American colonial wealth estimates, 1774

This collection was produced by an extensive research project that cataloged and analyzed the various types of wealth in the American colonies in 1774 just before the Revolution. County probate records were collected and studied in the New England colonies, the Middle Colonies, New York, and the South (mainly Charleston, South Carolina), both in rural and urban settings. Altogether, the probate inventories of 919 decedents were analyzed in 21 colonial counties and every attempt was made to assure that a random sample was gathered.