On April 26, 1820, men appointed by the Newcastle County court of probate entered the Wilmington townhouse of the late Dr. Henry Latimer. They climbed the stairs to the “garret floor” and began to list the possessions they found for the “Inventory of Household Goods, Live Stock, Farming Utensils etc. etc.” required by the law.
Not everything inside 123 Market Street was listed. For example, Ann Richardson Latimer, Henry’s wife, did not have to include her jewelry, heirlooms from her family, and other close personal possessions in the inventory, and many small items were probably passed over, too. Still, the document provides a highly detailed picture of a house, and a way of life, that is no longer with us.
We spent fall semester, 2006, studying this document, which is now in the Winterthur Museum, using it as the starting point to reconstruct the lives of Dr. and Mrs. Henry Latimer. Many questions remain unanswered, but this web site summarizes our research.
Click on the images below to see the 3 pages of the probate inventory.
