Introduction to Cahoon, Carter & Co. for the use of JS v. Draper
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Cahoon, Carter & Co. for the use of JS v. Draper
Kirtland Township, Geauga Co., Ohio, Justice of the Peace Court, circa August 1837
Historical Introduction
The year 1837 was a period of economic unrest for the . A financial crisis gripped the entire country, resulting in failed banks and declining land values. As a result, JS’s financial situation became increasingly strained. By April 1837, several lawsuits were initiated for debts owed by JS and business ventures in which he was associated. JS, in turn, sought to recover debts owed to him, including a debt owed by . In December 1836, Draper became indebted to the , Ohio, firm in the amount of $4.49. At some point the note was to JS. When Draper failed to pay the debt, an action commenced in July 1837 before , recently elected justice of the peace for Kirtland Township.
Constable noted that he served the summons “by copy” on 22 July. failed to appear on 25 July, and the court continued the matter until August. The docket entry abruptly ends, and there are no extant records to indicate whether the case was tried or if the debt was resolved.
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)
December (1)
14 December 1836
Marvin Draper, Promissory Note, Kirtland Township, Geauga Co., OH, to Cahoon, Carter & Co.
14 Dec. 1836. Not extant.
Kirtland Township, Geauga Co., Ohio, Justice of the Peace Court
1837 (2)
July (2)
15 July 1837
Oliver Cowdery, Summons, to Burton Phelps, for Marvin Draper, Kirtland Township, Geauga Co., OH
JSP, D5 / Rogers, Brent M., Elizabeth A. Kuehn, Christian K. Heimburger, Max H Parkin, Alexander L. Baugh, and Steven C. Harper, eds. Documents, Volume 5: October 1835–January 1838. Vol. 5 of the Documents series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Ronald K. Esplin, Matthew J. Grow, and Matthew C. Godfrey. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2017.
The Statutes of Ohio and of the Northwestern Territory, Adopted or Enacted from 1788 to 1833 Inclusive: Together with the Ordinance of 1787; the Constitutions of Ohio and of the United States, and Various Public Instruments and Acts of Congress: Illustrated by a Preliminary Sketch of the History of Ohio; Numerous References and Notes, and Copious Indexes. 3 vols. Edited by Salmon P. Chase. Cincinnati: Corey and Fairbank, 1833–1835.
The firm Cahoon, Carter & Co. was party to or mentioned in several other legal proceedings for debt collection that involved JS: Patterson and Patterson v. Cahoon, Carter & Co. and Rigdon, Smith & Co.; Cahoon, Carter & Co. for the use of JS v. Avery; and Spencer v. Cahoon et al. For examples of cases that did not involve JS, see Transcript of Proceedings, 24 Oct. 1837, Newbold v. Cahoon, Carter & Co. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1837], Geauga County Court of Common Pleas, Common Pleas Record, vol. U, pp. 364–366; Transcript of Proceedings, 3 Apr. 1838, Scribner v. Cahoon, Carter & Co. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1838], Geauga County Court of Common Pleas, Common Pleas Record, vol. U, pp. 584–585; Transcript of Proceedings, 5 June 1837, Kelley v. Cahoon, Carter & Co. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1837], Geauga County Court of Common Pleas, Common Pleas Record, vol. U, pp. 100–101, microfilm 20,279, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Docket Entry, Costs, 3 Apr. 1838, Jonathan F. Scribner v. Cahoon et al. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1838], Geauga County Court of Common Pleas, Execution Docket, vol. G, p. 355; and Docket Entry, Costs, 5 June 1837, Kelley v. Cahoon, Carter & Co. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1837], Geauga County Court of Common Pleas, Execution Docket, vol. G, p. 57, microfilm 20,286, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL. Additionally, there is the case of Lowell Goodman v. Cahoon, Smith, and Carter, which is based on a 20 May 1835 contract and appears to predate their forming the company. (Transcript of Proceedings, 25 Oct. 1836, Goodman v. Cahoon, Smith, and Carter [Geauga Co. C.P. 1836], Geauga County Court of Common Pleas, Common Pleas Record, vol. S, pp. 438–440, microfilm 20,279, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)