“Counterpains,” “dimajohns” and a judge?
So The Legal Genealogist was poking around in old records again last night, trying to feel better about the fact that the law school class I teach was scheduled at the same time as The Genealogy Road Show so I was going to have to wait to see it.
And ran right into a conundrum.
The document I was looking at was an inventory dated 13 February 1879 of the personal effects of Susan Armstrong, deceased, in Robertson County, Tennessee.1 She was likely the woman shown on the 1870 census as age 68, living in the household of Joe Armstrong in Robertson County.2
The inventory — described as a “Report of Sail” — listed all of the items of personal property that the deceased woman had owned and that her administrator, William Armstrong, had sold.
In the report, the administrator told the court that he had sold beds and bed clothes and tables and chairs and candle stands and a clock. And once you figure out some of his spelling, you know that he sold a coverlet (“cover lead”), blankets (which he spelled with at least two Ts and sometimes more), a bed spread (“spred”), a shovel (“shovell”), a calf (“calef”), fodder (“foder”) and five barrels of corn (“coarn”).
And then there are the things that leave you scratching your head.
As a 21st century suburbanite, I confess that I had no clue what was being sold that the administrator alternately spelled as “counterpain” and “counterpane.” Turns out that a counterpane is a particular type of bedspread, the word literally meaning an embroidered quilt.3
And it took me a while to figure out, first, that a “dimajohn” is really a “demijohn” — and then to figure out that it’s “a large narrow-necked bottle usually enclosed in wickerwork.”4
But I’m still stumped with one.
On the first page of the four-page inventory is one of the least expensive items that sold in the sale. Only a pair of buckets and a candle stick or two sold for less. It went for the grand sum of 15 cents. And I have absolutely no idea what it was.
Here’s the entry, with the arrow:
The first thing we do, as genealogists, when we come across a word like this is ensure that we’re reading it right. Here, there doesn’t seem to me to be much question that the word is “Judge.” It’s easy to see, comparing the word to the names on the left, that the first letter is a capital J. The very distinctive curlicue at the top of the letter matches the J of Josephus and is very distinct from the F of F S Briggs.
The administrator always carefully put a dot over a letter i in a word, so the letter following the J isn’t an i. Looking at the word “quilt” written below, it’s likely a u.
So here’s one for you, dear readers: could a Tennessee administrator in 1879 who wasn’t the world’s best speller have possibly meant “jug”? And, if that’s not what he meant, then what in the world — or in 1879 Robertson County, Tennessee — was a 15-cent “judge”?
SOURCES
- Robertson County, Tennessee, County Court, “Report of Sail of the 13th of Feb. 1879,” Estate of Susan Armstrong (1879); Robertson County Archives, Springfield, Tennessee; digital images, “Tennessee, Probate Court Files, 1795-1927,” FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 23 Sep 2013). ↩
- 1870 U.S. census, Robertson County, Tennessee, population schedule, p. 188(B) (stamped), dwelling 56, family 56, Susan Armstrong; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 Sep 2013); citing National Archive microfilm publication M593, roll 1556; imaged from FHL microfilm 553055. ↩
- Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (http://www.m-w.com : accessed 23 Sep 2013), “counterpane.” ↩
- Ibid., “demijohn.” ↩
My first thought (before I even got to the end of the post) was “Jug”. Is it among other kitchen things?
Nope, that would have been too easy a clue! The items above this were chairs, then below it the demijohn and then many items of bedding (quilts and the like). Perhaps it was a jug the deceased kept at her bedside?
Or under her bed….? How might a chamber pot be described in an inventory?
Usually as a chamber pot — but there wasn’t one on this inventory. Several pans, but no pots.
Thinking about it, a demijohn doesn’t belong on the bedroom either.
The list isn’t really all that organized in terms of bedroom versus kitchen versus other areas.
So the placement near bedroom items doesn’t mean it was in the bedroom, which suggests Jug more strongly.
One other thought another reader had was a mallet, like the gavel an auctioneer or judge would use, to ask for attention if she was bedridden.
I suspect that this is a “JUG”; a small pitcher.
I suspect you’re right, Charlie — but need to eliminate other options.
A doosie for sure. “Jug” seems like a good alternate given the spelling woes. On the other hand, it just feels like too complicated a misspelling for such basic word. Pondering…
That’s my issue, too, Rorey — why the “dge” letter combination in a really simple word?
Could it be a measuring device: used to ‘judge’ size or volume?
Possible, but that’s not a use I’ve ever seen. Anyone know?
I think “jug” is probably correct. I’m envisioning the fellow writing down all the minutia of the estate and mentally swearing at the judge for requiring it. The judge was on his mind, so that’s what he wrote.
