About a month ago, I shared family sketches of the Ransone Family who settled early in Virginia.

There is scarce, and sometimes conflicting, information found online for Flemstead Ransone, one of my husband’s direct ancestors. Part of the reason for that is because Flemstead owned land in more than one Virginia county, but lived in Buckingham County, which is a severely burned county with few surviving records.

I happened across an article in The Magazine of Virginia Genealogy written by Susan B. Chiarello and published in the February 2015 issue. It took some doing to find a copy of that issue, but I succeeded!

The notes in the article state that Flemstead’s will was part of the documents in Hopkirk vs. Ransome, heard by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court and, thus, a copy of his will, thankfully not housed in the Buckingham County courthouse, survives today.

Because the article is copyrighted, suffice it to say that Flemstead only named the four children who I believe were the youngest of his probable eight children – sons J.F. (John F.), William and daughters Elizabeth and Lucy. Flemstead also mentions “my beloved wife,” but neglects to name her.

I don’t know if the fact that Flemstead only left bequests to his younger children means that he had two sets of children by two wives or just that the elder children had already received their portions when they married. Elizabeth and Lucy were apparently unmarried when their father died in 1796.

However, Ms. Chiarello also mentioned that Flemstead’s ESTATE INVENTORY was also among the archived court papers held by The Library of Virginia (U.S. Circuit Court, 5th Circuit, Virginia District, Ended Cases, Box 77, BC 7420984, Hopkirk vs. Ransome,  Federal Records Collection, Archives and Manuscripts, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia).  Getting copies of the inventory took yet a bit more doing, but again, I was successful.

As far as I know, Flemstead Ransone’s inventory has never been published and isn’t under any copyright restriction, so here it is. Money is (Pounds) £. shillings.pence :

Inventory of F. Ransone’s Estate (a Copy)

17th September 1796 agreeable to an order from the Worshipful Court of Buckingham was sworn before us Archibald Wright Zadock Lackland & Robert Self to appraise the Estate of Flamstead Ransom.
Antho. Winston

Slaves
Gib a £90 Hannah a £60 Jesse a £65   = £215.0.0
Ned a £90 Bob a £90 Leare a £25 =         £205.0.0
[Total] £415.0.0
Toney, £40.0.0
[Total]  £460.0.0
a parcel of hilling & weeding hoes, £1.4.0
6 plough hoes 24/ four axes 20, £2.4.0
3 wedges (Frou & Colter?), 0.12.0
1 Cross Cut saw & Currying knife, £1.4.0?
1 handsaw & a parcel of (?), 0.15.0
1 old spade & parsel of (Reap?) Hooks, 0.17/6.0
1 Plane (Lone?) jointer, 0.9.6
1 pr (steelyand?) 0.15.0
Parcel rum (hhd?), 2.3.0
2 barrels, 0.8.0
1 ditto, 0.1.0
Parcel of batter potts, 0.9.0 £12/0
Parcel of old (carks?), 0.12.0
wheat (size?) & 1/2 bushel, 0.9.0
2 old saddles & 2 pr. (?) 0.13.6
1 bell & hammer 0.3.0
1 pr iron traces, 0.9.0
3 scythes & Cradles, 0.12.0
P. Cart wheels & 1 yoke steers, £15.10.0
[total] £491.2.0

Brought over, £491.2.0
18 head cattle, 42.0.0
10 head sheep, 4.0.0
1 bay mare, 30.0.0
2 horses, 25.0.0
1 lamb, 1.10.0
Parcel of water vessels, 0.12.0
Parcel of cartings, 2.10.0
Kitchen furniture, 0.15.0
Bramble scythe & irons, 0.6.0
Two brass candlesticks & 2 moulds, 0.13.0
Parcel of pewter, 4.7.0
1 coffee pott, 0.4.0
1 chaffin Dish, 0.4.0
Pr flat irons, 0.12.0
1 hatchet, 1.4.0
Parcel of Books, 0.5.0
1 water pitcher, 0.6.0
1 smoothe board gun, 1.4.0
6 bottles, 0.4.0
Parcel glassware, 0.10.0
Parcel crockery ware & pewter tea pott, 0.14.0
Pepper mill 2/6 sheep shears 1/6, 0.4.0
4 tables £3.8.0 1 Desk £5, 8.8.0
11 Chairs £1.4/ parcel spinning wheels & real £1/10/, 2.14.0
2 p fire(?) 20/ 2 old (Slays??) 2/, 1.2.0
1 Cookery glass 12/ Sundries 4/., 0.16.0
4 Beds & furniture, 36.0.0
2 trunks & (?), 1.10.0
1 (Stile?), 30.0.0
12 hogs, 10.16.0
[Total] £699.18.6

Zadock Lackland
Robbin (his X mark) Self
Archd. Wright

at a court held for Buckingham county the 14th day of November 1796

This Inventory & appraisement of the
Estate of Flamstead Ransone decd was
returned and ordered to be recordede
Teste Rolfe Eldridge Clk

Copy Test Rolfe Eldridge Clk

Due to the lucky happenstance (maybe not to Flemstead’s heirs who lost the lawsuit) of Flemstead’s family being sued for monies owed to British merchants after the American Revolution, both the 1796 will and inventory of Flemstead Ransone exist even though they were originally recorded in Buckingham County, Virginia, which lost almost all its records in a courthouse fire in the 1860s.