Introduction to Parker v. Foster

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Introduction to Parker v. Foster Promissory Note, 9 February 1842 [Parker v. Foster] Summons, 16 July 1842 [Parker v. Foster] Subpoena, 16 July 1842 [Parker v. Foster] Execution, 25 July 1842 [Parker v. Foster] Execution, 25 July 1842, Copy [Parker v. Foster] Docket Entry, circa 16 July 1842 [Parker v. Foster]
Introduction to Parker v. Foster
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Parker v. Foster

Nauvoo, Hancock Co., Illinois, Mayor’s Court, 25 July 1842

Historical Introduction

On 9 February 1842,
Nauvoo
Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....
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, Illinois, resident
Solon Foster
8 Jan. 1811–17 Mar. 1896. Farmer. Born at Danby, Tompkins Co., New York. Son of Luther Foster and Ruth Hedges. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1833. Participated in Camp of Israel expedition to Missouri, 1834. Ordained an elder,...
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borrowed fifty-five dollars from Samuel Parker, which he promised to repay by 1 June.
1
Promissory Note, 9 Feb. 1842 [Parker v. Foster]. Foster possibly entered the debt to help pay for a parcel of Nauvoo property his wife, Sarah Downing, and her sister Thomazine purchased in July 1841. The terms of sale for the property, comprising the south half of lot 3 in block 94 of Nauvoo, required payment of $200 by 1 April 1842. (Trustees Land Book A, Hotchkiss Purchase, block 94, lot 3; Helen Foster Snow, Biographical sketch of Sarah Downing, typescript, FamilySearch, accessed 6 Sept. 2018, https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/3224283?p=17539675.)
Comprehensive Works Cited
Trustees Land Books / Trustee-in-Trust, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Land Books, 1839–1845. 2 vols. CHL. MS 3437.
FamilySearch. Compiled by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. https://familysearch.org.
When Foster failed to pay the debt, Parker initiated an action to recover it, and on 16 July 1842, Foster received a summons to appear in court. The case was scheduled for 21 July, but Foster asked for and was granted a continuance.
2
Docket Entry, ca. 16 July 1842 [Parker v. Foster]. On continuances, see An Act Concerning Justices of the Peace and Constables [3 Feb. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], p. 405, sec. 8.
The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.
When the court reconvened on 25 July, JS heard the testimony of the parties and ruled that Foster pay the fifty-five dollars plus interest and court costs.
3
Docket Entry, ca. 16 July 1842 [Parker v. Foster]. The docket entry for the case mentions a subpoena for David Brinton, which was not returned. Brinton still attended the hearing, though he was not examined. JS, as mayor of Nauvoo and therefore, according to Nauvoo’s city charter, a justice of the peace, had jurisdiction “to hear and determine” all cases involving debts less than $100. (An Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo [16 Dec. 1840], Laws of the State of Illinois [1840–1841], p. 55, sec. 16; An Act Concerning Justices of the Peace and Constables [3 Feb. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], p. 402, sec. 1.)
Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Twelfth General Assembly, at Their Session, Began and Held at Springfield, on the Seventh of December, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Forty. Springfield, IL: William Walters, 1841.

Though Parker obtained a judgment in his favor,
Foster
8 Jan. 1811–17 Mar. 1896. Farmer. Born at Danby, Tompkins Co., New York. Son of Luther Foster and Ruth Hedges. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1833. Participated in Camp of Israel expedition to Missouri, 1834. Ordained an elder,...
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was unable to pay the debt in full. By 21 August 1842, a
constable
30 Nov. 1803–15 Dec. 1875. Farmer. Born at Pittstown, Rensselaer Co., New York. Son of William Morey and Anda Martin. Moved to Collinsville, Butler Co., Ohio, 1814. Married Sylvia Butterfield, 29 Oct. 1825, at Butler Co. Moved to Vermillion Co., Illinois,...
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was able to collect $2.50 by selling a piece of Foster’s property; he noted on the
execution
“The act of carrying into effect the final judgment of a court, or other jurisdiction. The writ which authorises the officer so to carry into effect such judgment is also called an execution. . . . Executions are either to recover specific things, or money...
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, “no more property found whereon to levy.”
4
Docket Entry, ca. 16 July 1842 [Parker v. Foster].

