After Trent's Death

William Trent died unexpectedly on Christmas Day 1724 without leaving a will. His burial place is unknown. 

​Trent’s oldest son, James, became executor of his father's estate, which was complicated by his heirs from his two marriages, the number of businesses and properties Trent owned, and the debts he owed his creditors and monies he was owed. 

A first step in settling the estate was to have a probate inventory conducted, which was substantially completed in April 1726, with an addendum one year later.  

Trent's Probate Inventory

​The probate inventory of Trent's estate listed the furnishings of the House as well as other items on the plantation. Included on the inventory was an “Account of Negroes” that included eleven enslaved people – six men (Yaff, Julius, Bossin, Harry, Cupid, and Pedro), one woman (Joan), two boys (Bob and Dick), one girl (Nanny), and one male child (Tom). For more information see the next section.
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To view or download a transcription of Trent's probate inventory, click here.

Mary Coddington Trent after Trent's Death

Mary Coddington Trent renounced her role as executor in March of 1725 so she could sue her stepson James for her dower rights. She hired well known Philadelphia attorney John Kinsey to sue for one-third part of the income from four messuages (dwelling houses with considerable land), three grist mills, one saw mill, one fulling mill, one bakehouse, one dye house, one ferry house, half an ironwork, one barn, three gardens, two orchards, thirty acres of meadowland, three hundred acres of pastureland, and two hundred acres of woodland.

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This video imagines Mary Coddington Trent, widowed after Trent’s sudden death, reflecting on her life and uncertain future. Worried about her future, this video, first aired on December 20, 2020, shows her explaining her personal history and describing her concerns.

Mary won her court case in 1728. Her stepson James and subsequently William Morris, her half-brother, had to pay the mortgage on the estate to her from 1729 to 1735. This included profits and ownership of the mills and other industries on the property. She sold all rights to most of these properties to George Thomas in 1735. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mary Coddington Trent never remarried, thus retaining control over her property until she died on December 15, 1772, in her 80s. Her death is recorded in the register of Saint Michael’s Church and she is most likely buried in the Hopewell Church Burying Ground on the site of the modern day Trenton Psychiatric Hospital.

Accused Poisoning

In March of 1737, two enslaved African men were arrested in Trenton for "practising poison," citing among their victims William Trent. They were found guilty and hanged. ​

It is not known if Trent was actually murdered, or if his sudden death was later used by these men as “proof” of the efficacy of their poison. For more information on this case, the question of whether Trent was poisoned, and the laws under which the men were charged and executed, see The Case of Trent's Death. ​