106 acres
Her father’s will left Nancy the farm on which she was already living.
In Jacob’s will1777–1864
Nancy Buxton Boles
The Boles & Buxton storyNancy
Nancy
Buxton Boles
1777–1864
Widowed for more than forty years, Nancy inherited the Washington County farm where she already lived and was still recorded as a “Proprietor” at age 83.
Meet Nancy ↓
01 / Meet NancyA life beyond
A life beyond
the word “widow.”
Nancy Buxton’s older gravestone appears to place her birth on February 14, 1777. She married Cornelius Boles, whose surname also appears as Boyles, Bowles and Boyle, and they made their home in Washington County, Pennsylvania. [1]
Cornelius died in 1821, leaving Nancy a widow with a family and an estate to settle. His probate papers give us unusually personal glimpses of what followed. Nancy participated in the settlement and appears among the purchasers of household property at the estate sale. [2]
But Nancy’s story did not end with Cornelius.
In 1836, her father, Jacob Buxton, unmistakably identified her in his will as “my well beloved daughter Nancy Boles.” He left her $500 and the 106-acre farm where she was already living. [3]
Nearly twenty-five years later, the census found Nancy in her own Washington County household. She was 83 years old and recorded as a “Proprietor,” with real and personal property of her own. [4]
Nancy died April 19, 1864, at age 87, according to her newer cemetery marker. [5]
02 / Her familyThe people
The people
around Nancy.
Father
Jacob Buxton
He names Nancy as his daughter in his will.
Mother · working reconstructionHannah
Maiden name unproved. Jacob’s will names Hannah as his wife; it does not directly state Nancy’s maternity.
HusbandCornelius Boles / Boyles
His estate identifies Widow Nancy.
Child named in Cornelius’s estateJacob
“Jacob his son.” Nancy’s maternity is not directly stated in this account. A profile awaits more research.
John Boles remains a proposed family connection. That question is still open.
03 / Nancy’s lifeEighty-seven years.
Eighty-seven years.
A few surviving glimpses.
- 1777
A February beginning
February 14 is the current reading of Nancy’s older gravestone. The worn inscription still needs confirmation.
See the record - 1821
Life changes
Cornelius dies; Nancy becomes a widow. His estate papers survive in Washington County, Pennsylvania.
See the record - 1821–1825
The household meets probate
Accounts, purchases and Nancy’s widow’s allowance show the estate being settled.
See the record - 1836
A father names his daughter
Jacob Buxton’s will leaves “my well beloved daughter Nancy Boles” $500 and the 106-acre farm on which she already lives.
See the record - 1860
Still a proprietor
The census records Nancy at 83, heading her own household with real and personal property.
See the record - 1864
✎ Sandy’s Notes from the Rabbit Hole
The Dresser Incident
Cornelius’s estate papers contain the usual assortment of debts, accounts and property sales. And then I noticed something.
Widow Nancy was buying household furniture.
Including what appears to be a dresser.
Her husband dies and apparently probate says, “Sorry for your loss. Would you like to buy your dresser?”
Nancy: Dad.
Because her father, Jacob Buxton, was right there involved with the estate administration.
Genealogy occasionally gives you names and dates. Every once in a while, it gives you an entire family dynamic over a piece of furniture.
A little historical context
Estate inventories and sales followed contemporary probate practices, so this should not be interpreted as proof that Nancy personally lost legal ownership of a particular dresser. The records do document her participation as a purchaser during the settlement of Cornelius’s estate. The imagined exchange above is Sandy’s commentary. Inspect the sale entries.
04 / What we know about NancyLand. Property.
Land. Property.
A life of her own.
$500
Jacob also left her five hundred dollars, in addition to what she had previously received.
Read the bequest“Proprietor”
At 83, Nancy headed her own household. The census reports about $4,715 in real estate and $230 in personal estate.
In the 1860 census43 years
From Cornelius’s death in 1821 to Nancy’s in 1864: more than four decades a widow.
The surviving datesHer mother, Hannah
A local history published in 1894 remembered Hannah as a community “doctress,” knowledgeable about medicinal roots and herbs. That is a later account, not independently verified medical fact; Hannah’s maternal relationship to Nancy remains part of the working reconstruction.
Read the historical accountThe story has a paper trail
Show me the receipts
Open a record to see what it says, how we use it, and where questions remain.
Jacob Buxton’s will · May 18, 1836Documented will statement · transcription shown
Names “my well beloved daughter Nancy Boles,” wife Hannah, and children Jacob, Sarah Grimes and Aaron. Gives Nancy $500, the 106-acre farm where she already lived, and whatever she had previously received. The four named children need not be a complete roster. The available image is a typed transcription, which should be compared with the original handwritten will.
View record / image ↗
Cornelius Boyles’s estate administration bond · 1821Documented
Identifies Nancy in the estate administration and includes Jacob Buxton among the signers. Cornelius was deceased by late September 1821. The papers retain the Boyles spelling.
View record / image ↗
Widow Nancy’s estate receipt · January 25, 1825Documented
Nancy Boyles signs by mark as widow in a receipt for an allowance during Cornelius’s estate settlement. The records show her participation in the proceedings.
View record / image ↗
Household property in the estate saleDocumented purchases · interpretation qualified
Nancy and Jacob Buxton appear among purchasers. Household furniture includes entries read as bureaus or dressers. These purchases do not establish Nancy’s prior legal ownership of a particular item, or that she lost every household possession.
View record / image ↗
A creditor’s account: “Jacob his son”Documented paternal relationship
The shoe-repair account explicitly identifies Jacob as Cornelius’s son. It does not explicitly identify Nancy as Jacob’s mother, and it does not name John as a son.
View record / image ↗
Nancy’s 1860 census entryDocumented census statement
Nancy Boles is recorded in her own household, age 83, as “Proprietor,” with approximately $4,715 real estate and $230 personal estate. The entry does not prove this was the identical 106-acre parcel, nor establish relationships to nearby Boles households.
View record / image ↗
Nancy’s older gravestoneProvisional reading
The weathered stone identifies Nancy as Cornelius’s wife and appears to give February 14, 1777 as her birth date. That exact reading remains provisional; the broad 1777 birth year fits the other reported ages.
View record / image ↗
Nancy’s newer cemetery markerDocumented marker statement
Clearly records Nancy Boles, died April 19, 1864, aged 87 years. This is a later marker; its reported death date and age remain attributed to it.
View record / image ↗Cross Creek graveyard history · James Simpson, 1894Later historical account
Reports Jacob’s death May 25, 1836, age 86, and Hannah’s death July 20, 1842, age 89. Remembers Hannah as a community “doctress” knowledgeable about roots and herbs. The supplied excerpt is a later reprint; the healing account is tradition, not independently verified medical evidence.
View record / image ↗
05 / What’s still unresolved?Room for
Room for
the next discovery.
Did Nancy and Cornelius have a son named John Boles?
Working hypothesis — not yet directly provenJohn, born in Pennsylvania in 1807, fits the proposed family geographically and chronologically. The surrounding research supports continued investigation, but no located record directly identifies him as Cornelius and Nancy’s son.
Cornelius Boyles’s 44-page estate packet has been reviewed and no reference to John was found. That negative search is recorded so we do not repeat it; it does not prove John was unrelated.
Follow the question at the Research Desk · Meet John — proposed connectionWas Hannah’s maiden name Young?
Promising secondary evidence — primary confirmation still neededYoung is a lead in secondary material supplied in Sandy’s research. Its underlying primary evidence still needs confirmation. Hannah keeps her established display name here; the surname has not been accepted as fact.