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.

1842 (1)
February (1)
9 February 1842
Solon Foster, Promissory Note, Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL, to Samuel Parker
9 Feb. 1842; Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL; handwriting of John A. Forgeus; signature of Solon Foster; notation in handwriting of James Sloan.

Nauvoo, Hancock Co., Illinois, Mayor’s Court
1842 (5)
July (5)
16 July 1842
JS as Mayor and Justice of the Peace, Summons, to Nauvoo City Marshal, for Solon Foster, Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL
16 July 1842; Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL; handwriting of James Sloan; signature of JS; docket in handwriting of James Sloan; notations in handwriting of Henry G. Sherwood, William W. Phelps, and James Sloan.

16 July 1842
JS as Mayor and Justice of the Peace, Subpoena, to Nauvoo City Marshal, for Gustavus Hills, Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL
16 July 1842; Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL; handwriting of James Sloan; signature of JS; notations in handwriting of Henry G. Sherwood and William W. Phelps.

Ca. 16 July 1842
Docket Entry, Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL
Ca. 16 July 1842; Nauvoo Mayor’s Court Docket Book, 32; handwriting of James Sloan; notations in handwriting of James Sloan.
Ca. 24 Aug. 1842. Not extant.
1
A certified transcript of the docket entry was created for the plaintiff. (Docket Entry, ca. 16 July 1842 [Parker v. Foster].)

25 July 1842
Subpoena, for David Brinton, Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL
25 July 1842. Not extant.
1
See Docket Entry, ca. 16 July 1842 [Parker v. Foster].

25 July 1842
JS as Mayor and Justice of the Peace, Execution, to Nauvoo City Marshal, Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL
25 July 1842; Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL; handwriting of James Sloan; signature of JS; notations in handwriting of James Sloan, George Morey, and John D. Parker.
Ca. 25 July 1842; Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL; handwriting of James Sloan; notation by James Sloan.

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Footnotes
[1]
Promissory Note, 9 Feb. 1842 [Parker v. Foster]. Foster possibly entered the debt to help pay for a parcel of Nauvoo property his wife, Sarah Downing, and her sister Thomazine purchased in July 1841. The terms of sale for the property, comprising the south half of lot 3 in block 94 of Nauvoo, required payment of $200 by 1 April 1842. (Trustees Land Book A, Hotchkiss Purchase, block 94, lot 3; Helen Foster Snow, Biographical sketch of Sarah Downing, typescript, FamilySearch, accessed 6 Sept. 2018, https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/3224283?p=17539675.)
Trustees Land Books / Trustee-in-Trust, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Land Books, 1839–1845. 2 vols. CHL. MS 3437.
FamilySearch. Compiled by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. https://familysearch.org.
[2]
Docket Entry, ca. 16 July 1842 [Parker v. Foster]. On continuances, see An Act Concerning Justices of the Peace and Constables [3 Feb. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], p. 405, sec. 8.
[3]
Docket Entry, ca. 16 July 1842 [Parker v. Foster]. The docket entry for the case mentions a subpoena for David Brinton, which was not returned. Brinton still attended the hearing, though he was not examined. JS, as mayor of Nauvoo and therefore, according to Nauvoo’s city charter, a justice of the peace, had jurisdiction “to hear and determine” all cases involving debts less than $100. (An Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo [16 Dec. 1840], Laws of the State of Illinois [1840–1841], p. 55, sec. 16; An Act Concerning Justices of the Peace and Constables [3 Feb. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], p. 402, sec. 1.)
Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Twelfth General Assembly, at Their Session, Began and Held at Springfield, on the Seventh of December, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Forty. Springfield, IL: William Walters, 1841.
[4]
Docket Entry, ca. 16 July 1842 [Parker v. Foster].