John M. Street

Narrative:

     John M. Street was born about 14 Apr 1808 in Virginia.^4,5,6
     He moved to Ohio before 1832, but no details have been found. It is not known whether Joseph, his supposed bother, came with him to Ohio.
     John married Mariah Brady, daughter of Benjamin Brady and Sophia Flora, on 7 Oct 1832 in Highland Co., Ohio, with William Wright, justice of the peace, officiating.^7,8,9
     John and Mariah Brady moved to Missouri, where her parents also resettled, with their four children about 1839. Their younger son, George, died en route, in Lafayette Co., and was buried at Dover Cemetery.
     John appeared on the 1840 Federal Census of Wakenda, Carroll Co., Missouri, with a household consisting of one male under age 5 (son Andrew), and one age 30 to 40 (himself), one female under age 5 (daughter Elvira), one age 5 to 10 (Sarah), and one age 20 to 30 (wife Mariah.)¹²

Establishing a Homestead --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     On 1 May 1843 John was granted patents for three adjacent parcels of land in Carroll Co., Missouri, under the 1820 "Sale-Cash Entry" act. One contained 80 acres, and the other two contained 40 acres each, for a total of 160 acres. That act set the minimum price of public land at $1.25 per acre, with a minimum purchase to 80 acres, and required payment in cash, not on credit.^13,14,15
     John and Mariah appeared on the 1850 Federal Census of Carroll Co., Missouri, enumerated 8 Nov 1850, reporting real estate valued at $2,000. Their children Sarah, Andrew, Elvira, Julia, James, John, Benjamin and William were listed as living with them, Joseph A. Street, thought to be his brother, and his wife Arena, who was Mariah's sister, were also listed in the household, with their son Paul.²
     On 1 Oct 1851 John was granted a patent for a 160-acre parcel of land in Carroll Co., about three miles south of his existing property and four miles west of Bogard. The Streets Family Cemetery was later established on this property. This parcel was granted under a warrant he had acquired, originally issued to sergeant Jeremiah Kelly under the 1847 "Scrip-Warrant" act. That act provided script or warrants redeemable for land for service in the war with Mexico.¹⁶
     John was issued letters of administration in Probate Court, Carroll Co., for the estate of Joseph A. Street, his supposed brother, who had died intestate (without leaving a will). The date of the appointment has not been found, but there must have been considerable delay in learning of and proving Joseph's death. The first probate records found are the filing of an inventory and John's posting of a bond on 10 Aug 1852.^17,18
     On 1 Oct 1852 John was granted a patent for a nearby parcel of land under the 1820 "Sale-Cash Entry" act, containing 40 acres.¹⁹ On 2 Oct 1854 John was granted patents for two nearby parcels of land also under the 1820 act, each containing 40 acres.^20,21 On 1 Dec 1858 John was granted a patent for a 160-acre parcel of land near his original grant, and a second patent for 80 acres near his other properties.^22,23
     John and Mariah appeared on the 1860 Federal Census of Morris Twp., Carroll Co., Missouri, enumerated 17 Jul 1860, reporting real estate valued at $8,400 and personal estate of $1,850. Their children James, John, Benjamin, William, Mary, Jessie and Charles were listed as living with them.²⁴
     John and Mariah appeared on the 1870 Federal Census of Morris Twp., Carroll Co., Missouri, enumerated 6 Jul 1870, reporting real estate valued at $12,400 and personal estate of $2,924. Their children Benjamin, William, Jessie, Charles and Melkager were listed as living with them.²⁵
     John and Mariah appeared on the 1880 Federal Census of Morris Twp., Carroll Co., Missouri, enumerated 3 Jun 1880. Their son Melkager was listed as living with them. Their sons William and Benjamin and their families were apparently living close by, as they are listed as the preceding and following households in the census record.²⁶
     John was a farmer all his life.^{27,2,24,25,26}
     John died on 28 Jun 1887.¹⁰ He was buried in the Streets Family Cemetery, Bogard, Carroll Co., Missouri.¹¹

An Extensive Probate --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     John died intestate (without leaving a will) and letters of administration for his estate were issued on 26 Jul 1887 in Probate Court, Carroll Co., to Melkager, his youngest son.²⁸
     An appraisal of his personal property was submitted 30 Jul 1887, totaling $1,347. It included a span of black mare mules appraised at $275, two mares and colts at $165, and 30 head of cattle and hogs. There were 150 bushels of corn valued at $150, 22 acres of standing corn at $110, 245 bushels of wheat at $120, 320 bushels of oats at $38, and 16 tons of hay at $65. Wagons, farm implements, and hand tools were listed, but "furniture, books, and so forth" were noted at less than $500 and excluded.²⁹
     An inventory of the estate was also completed that day. It included four of the parcels John had obtained under land grants, totaling 200 acres, so he had sold or given away 480 acres of that land. There was also a deed for another parcel, size not specified. There was $412 in one bank and $425 in another, and $1,656 in cash at home. There were 23 notes listed from various individuals, a few of them his sons or son-in-law, with a total of some $2,500 owed him.³⁰
     According to law the widow was entitled to a year's provision from the estate. On 2 Aug 1887 she was provided 15 bushels of wheat, 3 shoats (young hogs), and 15 barrels of corn, valued at $33, as part of that allowance. At intervals through Feb 1888 she was provided sugar, coffee, baking goods, wearing material and a pair of shoes valued in total at $27. In Aug 1888 she was provided coffee, sugar, a pair of slippers, and a pair of shoes, for a total of $7.50.³¹
     The widow was entitled to $400 from the estate by law. On 2 Aug 1887 she took part of that in personal property: a cow and calf, a brood sow, four acres of standing corn, and 75 bushels of oats. The total appraised value was $61. She was paid the balance in cash.³²
     The administrator held a sale of John's personal property on 15 Aug 1887 at his former home, four miles west of Bogard. He advertised the mules, horses, cattle, pigs, farm produce, and many tools. The total proceeds were $1,329, of which the largest items were the pair of mules for $269, the corn in the crib for $143, and 5 steers for $100. His sons Benjamin, William, Jessie and Charles and sons-in-law John Wesley Isom and William Hardy Key purchased a number of items, mostly hand tools and farm implements but also some of the produce and livestock.³³
     A crop of hay belonging to the estate was harvested in the summer of 1887. The widow was paid $15 on 8 Mar 1888 for having taking care of the crop in July. It was sold in Nov and Dec 1887 to several people, including sons William, Charles and Jessie, for a total of $59.³⁴
     The administrator filed a first settlement on 15 Aug 1888, and an additional inventory the same day. The inventory totaled $762, including interest collected on the various obligations and two items not previously inventoried were included at their face value but noted as "insolvent, worthless, uncollectable." One of these was from William Riley Williams, widower of John's late daughter Elvira, a due bill dated 22 Nov 1875. After a payment of $25 on 23 Aug 1876 a balance of $175 remained.³⁵
     The administrator filed a final settlement on 13 Aug 1889. Between both settlements he reported finding assets totaling nearly $8,000, made up of the notes and interest on them, and personal property sold or distributed (the land was not part of his settlement). Deducting the worthless notes, prior distributions, including the widow's $400 allowance, taxes, and expenses (including his own $120 allowance as administrator) left $6,223.96 for distribution to heirs. John's living children, Sarah, Andrew, Julia, Benjamin, William, Mary, Jessie, Charles and Melkager, each received $602.17 9/11 and the children of his late daughter Elvira split a like amount. The widow received the same amount, less the $400 allowance previously distributed. There was no explanation of how the nine-eleventh cent amounts were treated.³⁵