FARM PRODUCE | PRICE | BUYER |
| 21 Lbs. Wool @ | $0.31 | Charles Miller |
| 10 Lbs. Wool @ | $0.30 | William Mann |
| 1 Sheep Skin | $0.50 | John Keatly |
| 6.75 Lbs. of Sole Leather @ | $0.45 | William Mann |
| 100 Bushels of Corn @ | $0.30 | A.C. Humphreys |
| 1 Field of Corn, 50 Bushels @ | $0.21 | Ward Cook |
| 33 Bushels of Corn @ | $0.30 | R.B. Cook |
| 116 Dozen Sheaves Rye @ | $0.40 | R.B. Cook |
| 20 Doz. of Rye @ | $0.13 | F.F. Neel |
| 10 Doz. Sheaves Oats, Wheat @ | $0.20 | Thomas McCarty |
| 3 1/2 Acres of Meadow @ | $0.56 | A.C. Humphreys |
| 3 Acres of Meadow @ | $1.30 | Ward Cook |
| 1.5 Acres of Meadow @ | $0.60 | R.B. Cook |
| 10. FARM ANIMALS | PRICE | BUYER |
| 21 Head 3 Year Old Steers @ | $9.00 | Barnabas Johnson |
| 8 Head 2 Year Old Steers @ | $5.14 | Anderson Pack |
| 6 Yearling Steers @ | $4.06 | John Hinton |
| 5 Head Steers in the Woods @ | $7.40 | Anderson Pack |
| 5 Head Calves @ | $2.17 | Andrew A. Scags |
| 1 Cow | $8.00 | Cantervill Hargo (?) |
| 1 Cow | $7.12 | Garner Calloway |
| 1 Cow | $6.10 | Henderson Shanklin |
| 1 Cow | $7.10 | James Gwinn |
| 1 Milk Cow | $6.75 | John Hinton |
| 1 White Face Cow | $4.00 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 White Cow | $3.00 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Cow | $7.85 | Smithen Holden |
| 1 Bull | $4.50 | Eben Willey |
| 1 Small Heifer | $2.25 | R.B. Cook |
| 10 Head of 1st Choice Sheep @ | $0.76 | R.B. Cook |
| 10 Head of Sheep @ | $0.52 | John Hinton |
| 10 Head of Sheep @ | $0.45 | William Allen |
| 13 Head of Sheep @ | $0.43 | John Hinton |
| 10 Head of Large Hogs @ | $3.15 | John Hinton |
| 3 Head of Hogs @ | $1.29 | Andrew A. Scags |
| 2 Head of Fat Hogs @ | $1.56 | R.B. Cook |
| 2 Sow & Pigs @ | $0.58 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Sow & 5 Pigs | $1.56 | William Allen |
| 10 Geese @ | $0.10 | Charles Maddy |
| 10 Geese @ | $0.09 | William Mann |
| 1 Bee Hive | $1.05 | Robert D. Humphreys |
| 1 Bee Hive | $1.55 | William Mann |
| 1 Gray Horse, Charles | $38.50 | John Keatly |
| 1 Gray Horse, Jef | $37.00 | John H. Walker |
| 1 Bay Horse, John | $28.30 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Black Mare, Polly | $24.00 | John Keatly |
| 11. HARNESS, WAGONS, etc. | PRICE | BUYER |
| 1 Man's Saddle | $3.25 | Jacob A. Cook |
| 1 Side Saddle, by Mother | $0.50 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Pair Stirrups | $0.31 | Richard Thomas |
| 1 Singletree & Backbands | $0.31 | John & Armstead Ross |
| 1 Pair of Hip Straps | $0.38 | King Thompson |
| 1 Clevis | $0.06 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Pair of Stretchers | $1.00 | R.B. Cook |
| 1 Fifth Chain (?) | $1.75 | James Sullivan |
| 1 Bell & Collar | $0.31 | George McCoy |
| 1 Pair of Gear | $1.60 | George McCoy |
| 2 Pair of Hind Gear @ | $2.06 | John & Armstead Ross |
| 1 Large Wagon, 4 Horse | $40.00 | John & Armstead Ross |
| 1 Small Wagon | $32.50 | Barnabas Johnson |
| 4 Wagon Boxes @ | $0.03 | Henry Peighn (Payne ?) |
| 12. PROPERTY (Appraisal only) | PRICE | INHERITOR |
| 136 Acres @ | $14.00 | Riley B. Cook (Son) |
| Farm House & Buildings | $600.00 | Riley B. Cook |
| 55 Acres @ | $7.00 | Jacob A. Cook (Son) |
| Mill & (?) Millhouse | $385.00 | Jacob A. Cook |
| 126 Acres @ | $14.00 | Lewis G. Cook (Son) |
| 41 Acres @ | $7.00 | Ward Cook (Son) |
Thanks are due to Donnie Evans and the helpful staff in the County Clerk's office. Also, Jim Costa helped to interpret the lists. Watchman readers are again asked for copies of any documents relating to Cook's Old Mill, including 20th century materials.
Published in the Monroe Watchman, March 8 & 15, 2007