I spent some more quality time with probate records this morning checking for the libraries of the Connecticut and New Hampshire Signers of the Declaration of Independence. Here's what I found:
Connecticut
- William Williams (Windham District Probate, 1811). No mention of books.
- Samuel Huntington (Norwich District Probate; Will dated 28 June 1794; Inventory dated 5 February 1796). Wills to his nephew Samuel "my library." Inventory contains listings for "5 Geographical Maps" - value £1; "Library" - value £120.
- Oliver Wolcott. No probate file recorded, so a few more stones to turn over for him.
- Roger Sherman (New Haven District Probate; Inventory dated 16 September 1793). Devotes almost two full pages to books, so this one will get the full LEA treatment soon.
New Hampshire
- Matthew Thornton (Hillsborough County Probate; Inventory dated 27 July 1803). Inventory lists "A number of books," valued at $20 (total value of inventory $12,269.57).
- William Whipple (Rockingham County Probate; Inventory dated 15 November 1786). Total inventory value £928/9/6. No mention of books.
- Josiah Bartlett (Rockingham County Probate; Will dated 25 February 1795). In his will, Bartlett writes "My printed books on law Physick & Surgery I give to my son Ezra, all my other printed books I order to be equally divided among all my Children that shall be living at my decease."
I definitely want to do a little more work on Wolcott and Bartlett to see if we can't suss out any more about their libraries, and I've got lots of work now to do on Sherman. Any further advices or thoughts (on any of these or others) are always appreciated, of course!
