Docket Book of Justice of the Peace. "John Reifsnyder. Docket no.1."
Union County, Pennsylvania: August 7, 1820 - August 14, 1823. Item #894 Tall folio. 320 x 200 mm., [13 x 8 inches]. Manuscript in ink. 278 pp. Includes 13 loose notes, filled forms, some anchored with common pins. Contemporary calf backed boards, well worn, spine separating, slight fading; paper stock browning and a bit stained by sound and the handwriting is highly legible. Dated and numbered 1-629 docket entries for Union County, Pennsylvania, which contain about three entries per page, many of which involve Pennsylvania Germans. The plaintiffs and defendant are named, and the judgments and payments entered. Often, the entry contains the signature of one of the parties acknowledging receipt of monies. Many cases concern debts owed. A typical entry: "No. 47 1821. Daniel Stetler vs Andrew Hendrix. Summons debt not exceeding 100 dollars Book amount for Mending a Plough for defendan." The entry further gives the amounts owed, court costs, the execution dates, etc. Some entries are quite detailed, such as a (contemporarily familiar) dispute between Jacob Henz and Christian Boyer over "a demand of $250 for the Carpenter work of defendant's house." The defendant stated that he had "bargained with the plaintiff for the said carpenter work of said house for $150 but was willing to allow him thirty dollars more." The case was referred by Michael Harkenberg, Jacob Shadle, and Jacob Houseward and finally decided in favor of the defendant. Other cases involve "balance on boot money in a trade for a gun," "an amount for earth to make earthenware" (pottery), and Capt. John Lebnig's suit over calfskin for drum heads. The dispute evidence shows occupations for many of the town's settlers, information not available in early censuses. The location appears to be Freeburg, Union County, Pennsylvania, from references in several entries. Union County is now Snyder County which was settled in the 1740's by Pennsylvania Germans from Berks and Lancaster Counties and became an independent political unit in 1855. The Reifsnyders were early settlers in the area. Another frequent signatory in the book is Peter Wolf, either another Justice of the Peace or an assistant. (894)
Price: $1,750.00