The Estate of Christopher Cranston (1858)
Probate Court, Urbana, Champaign County, Ohio — Final Record of Estates, Book No. 1, p. 560
Transcription of the manuscript probate record, 1858–1862 (settled 1862; certified 1898)
Record of Administration
Christopher Cranston’s Estate.
Be it remembered that on the 15th day of Nov. A.D. 1858, In the Probate Court of Champaign County Ohio, On motion the Court duly appointed Charles E. Cranston Administrator on the Estate of Christopher Cranston, late of Champaign County, deceased, and Charles Lincoln, John McDonald and Eliphaz Burnham appraisers of the Personal property of said Estate.
Ordered that said Administrator give bond in the sum of Ten thousand Dollars, conditioned according to law, with John B. Cranston and Edwards Cranston, as his sureties: and thereupon the said Charles E. Cranston in open Court accepted said appointment, gave bond accordingly and received from the Court, Letters of Administration on said Estate.
And afterwards to-wit on the 24th day of Feby. A.D. 1861, said Administrator filed in said Court for settlement his account and vouchers, as follows:
The Estate of Christopher Cranston, deceased.
In account with Charles E. Cranston, Administrator. Dr.
To Costers and Expenses of administration as per Schedule (A.)$346.99
Cash paid sundry creditors of the deceased (B.)1082.86½
Loss on debts charged in the inventory as due the estate, as per Schedule “C”174.59
Ballance due the Estate for distribution6866.01¼
$8470.45⅝
Schedule (A.)
Statement of the costs and expenses of administration on the estate of Christopher Cranston, decᵈ. made a part of the account rendered.
| Item | Amount | |
| Clerk of Court for letters, &c. — per receipt No. 1 | $3.06 | |
| Publication of appointment — No. 2 | 1.25 | |
| Appraisers fees — No. 3 | 6.00 | |
| Notice of Sale & Bills — No. 4 | 6.50 | |
| Auctioneer’s — No. 5 | 20.00 | |
| Clerk of Sale — No. 6 | 2.50 | |
| Filing Inventory & Sale Bill — No. 7 | 3.97 | |
| Admis’s per centage allowed | 300.31 | |
| Judges fee on this Settlement — No. 8 | 3.40 | |
| Total | $346.99 |
Schedule (B.)
Statement of amount &c. paid sundry creditors of the estate of Christopher Cranston, deceased, by Charles E. Cranston, the administrator, and made a part of his account rendered.
| Date & payee | Amount | |
| 1858. Nov. 13 — F. J. M. Morris — per receipt No. 1 | 5.00 | |
| Nov. 22 — C. F. Waite — No. 2 | 5.00 | |
| 1859. Jan. 1 — Charles E. Cranston’s note — No. 3 | 21.00 | |
| Jan. 24 — Mosgrove Jaffe & Mosgrove — No. 4 | 10.00 | |
| Jan. 28 — Jesse M. Brock — No. 5 | 10.00 | |
| Jan. 28 — John M. Butcher — No. 6 | 10.00 | |
| Feb. 12 — Charles E. Cranston’s note — No. 7 | 178.33 | |
| May 25 — Tax — No. 8 | 41.33 | |
| Aug. 12 — Hamiltons & Lincoln’s account — No. 9 | 5.00 | |
| Aug. 12 — Stephen Cranston — No. 10 | 8.32 | |
| Aug. 17 — S. E. Donehoe — No. 11 | 7.15 | |
| Aug. 20 — John B. Cranston — No. 12 | 8.32 | |
| Aug. 23 — Edwards Cranston — No. 13 | 8.32 | |
| Sept. 15 — Mary L. Cranston’s note — No. 14 | 35.50 | |
| Oct. 1 — Charles E. Cranston’s note — No. 15 | 42.00 | |
| 1859. Oct. 22 — Benjamin Overfield’s account — No. 16 | 175.32 | |
| Nov. 19 — Tax — No. 17 | 84.07½ | |
| 1860. Jan. 8 — Charles Lincoln — No. 18 | 8.10 | |
| Jan. 24 — O. E. Spain’s account — No. 19 | 78.05 | |
| Feb. 3 — Mary L. Cranston’s account — No. 20 | 124.85 | |
| May 22 — Tax — No. 21 | 73.18 | |
| Dec. 5 — Tax — No. 22 | 66.46⅞ | |
| 1861. Feb. 20 — Guardian of Janette Spain — No. 23 | 82.55 | |
| Total | $1082.86½ |
Schedule “C”
Statement showing the amount received by Charles E. Cranston administrator, from debts due the estate of Christopher Cranston, deceased, and made a part of the administration account rendered.
