Daily AncestorVendue master
A vendue master was an auctioneer; a vendue was a public auction, often held to sell goods from an estate.
The word vendue came into English from Dutch and French and was common in colonial and early American records. Estates were often settled by vendue, with the vendue master calling the sale.
For family historians, the vendue list in a probate file can be gold: it names each buyer and what they paid, and buyers were often relatives and neighbors.
As seen in a recordEstate accounts in probate files
Paid Jacob Moyer, vendue master, for crying the sale
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Daily Ancestor. "Vendue master." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/vendue-master. Last checked 2026-10-01.