Daily AncestorNote of hand
A note of hand was a promissory note, a signed paper in which someone promised to pay a sum; estate inventories list notes of hand owed to the dead person.
With few banks, neighbors lent to one another, and the record of a debt might be only a note on a piece of paper. When the lender died, the notes owed to him were part of his estate and were listed in the inventory, often with the debtor's name and the amount.
Inventories may sort them as good, doubtful or desperate. Each name on such a list is someone who did business with your ancestor and may be a neighbor or relative.
As seen in a recordEstate inventory, Tennessee, 1840s
1 note of hand on Levi Strother, dated 3 May 1838, $45.00
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Note of hand." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/money-measures/note-of-hand. Last checked 2026-10-03.