NOTE: The following document is kept in the Gauss collection of the Municipal Archive and Library of the City of Brunswick, Germany (Inventory C. F. Gauss No. 151, MS No. 8). It is in Gauss' handwriting, but without a signature and date (believed to be about December, 1854):

In considersation of my advanced age and the continuing increase in the strength and stubbornness of the complaints connected with it, it has seemed advisable to me to write down those explanations and terms which shall serve as a guide in settling my estate after my death.

1.

Of my two marriages four children are still living, namely,

of the first marriage a son, Joseph, now government achitect in Hanover,
of the second marriage two sons and a daughter, namely Eugene, merchant in St. Charles in North America in the state of Missouri; Wilhelm, farmer in the same state, his farm in Chariton County near New Brunswick.
Therese as my loyal nurse continually with me,

these my four children, eventually their legitamate descendants, I make my heirs, but under the modifications:

2.

My oldest son Joseph took possession of his maternal inheritance long ago. Likewise I paid out completely at the proper time to my sons of the second marriage their share in the estate of their mother according to the testamentary disposition, so that they have no further special claims - on the other hand the amount of the share of my daughter in her maternal estate has not yet been paid out to her and therefore before the division of my estate that amount (4,754 thalers gold plus interest) of course is to be deducted from it as an encumbering debt to my daughter.

3.

However, since my daughter has obviously suffered an encroachment through delayed entering into the enjoyment of this sum, I therefor direct, in order to give her some indemnity for it, that the following parts of my estate shall finally also go to my daughter:

A. all furniture, in which shall be included

�(a) all linens
�(b) all silverware. As regards the latter that part of the silverware which came from Therese's mother was bequeathed to my daughter as her full property in the will of the former, and therefore by the above disposition a division of the silverware according to origin is unneccessary [in pencil:] the silver medals do not belong in this rubric.

B. All books which are kept upstairs, since a large part consists of gifts which I made to Therese and which are consequently already her property.

4.

If so desires my oldest son may choose as a special souvenir up to 30 volumes of my books. [In pencil:] for whose education many very significant costs did not occur as in the case of his brothers.

5.

Everything else that belongs to my estate shall be divided in equal shares among my four children. Hereby forbidding all judicial sealing and inventory, I convey the execution of this division to my oldest son Joseph, who is already provided by his brothers in America with full power of attorney for looking after all their interests in Europe, which he has also partially used in several cases.

NOTE: The above document was held to be valid as Gauss' will and was followed in settling his estate. Weber, Listing, and Ludwig Schweiger (1803-1872), librarian and professor of literature, were appointed to appraise Gauss' library for the Hanoverian government. Klinerfues prepared the catalogue.
Joseph Gauss thought that the appraisal of 2,500 thalers for the entire library and manuscripts was too low, and also too low as to single items. Yet he was willing to let it go for that low price, because it would not be scattered and would thus be permanently preserved in the University of G�ttingen library. Joseph demanded the atlases of W�rttemberg, Hessen, and Hanover (the latter a gift from him to his father). he picked duplicates of his father's works and other books which Schweiger assessed very low. Joseph decided that if the amount of 2,500 thalers did not stand after his choice, he would not limit himself to 50 or 60 volumes. Actually, the family finally removed 226 volumes.
The manuscripts and correspondence going to the library were to be only those of "scientific content." Joseph undertook the sorting of the letters. The instruments and telescopes were not listed in the inventory and did not go for the 2,500 thalers. Manuscripts of nonscientific content (references of finances or family matters) were given back to Joseph. In this way a number of important items, including Gauss' scientific diary, lay hidden among family papers until 1898. Before his death in 1927 Gauss' grandson Carl August finally placed in the permanent care of the archives in Brunswick and G�ttingen practically all manuscript material touching on his ancestor.
Gauss' heirs refused a number of other offers from the outside in order that his literary papers might go to the university and be available to the editors of his Collected Works. Joseph agreed not to remove books with marginalia in Gauss' handwriting. Later the editors made many important discoveries in this way. Joseph claimed he would be willing to return any books he had taken if they were found on examination to have value for the scientific collection. Eight bookcases and three astronomical instruments were placed at the disposal of the observatory by Joseph.
On May, 1856, the Hanoverian government over the manuscripts and library to the observatory. All the titles not already in the university library were placed there, and teh remainder were set up in the west wing of the observatory. Therese donated her share from the sale of the library, 6,000 marks, to cover the cost of bookcases and binding.
The task of accurately cataloguing Gauss' library and combining it with the observatory library did not begin until 1897. In this way the accession list grew from 3,769 to 5,865 - a gain of 2,096 volumes. If we count brochures and other miscellaneous itens, the total mounts to 11,424. In 1899 the library was in an orderly condition for the first time in forty-four years.
On September 22, 1855, Joseph made a division of the various medals and related articles which Gauss possessed. Those sent to Eugene and Wilhelm are designated "America." Except for three major orders which had to be returned to the princes who conferred them, Joseph's inventory reflects the following items:

1. The old Westphalian Order of the Crown, not returned because the kingdom no longer existed (America)
2. The small Dannebrog Order (private property; it was a gift from Schumacher and was only a miniature copy of the real order)(America)
3. A small buckle of the Guelph Order (Joseph)
4. An exact duplicate of #3 (Joseph)
5. Gold pocket watch with chain and signets (Therese)
6. A very old silver pocket watch
7. The gold Copley Medal of the Royal Society (Joseph)
8. The gold Dalberg medal (Frankfort) (America) 9. Silver medal of Olbers (America)
10. Silver medal of Berlin scientists' convention (America) 11. Silver medal of Jean Paul (America)
12. Silver medal of Blumenbach (America)
13. Silver medal of the Pulkova observatory near St. Petersburg (Joseph)
14. Copper duplicate of #10 (Joseph)
15. Copper medal of Bonn University, 1848 (America)
16. Copper medal of the Danish Society of Sciences, 1842 (America)
17. Copper medal of Napier, Edinburg (Joseph)
18. Copper medal of Olbers (Joseph)
19. Duplicate of #18 (America)
20. Copper medal of Leibniz (Joseph)

Therese recieved No. 5; Joseph considered No. 6 not worth sending, since Gauss never wore it. He also sent Wilhelm and Eugene two pairs of spectacles and a lorgnette which Gauss wore.