Probate Documents: American Costume History Research

Abstract

County court probate documents can provide us with descriptions of costume and textiles for periods of our national heritage for which we have few or no extant artifacts. In addition to their descriptive value, the records are probably best suited as an aid in discerning trends over time. When teamed with other documents of the period, such as tax lists or church records, they allow apparel and textiles to be placed within their socio-economic context. The authors introduce probate documents-wills, inventories, and accounts of administration-as a potentially rich source for research in American costume history. Each type of document is discussed and analyzed for its textile content, using examples from seventeenth and eighteenth century Massachusetts.