That’s not a bad thought, Linda! I know I do that occasionally — write what I’m thinking, not what the word really was.
From the book A Dictionary of the Norman or Old French Language….edited by Robert Kelham, page 130, there is an entry for the word Juge – a yoke.
This entry could be for an oxen’s yoke.
I’d have to say not likely, Sandi, though I love the word — juge is a new one to me! The reason I’d vote for not likely is that there is one piece of harness in the inventory and it was valued at $5.00, compared to the 15 cents for this item.
No archaic words or tools found similar to this. Are you sure about the third letter being a d? I don’t know as it helps any to have it be a different letter/s though. A real stumper. Have you looked at the guy who bought it to see if there are any clues there? Did he buy anything else?
I’m not 100% sure that the letter is a D, but it most closely matches it in other words and it really doesn’t look like any other letter. He also bought a shovel and a quilt. Not exactly any real guidance there, is there?
I should have said no archaic words or tools THAT I FOUND…my lists are mostly northeast.
Fair enough! Another reader and friend says the word was once used for a fishing lure.
Ooh! I like that…it could be worth 15 cents
Not sure — there wasn’t any other fishing gear in the estate.
I’ve heard that some judges can be bought, and $.15 is a pretty good deal.
“I cannot be bought… but I can be rented…”?
Jug is probably most logical, but for some reason before I saw the reference to Jug I wondered if it might have been “gauge” I can almost hear someone saying “guadge” with a southern accent.
I can almost hear it as well… but I can’t figure out what Susan Armstrong, owner of some beds, some bedclothes, a table, chairs and a few farm animals would be doing with one!
The OED lists two possibly useful definitions for judge both with citations from the late 1800s.
1) an artificial fly (Angling)
2) a stick used for measuring the depth of a hole (mining)
Thanks, John! Not sure either of those really fits with this decedent or this estate but wow — what neat meanings for the word.
First, I apologize, this is a long post but I found this on the internet when doing a search for “FS Briggs Tennessee”, here is the site: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tnsumner/facwhite.htm:
“Mary J. Mollie White had married Francis S. “Frank” Briggs in 1860 and they were living beside Charles. Frank Briggs was the brother of William D. White’s wife Mary. William D. White and his family were enumerated in Robertson County, Tennessee, District 2.”
Maybe that FS Briggs was Frank S. Briggs who lived in the same county. I further found:
“Mary J. “Molly” White (daughter of Charles White and Elizabeth Peak) was born in Sumner County, Tennessee, abt. 1841. She married Francis S. Briggs in Sumner County, Tennessee, 18 September 1860. Sources: U.S. Census data. “Sumner County Tennessee Marriages 1839-1875”, page 15. Marriage bond, Sumner County, Tennessee, 18 September 1860, signed by F. S. Briggs and A.H. Brinkley. Marriage License, Sumner County, Tennessee, 18 September 1860, for Francis S. Briggs and Mary J. White. Married by Richard Pond, J.P. and signed by John L. Bugg, clerk.
Frank was born in North Carolina abt. 1835. Frank was the son of Henry Briggs and Elizabeth. Sources: 1870 Census, Robertson County, Tennessee, 11th Civil District, sheet 8, line 21, family 54. 1880 Census, Robertson County, Tennessee, 11th Civil District, E.D. 185, sheet 16, line 14, dwelling 9.
Frank and Mollie moved to Nashville, Tennessee. The 1899 Nashville City Directory lists Frank S. Briggs at 1024 Belleville. James Briggs, a paperhanger and Miss Jennie Briggs, no occupation fisted also live at that address. Othiso Brigg, working as a cigar maker at 321 N. Cherry, also lives at 1024 Belleville and may be another son. The 1900 Nashville City Directory lists Frank S. Briggs at 604 Madison. George and Jesse Briggs are listed living on Madison and work as bartenders at 235 N. Cherry. John F. Briggs is a carpenter and lives at 102 « Monroe. Othie Briggs, prescriptionist, lives at 604 Madison and may be another son.”
And:
“Mary White’s brother, Francis S. Briggs, who listed his occupation as pedler, was living with them.”
So maybe this FS Briggs was a peddler who sold household items including the jug (which was misspelled)? Maybe they called it a FS Briggs jug because they didn’t know what else to call it and maybe FS Briggs was well known in the area?
The info on the left was just the name of the buyer, Mary, and not any part of the identification of the item. Sorry if I didn’t make that clear. So what’s being shown is “1 Judge” bought by F.S. Briggs. But the fact that he may have been a peddler could explain why he bought things that don’t seem to fit together! Thanks for the research!
