Introduction to C. Lake for the use of Quinn v. Millet et al.
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C. Lake for the use of Quinn v. Millet, JS, and H. Smith
Kirtland Township, Geauga Co., Ohio, Justice of the Peace Court, 10 July 1837
Historical Introduction
On 26 September 1836, JS, , and borrowed fifty dollars from , a church member in , Ohio. The surviving court document does not specify the reason for the promissory note, which came due in January 1837, bearing interest. Sometime between September 1836 and July 1837, Lake transferred the note to . The language stating that the lawsuit was “” Quinn informed officers of the court that Quinn was the owner of the promissory note.
In 1837, a banking crisis led to a major financial panic in the . As the panic unfolded in May 1837, started calling in debts and foreclosing mortgages. Not long after, legal action was commenced before , a justice of the peace in , to collect on the note. Cowdery ordered the constable, , to summon JS, , and to court. When the defendants did not appear, the court rendered judgment against them. entered a for the defendants for one hundred dollars, guaranteeing payment of the judgment of $52.39. On 1 January 1838, Quinn attested that he received the amount awarded by the court.
Calendar of Documents
This calendar lists all known documents created by or for the court, whether extant or not. It does not include versions of documents created for other purposes, though those versions may be listed in footnotes. In certain cases, especially in cases concerning unpaid debts, the originating document (promissory note, invoice, etc.) is listed here. Note that documents in the calendar are grouped with their originating court. Where a version of a document was subsequently filed with another court, that version is listed under both courts.
1836 (1)
September (1)
26 September 1836
JS and Others, Promissory Note, Kirtland Township, Geauga Co., OH, to Cyrus Lake
26 Sept. 1836. Not extant.
C. Lake for the use of Quinn v. Millet et al., Justice of the Peace Court
1837 (3)
July (3)
8 July 1837
Oliver Cowdery, Summons, to Burton H. Phelps, Kirtland Township, Geauga Co., OH
8 July 1837. Not extant.
Ca. 10 July 1837
Docket Entry, Kirtland Township, Geauga Co., OH
Ca. 10 July 1837; Cowdery, Docket Book, 91; handwriting of Warren F. Cowdery and Oliver Cowdery; signature of John Gould; notation in handwriting of Christopher Quinn.
22 July 1837
Recognizance, Kirtland Township, Geauga Co., OH, for John Gould
JS History / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1838–1856. Vols. A-1–F-1 (original), A-2–E-2 (fair copy). Historian’s Office, History of the Church, 1839–ca. 1882. CHL. CR 100 102, boxes 1–7. The history for the period after 5 Aug. 1838 was composed after the death of Joseph Smith.
Ohio law provided that payment of a judgment could be stayed if bail was given. The language of Gould’s recognizance followed the form published in the Ohio statutes, except that it omitted the phrase “for stay of execution.” (An Act Defining the Powers and Duties of Justices of the Peace and Constables, in Civil Cases [14 Mar. 1831], Acts of a General Nature [1831], pp. 181, 191, secs. 63–64, 114.)
Acts of a General Nature, Enacted, Revised and Ordered to Be Reprinted, at the First Session of the Twenty-Ninth General Assembly of the State of Ohio. Columbus: Olmsted and Bailhache, 1831.