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[Terry Reigel]

Michael Hait wrote:

> Estate inventories provide a list of the items that
> everyday people from all income levels keep in their
> homes. 

In some cases mortgage records can do the same. When people purchased "on account" and the balance due was secured by a mortgage, the mortgages can provide essentially complete inventories of the borrower's belongings. See, for example some extracts from western Kentucky in the mid-1800s at http://reigelridge.com/Genealogy/Resources/Caldwell%20mortgages.htm

Terry Reigel