HISTORY BY HAND

original historic handwritten manuscripts, documents and letters

a division of Jonathan Sheppard Books

Item Number: DM4005

The Document: Handwritten court document, approximately 5 3/4” X 9 3/4”, with ornate paper seal and court docketing and endorsement on reverse.  Very nice condition with only minor signs of wear.

Writ of fieri facias* dated 24 November 1804 and filed January 31 1805 in the matter of Andrew Brown and John Reid vs. Peter Sailly.  The document, with a handsome paper seal, directs the sheriff of Clinton County to seize the goods and chattels of Peter Sailly in order to satisfy a judgment of $632.91.  The writ was witnessed (although not signed) by James Kent, Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court and contains the names of Francis Bloodgood and James Fairlie as Clerks of the Court.  The writ also mentions “Graham” who was the attorney for Brown and Reid.

On the reverse, below the court docketing, Isaac Platt, the Clinton County sheriff, writes,” No Goods or Chattels, Lands or Tenements whereon I could levy in my bailiwick” and signs as sheriff.

Background Information: The individuals named in this document all occupy a prominent place in New York history.  Peter Sailly (1754 – 1826) was born in France, and after settling in Plattsburgh, NY, engaged in fur trading and numerous mercantile pursuits. At the time this writ was issued, he was the judge of Clinton County.  He served as U.S. congressman from 1805 – 1807.  Francis Bloodgood (1768 – 1840) , clerk of the Supreme Court from 1797 to 1825 became Mayor of Albany in 1831. He was the son of James and Lydia (Van Valkenburgh) Bloodgood.  His Supreme Court office was in Albany while the office of his colleague James Fairlie was in New York City.  James Kent (1763 – 1847), son of Moss Kent and Hannah Rogers Kent, was Chancellor of the state of New York and became Chief Justice of the Court in 1804.  A professor of law at Columbia University, he occupies a place of importance in New York State legal history.  Isaac Platt was a member of the family settled the Plattsburgh area on Lake Champlain.

 *Note: a “writ of fieri facias” is a writ of execution, ordering the sheriff to seize a debtor’s possessions to satisfy a court judgment.

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