Description:Wills and their accompanying inventories of goods and chattels are an excellent source of information for family, social and economic history. A will can provide all kinds of useful information about family relationships and the social and economic status of the testator, that is the person making the will. However, sometimes a person died without making a will (intestate). In this case letters of administration had to be granted to enable the goods of the deceased to be valued and apportioned. This is what happened here in the case of John Baylis of Enville.
Before 1750, an itemised inventory of the goods of the deceased was drawn up by between two and five unbiased persons called appraisors, overseers or supervisors. The inventory includes all the moveable goods, including where appropriate household goods, clothing, stock-in-trade, farm stock, growing and cut corn, loose money and any rent and debts due but it does not include land.
Copyright: Lichfield Record Office, B/C/11 1649 Baylis, John
Reproduced by courtesy of the Lichfield Diocesan Registrar.
The full transcript of the Letters of Administration and inventory is available to download, click on the file downloads link below