MANUSCRIPTS: Household Goods and expense notebook.
[Domestic] Seton, Mary. MANUSCRIPT: The Household Goods of Mrs. Mary Seton. Appraised by
Mr. Blyth. [N.p., n.d. but 1796.]
4to; ink manuscript; pp. [13], [1] blank; two leaves loosely inserted with some chipping and loss to foreedge;
original drab wrappers, stitched; together with a small notebook [95mm x 158mm] (with various
entries relating to expenses), interleaved with blotting paper; marbled wrappers; stitched.
Items relating to the sale of "household goods of Mary Seton," evidently drawn up in the immediate
aftermath of the death of her husband, Sir John Seton (1755-1796) in August 1796.
A compelling picture of a woman’s life is given through the inventory, broken down into 15 sections
(Garret, Drawing Room, Bedchamber, Back Parlour, etc.), listing all goods from furniture and pictures to
coppers, pewter, brasses, pots, and various utility items. The final tally is £385, a considerable sum for the
time, though entries in the same book suggest Mary may have been left with little after John’s death,
husband, hence the need for the immediate appraisal.
Born Mary Hughes of Berryhall in Warwickshire, Mary married Sir John Seton on February 16, 1786.
They had five children, the last of which, Mary-Catherine Seton, was born just two months before her
father’s death. It would appear she is referred to in the accompanying notebook where her mother has
written "Agreed with a nurse for my little girl at 4/6 a week at Knowle in Warwickshire."
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