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Probate inventories are listings of property owned by an individual that were taken upon that person's death. These documents can provide important and interesting information about the occupation, status, interests, and lifestyle of the deceased through their possessions. Part of the proceedings of the county probate court, colony (later, state) appointed officials ordered these inventories be taken in cases in which it was necessary to determine the value of the deceased person’s estate. A team of court-appointed appraisers (usually three “impartial men”) toured the home and lands of the deceased, describing everything of value and assigning an estimated worth. This appraisal would help the administrator or executor of the estate pay off all creditors, with the remainder being divided among surviving heirs. A probate inventory thus offers a “snapshot” of the deceased’s possessions (personal and real estate) on the day the appraisers went through the dwelling. 

A mathematics text, compass, and “Surveyour’s Instruments" in this inventory reveal that the deceased, Lieutenant Matthew Clesson, was a surveyor as well as a farmer and militia officer.