Richard Kennington Probate Records, 1881

Before the Bear Lake and Star Valley chapters in the Kennington family, there was Richard and Mary Ann's experience in Tooele. Above is a copy of Richard's probate record as they settled his estate in 1881. He was born Oct. 18, 1804 in Louth, England and passed away Oct 12, 1879 in Tooele.

Because Richard and Mary Ann crossed the Plains as handcart pioneers in 1856, it's easy for us to see what they came with, but hard to say what all they left behind in England. Probate gives us a glimpse of what they accumulated in Utah.

Tooele was a common place for new folks to settle. In 1860 the Kenningtons had a home and lot in the old fort part of Tooele. They were with folks they knew in England such as the Atkins who had a part in the Kennington conversion. The Lee family's children were raised with the Kennington kids in Tooele, went on to the Bear Lake area together and eventually married.

Richard was a butcher in Tooele. The story told by Uncle Bert Kennington in 1953 is a gem:
"Richard continued in the trade of butchering for about 5 years [after coming to Utah], then being too old to continue longer, went back to raising vegetables for a livelihood. In his profession of butchering, he would take orders for work to be done, then travel from house to house filling his assignments. One Saturday night he lacked two orders of getting his week's work completed. Sunday morning, rather than break his promise and inconvenience a customer, he butchered the two remaining pigs. Upon his arrival home, the Ward teachers came and bluntly informed him he would have to make a public confession and ask forgiveness for breaking the Sabbath. His answer was that all he had to do was pay taxes and die. This led to his being disfranchized [sic] from the church."

Back to the probate. It shows a few things:
1. Mary Ann signed with her mark. She was either ill and unable to write or she hadn't learned and they address her as Mary, not Mary Ann.
2. Richard and Mary Ann still had their daughters and extended family in the area to help them. Sarah Jane was married to David Adamson. Eliza married John England. Mary Ann married Samuel Armatage.
3. Son William Henry and his wife, Annie Rebecca were in the Bear Lake area with their family. 4. Dick, the bachelor uncle, may have been with his mother during this time. We know he eventually ended up with William in Star Valley. Does anyone remember the story?
5. The personal estate inventory is extremely modest compared to today's standards, but it is very typical of inventories ranging back 200 years in both the United States and England.

Please feel free to leave comments or add information. I think the off button had been on. Sorry if you've tried to leave a comment. By the way, photos of Richard and Mary Ann Kennington are back a few posts.