1761 Colonial Pennsylvania Probate Document with Paper Seal—Berks County
PENNSYLVANIA—BERKS COUNTY. Original printed and manuscript letters of administration for the estate of Henry Wolff, deceased, issued at Reading, October 10, 1761. Signed by Deputy Register James Read and retaining its large applied provincial probate seal.
An attractive colonial Pennsylvania legal document appointing John Dickert and his wife Maria Agnes to administer the estate of Henry Wolff, a blacksmith of Albany Township who died without leaving a will.
Maria Agnes was Wolff’s widow and had subsequently married John Dickert, an Albany Township yeoman. The document gave the couple authority to collect the deceased’s property and outstanding credits, pay his debts, prepare an inventory and render a final accounting to the probate office in Reading.
Printed beneath the heading of William Plumsted, Register General for the Probate of Wills and Granting Letters of Administration in and for the Province of Pennsylvania, the document was completed in manuscript and signed by Berks County Deputy Register James Read.
Plumsted was a prominent colonial merchant and public official who served twice as mayor of Philadelphia and held the position of Pennsylvania Register General from 1745 until his death in 1765.
The document is particularly notable for its large surviving applied paper seal, cut into an elaborate radiating design and impressed with the probate office’s official device. Such fragile paper seals were easily damaged or lost, making its substantial survival especially desirable.
The Wolff and Dickert names, along with Maria Agnes’s given names, reflect the Pennsylvania German population that settled Albany Township and the northern Berks County frontier. As the estate of a working blacksmith, the document offers a tangible connection to the tradesmen who supported Pennsylvania’s expanding colonial settlements.
Large laid-paper sheet with original folds, age toning, scattered staining and old reinforcement along several folds on the reverse. The paper seal is stained with a small area of loss but remains substantially intact. Text and Read’s signature remain clear.
PENNSYLVANIA—BERKS COUNTY. Original printed and manuscript letters of administration for the estate of Henry Wolff, deceased, issued at Reading, October 10, 1761. Signed by Deputy Register James Read and retaining its large applied provincial probate seal.
An attractive colonial Pennsylvania legal document appointing John Dickert and his wife Maria Agnes to administer the estate of Henry Wolff, a blacksmith of Albany Township who died without leaving a will.
Maria Agnes was Wolff’s widow and had subsequently married John Dickert, an Albany Township yeoman. The document gave the couple authority to collect the deceased’s property and outstanding credits, pay his debts, prepare an inventory and render a final accounting to the probate office in Reading.
Printed beneath the heading of William Plumsted, Register General for the Probate of Wills and Granting Letters of Administration in and for the Province of Pennsylvania, the document was completed in manuscript and signed by Berks County Deputy Register James Read.
Plumsted was a prominent colonial merchant and public official who served twice as mayor of Philadelphia and held the position of Pennsylvania Register General from 1745 until his death in 1765.
The document is particularly notable for its large surviving applied paper seal, cut into an elaborate radiating design and impressed with the probate office’s official device. Such fragile paper seals were easily damaged or lost, making its substantial survival especially desirable.
The Wolff and Dickert names, along with Maria Agnes’s given names, reflect the Pennsylvania German population that settled Albany Township and the northern Berks County frontier. As the estate of a working blacksmith, the document offers a tangible connection to the tradesmen who supported Pennsylvania’s expanding colonial settlements.
Large laid-paper sheet with original folds, age toning, scattered staining and old reinforcement along several folds on the reverse. The paper seal is stained with a small area of loss but remains substantially intact. Text and Read’s signature remain clear.
