I'm pretty sure the term in question is "vendue." -- which my OED defines
as: "U.S. and West Indies, 1686.... a public sale; an auction. frequently in
phrases "at vendue" and "by vendue."
    The term shows up frequently in legal advertisements .

As to the town, it is almost certainly Sandown, New Hampshire -- which
claims to be the only town of that name in America (there is one on the Isle
of Wight in England). The Sandown Historical Society has a website at:
http://www.sandownnh.com/history/
and an 1867 map shows people named Hoyt and Pressey, which seems pretty
definitive.

Hugh C. MacDougall
8 Lake Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326-1016
[log in to unmask]
http://www.oneonta.edu/external/cooper
http://www.oneonta.edu/external/ccal

Hugh C. MacDougall
8 Lake Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326-1016
[log in to unmask]
http://www.oneonta.edu/external/cooper
http://www.oneonta.edu/external/ccal
----- Original Message -----
From: "Poor House Lady" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2001 9:04 AM
Subject: Auctioning of the Poor -- Legal term


> We are trying to transcribe a document which is a record of the auctioning
> of the poor of a town in 1832. (This is for posting on the history page of
> our website called The POORHOUSE STORY -- which is a clearinghouse for
> information about 19th century American poorhouses.)
>
> It is easier to SHOW you what I am working with rather than just telling
you
> about it. So, if you would be so kind as to go to
> http://www.poorhousestory.com/AUCTION_POOR.htm  you can view the document.
>
> The Title of the document, written in the usual place on the back of the
> tri-folded paper, and the first phrase use a term with which I am
> unfamiliar. And, of course, I have the usual dilemna ... how do you look
it
> up (to check the spelling) if you don't already know how to spell it!
>
> The title looks like ... Articles of Vandice
> And the opening phrase looks like ... Articles to vendice (sp?)
>
> We believe that it and the opening phrase in the body of the document
> (below) are related to the derivation of the word "vendor" --
>      Main Entry: ven.dor
> Pronunciation: 'ven-d&r, for 1 also ven-'dor
> Function: noun
> Etymology: Middle French vendeur, from vendre to sell, from Latin vendere
> Date: 1594
> Variant(s): also vend.er /-d&r/
>
> Any help verifying this term would be greatly appreciated.
>
> PS  I could e-mail a larger and somewhat clearer scan of the document than
> was feasible to post on the website.
> PPS We are also having trouble deciphering the name of the town and are
> uncertain what state it was in. Sigh.
>
> Thanks,
> Linda Crannell
> (aka=The Poorhouse Lady)