Judy,
I would agree that the most “obvious” solution would appear to be “jug”, if only from the frequency with words are misspelled throughout the document. That said, I seem to recall having seen the word “jig”, presumably referencing what would more properly be called a “jigger”, in order books in Virginia from the colonial period where the court was setting the rates that taverns could charge for alcoholic beverages, thus I believe “judge” is a colloquial misspelling of “jigger”, especially if it were used to measure “medicine” poured from the demijohn.
That’s certainly a possibility, Michael. Thanks!
My first thought was that William Armstrong was preoccupied with the legality of his actions and may have written the word “Judge” thinking of the possibility he may have to appear before one! I haven’t figured out what “Judge” could be interpreted other than what it says literally. But I did discover in the 1860 census that F. S. Briggs was a pedler (sic) who may have still been occupied as such in 1879. And that may have been the motivation to attend an estate sale. But “Judge”? Other than some colloquial equivalent of some type of equipment, who knows?? Another genealogical mystery!
Briggs’ peddler status might well explain why he bought seemingly unrelated items, Dave — and you’re not alone in thinking that maybe William was thinking about the judge when he wrote the word down.
OK, I’m out on a limb here. Judge is a maker of baking supplies like measuring spoons and pans and what not in New Zealand. Now I don’t think that this is a product of that company. Time and place are wrong. But it is not a stretch of the imagination that someone might call a measuring spoon or a measuring cup a “judge” as it would help you judge how much of something you needed to use. And price sounds about right. And it would probably be found in the estate of a woman. It might just be something typical of that area.
That puts you in the group with Michael Pollock, suggesting perhaps a measure (of medicine from the demijohn, maybe).
Was she perhaps a widow? And if so maybe her husband’s will might give a clue if it listed the items his wife was to have after he died.
She likely was a widow, Nancy — she was living with what looks like a son in the 1870 census. Her husband’s estate might give clues, but it would be at least nine years earlier.
True it would be at least nine years, however many kitchen items and furniture lasted a lifetime back then. Based on the rest of the list the family wasn’t wealthy so an item might have been kept a long time. The person studying this family probably has his will anyway(provided there was a will) making it a quick comparison for anything that looked like, or sounded like, ‘Judge’ or jug. It wouldn’t prove anything one way or another just a place to look for a clue.
Good thinking, since anything could be THE clue needed!
Could it rather be a balanced small weights type weighing scale?
Certainly possible — some sort of measure makes sense.
I’m going to join the “jug” contingent. Note that if the g in “jug” were soft rather than hard, the word “jug” would be pronounced…”judge”!
I still think it’s the most likely, Dick, but it’d sure be nice if anyone knew about pronunciations in Tennessee in the 1870s!
OK, here is one the comes from left field (or somewhere like that).
Given the loose spelling and the possible southern accent influencing free form spelling of items in this inventory, AND since a “g” can have a hard “j” sound as in Geoff, gentle, general or other words, AND since it appears some of the inventory items like fodder, calf, barrels of corn and the buckets (as well as your mention of an expensive harness)indicate a farm and animal husbandry — how about a “goad?” A goad is a traditional farm implement that was really just a kind of long stick with a pointed end used to spur or guide lifestock — it is better known as a cattle prod. See, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goad in which there is coincidentally a reference to Judges 3:31 in the bible, “Shamgar son of Anath killed six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad.”
Seems also that a simple pointed stick could go for 15 cents too.
Not impossible, John, but most of the spelling were at least reasonably close to being phonetic. I’d expect a goad to be spelled “gode,” perhaps, or “good,” or even “gud,” but “judge” seems a bit of a stretch. Not to mention expensive at 15 whole cents!
Judy,
I was looking on FamilySearch in the “North Carolina, Probate Records, 1735-1970”, Moore County, Wills, Bonds, Inventories, 1783-1818. On image 201 of 221, there is another judg (minus the e). In the Administrator Cross Index this inventory is not dated, nor is it on the inventory. The book supposedly only goes to 1818 – so about 60 years earlier than the one you found, they were owning judg(e)s also! If you ever find the answer to this mystery, please post it!
Judy,
Since I tried again to sleep and it was out of the question – I went back to looking thru the collection I commented about before for my family names and started reading all the inventories. In that group, from image number 174 to 201, in almost every inventory the person owned from one to three judg or judges. They were grouped with anything from bibles to gin. I saw gallon jugs, a jug of wine, and a jug spelled jugg. Instead of going from 201 down to 174, I wish I had went the other way, because on image 175 on the right side of the page may be the answer. There is a judg of (not sure what the word is) and a judg of fat.
It looks like judg/judge may be jug after all. I was in the camp that a such a simple word would not be said or spelled that way. What do you think?
I think first that you need some sleep — but that I’m awfully glad you did what you did in your insomnia period. I’m voting for jug, for sure.