vendue = public auction -----Original Message----- From: Poor House Lady [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2001 9:04 AM To: [log in to unmask] 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)