Accounts
Format (continued)
Example: the Account of Robert Thorneton
The probate account of the estate of the intestate Robert Thorneton of Durham City exemplifies these typical characteristics.
3. The Preamble
The preamble states the accountant's name, address, status and role as the administrator, and then the name, address and occupation of the deceased.
| A Declarac[i]on of the Accompt of David Dixon of the Citty of Durham Gent[leman] Ad[ministra]tor of all & singular the goods and Chattells w[hi]ch late were and did belong unto Robert Thorneton Clerke late of the Citty of Durham dec[ease]d made upon the Ad[ministrat]ion of ye s[ai]d dec[ease]ds goods as followeth vi[delice]t |
4. The Charge
Then immediately follows the charge of £20 6s 6d, and which accords with the surviving inventory appraised on 1 September 1692 but not exhibited in the court until 20 July 1694.4
| Impr[imi]s the said Accomptant by way of accompt doth charge himself with all & singular ye goods & Chattells of the said deceased, comprized in an Inventory here of made duely apprized & Exhibitted into this Worship[fu]ll Court amounting unto the sum[m]e of |
 20 li 06 s 6 d |
5. The Discharge
The discharge follows, beginning with the court's own charges for issuing letters of administration to the accountant, probably in July 1692.5
| Out of w[hi]ch he craveth allowance as followeth vi[delice]t |
||
| Impr[imi]s paid by this Accomptant for lett[e]rs of Ad[ministrant]ion & oth[e]r Charges about the same ye sum[m]e of |
00 li 19 s 06 d |
The discharge continues with a £50 bond debt dating from 1683 and owed to Thomas Comber, Dean of Durham, and the sum of £1 6s 8d that the accountant Dixon reclaims for the cost of having the account itself drawn up together with the associated court fees for its exhibition and admittance.
The discharge is then tallied. This and the next sentence are often in Latin, even when the rest of the document is in English - a legacy of the antiquity and conventionality of the probate account as a standard legal form. English did not become the official language of documents until 1733.6
| Sum[m]a total[is] sic solute[e] p[er] d[i]c[t]um Computantem et ei allocare petit est |
52 li 6 s 2 d |
|
| [The entire total thus disbursed by the said accountant and [which] it is requested to be allowed to him] |
Notes
4 The inventory also records that Robert Thorneton had been the rector of Boldon parish in County Durham.
5 The Probate Acts do not survive for this date, however the bond is dated 26 July 1692.
6 Pubic Act, 4 Geo. II, c. 26: Courts of Justice Act, 1731.
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