| Name of debtor | When received | Amount |
| William Glendening | Nov. 20, 1858 | $54.05 |
| Jacob Elsworth | Dec. 1 | 10.80 |
| H. A. Walk | Feb. 2, 1859 | 7.63 |
| Joel Burroughs | Feb. 10, 1859 | 103.00 |
| Samuel Overfield | March 7, 1859 | 54.50 |
| Isaac Childe | March 17, 1859 | 36.20 |
| Rhoda Gunn | March 27, 1859 | 63.00 |
| John B. Cranston | Apl. 16, 1859 | 8.00 |
| C. Meacham | Apl. 16, 1859 | 8.00 |
| Samuel Tyler & S. K. Reed | May 28, 1859 | 780.68 |
| George Davis | June 27, 1859 | 27.37 |
| Ozial Lapham | July 15, 1859 | 214.15 |
| Daniel Griffin | Aug. 1, 1859 | 41.60 |
| B. D. Hackley | Aug. 16, 1859 | 5.75 |
| S. E. Donehoe | Aug. 27, 1859 | 17.45 |
| Joel Aation | Oct. 24, 1859 | 5.00 |
Schedule “C” Continued
Statement of the situation of all debts charged in the inventory as due the estate which have not been collected. = Fourteen Items =
Amount of Debt Val. appraisement
Amount of Debt$203.51
Val. appraisement$182.59
Collected8.00
Lost$174.59
Receipt of Heirs & Final Settlement
Feb. 20th A.D. 1861. This is to certify that we the undersigned heirs of Christopher Cranston, deceased, have received from Charles E. Cranston, administrator of the estate of said Christopher Cranston, Seven Thousand and Forty-four Dollars, as follows:
| Heir / distributee | Amount | |
| Irene W. Cranston | $2414.66⅔ | |
| Josephine P. Cranston | 462.93⅓ | |
| Charles E. Cranston | 462.93⅓ | |
| Mary L. Cranston | 462.93⅓ | |
| Henrietta L. C. Harris | 462.93⅓ | |
| Wm. W. Cranston | 462.93⅓ | |
| Helen M. Cranston | 462.93⅓ | |
| Ann E. Cranston | 462.93⅓ | |
| Irene W. Cranston, Guardian for the Minor heirs | 462.93⅓ | |
| Irene W. Cranston, Guardian for the Minor heirs | 462.93⅓ | |
| Total | $7044.00 $278,400 in 2026 dollars. |
Minor heirs (per the guardian, Irene W. Cranston): Christopher C. Cranston, Louis N. Cranston, Otto G. Cranston.
And on the 25th day of March A.D. 1862, after due legal publication of the pendency and appointed time of settlement the Court settled said Administrator’s account from which it appears and the Court finds upon careful examination of the same and the vouchers therewith filed that after paying Debts and expenses of said estate that there remained for distribution the sum of Six Thousand Eight hundred and Sixty-six Dollars and one cent ($6866.01) and that said Administrator has distributed to the distributees of said estate the sum of Seven Thousand Forty-four dollars ($7044.00) being One Hundred and Seventy-seven dollars and ninety-nine cents ($177.99) too much. Which amount is due from said distributees to said Administrator.
Office Probate Judge. Dec. 22ᵈ, 1898. P. P. Cranston.
Transcriber’s Notes
Original spelling, capitalization, and abbreviations have been preserved (e.g. “Ballance,” “Costers,” “Admis’s,” “Feby.,” “Apl.,” “decᵈ.”). Fractional cents in the manuscript (½, ⅓, ⅔, ⅜) are rendered as the clerk wrote them; the account was kept to a fraction of a cent.
Uncertain or doubtful readings, flagged for verification against the original: the debtor “Joel Aation” (Schedule C) is an uncertain surname; “Mosgrove Jaffe & Mosgrove” (Schedule B, No. 4) may read otherwise; “Guardian of Janette Spain” (Schedule B, No. 23) — first name uncertain; “Eliphaz Burnham,” “Ozial Lapham,” and “S. E. Donehoe” are best readings of the hand.
Structural note: the manuscript’s four leaves do not run in strict schedule order. The account summary and the opening of Schedule B (creditor payments) appear on the second leaf above Schedule C; Schedules A and B proper appear on the third leaf; the heirs’ receipt and the Court’s final settlement appear on the fourth. This transcription re-orders the schedules into a logical A → B → C sequence for readability. The arithmetic totals are transcribed as they stand in the original and have not been silently corrected.