Lot 141

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Description:

Declaration-Signer Francis Hopkinson and Constitution-Signer Jared Ingersoll Sign Same Document in Philadelphia Admiralty Court

FRANCIS HOPKINSON, Autograph Endorsement Signed, Monition to James Read, May 13, 1784, on JARED INGERSOLL, Autograph Document Signed, Libel against Captain Neveux, Master of the Brigantine Vigilant, filed May 13, 1784, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 2 pp., 10ʺ x 15.5ʺ. Expected folds; three-inch edge tear on fold affecting four words; staining obscuring one name; edge and fold tears not affecting text; very good.

By this monition (a summons in admiralty cases), Judge Francis Hopkinson of the Admiralty Court of Pennsylvania orders James Read to summon to court Captain Neveux and the owners of the brig Vigilant to respond to the complaint of seven sailors for their wages. The brigantine Vigilant had sailed from Dunkirk to Philadelphia and arrived on March 22. It planned to depart for Guadeloupe late in April, but was likely delayed by this suit. Because the parties did not appear, the owners probably reached a settlement with the seven sailors.

In 1792, Hopkinson published forty-nine of his decisions from the Admiralty Court in the third volume of his Miscellaneous Essays and Occasional Writings. Although this case was not among those published, approximately one quarter of those Hopkinson included involved seamen who were suing for their wages. Hopkinson generally sided with aggrieved sailors, and in Patrick Mahoon et al. v. the Brig Glocester, Hopkinson held that “Mariners are generally engaged on shore, and always sue for their wages in this court. In the one case the mariners are paid monthly wages, or by the run, in the other by a share of the booty taken. There is the same reason in both cases. But I am of opinion that the articles are not the true foundation of a seaman’s claim. If one or more mariners should enter on board a vessel, with the knowledge and consent of the master, should receive his orders and perform the duties of the station, they would be entitled to customary wages, or a proportion of the booty taken in common with the rest of the crew, although they had signed no articles at all, the right is not founded in the articles, but in the service.”

After Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789, admiralty jurisdiction transferred to federal district courts rather than state courts.

Complete Transcript:

To the Honourable Francis Hopkinson Esqr Judge of the Court of Admiralty for the State of Pennsylvania
The Libel of Anthony Godinoy John
[Labac] Louis Martin Bernard Florentine Frank Butler Peter Du Camp Peter Du Cross – Mariners
The Libellants propound and shew that they were shipped as Seamen by Capt Neveux of the Brig Vigilant now lying in this port on the second of September in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty three at Dunkirque by the sea voyage from Dunkirque aforesaid to Philadelphia at the wages of Six Crowns pr month.
That they are able and expert Seamen & have performed their Duty from the time of their being shipped as aforesaid till the thirteenth Day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty four when they were Discharged. But the master & owners of said Brig refuse to pay them the wages Justly Due Wherefore they pray that process may issue against the said Brig and that she may be condemned & adjudged to the use of the Libellants for the payment and Discharge of their wages and services to which they are entitled as above specified. And they as in Duty Bound will every pray &c.
J. Ingersoll Proc
[tor]

[Monition:]
To Jas Read Esqr Reg &c
Please to issue Process against the Brig Vigilant agreeably to the Prayer of the within Bill & cite all Persons &c to appear at a Court &c at 10 o’Clock in the morning on Saturday next
Fras Hopkinson
Thursday May 13 1784

[File Note:]
Wr: of Attachmt & Monition
Ex. May 13, 1874, retble 15th
15th Writ retd. Vessel discharged.
The Parties not appearing &c.

Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791) was born in Philadelphia and graduated from the College of Philadelphia (now University of Pennsylvania) in 1757 with a bachelor’s degree and in 1760 with a master’s degree. In 1759, he became the first American composer of a secular song. He practiced law in Philadelphia from 1761 to 1766. After spending more than a year in England unsuccessfully seeking the office of Commissioner of Customs for North America, Hopkinson returned to Philadelphia, became a merchant, and served as Collector of Customs at New Castle, Delaware. From 1774 to 1776, he served as a member of the New Jersey Provincial Council and represented New Jersey in 1776 in the Second Continental Congress, where he signed the Declaration of Independence. He served in a variety of offices during the Revolutionary War, including member of the Navy Board (1776-1777), Treasurer of the Continental Loan Office (1778-1781), and Judge of the Admiralty Court of Pennsylvania (1779-1789). As an artist, Hopkinson created designs for Continental paper money, the first United States coin, and two early versions of the American flag, one for the United States and another for the U.S. Navy (both originally with six-pointed stars). He also contributed to the design of the Great Seal of the United States. In addition, he was a member of the Pennsylvania Convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution. In 1789, President George Washington appointed Hopkinson as judge of the new United States District Court for the District of Pennsylvania, a position Hopkinson held until his death nearly twenty months later.

James Read (1718-1793) was born in Pennsylvania and went into business selling books with his widowed step-mother in 1737, in a shop next to Benjamin Franklin’s, who had married Read’s second cousin. Read gained admission to the Pennsylvania bar in 1742, and soon moved to Reading. There he held several offices, including clerk of several of the local courts. Berks County voters elected him to the Assembly in 1777 and to the Supreme Executive Council in 1778-1781 and 1787-1790. When the Register of the Court of Admiralty died in June 1781, Read resigned from the Supreme Executive Council, the remaining members of which elected him as Register, a position he held from 1781 to 1789. Apparently, his daughter Sarah Read (1756-1793) acted as his clerk and performed many of the writing tasks of the position. Both Read and his daughter died in the yellow fever epidemic of 1793.

Jared Ingersoll (1749-1822) was born in Connecticut and graduated from Yale College in 1766. He moved to Philadelphia, studied law, and gained admission to the bar. In 1773, he moved to London to study law at the Middle Temple. After completing his studies in 1776, he toured Europe for two years and transitioned from a Loyalist to a Patriot. He returned to Philadelphia and entered the legal profession, attending to the clients of family friend Joseph Reed, who was a member of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania. Ingersoll began to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1791. He represented Pennsylvania in the Continental Congress (1780-1781) and at the Constitutional Convention (1787), where he signed the U.S. Constitution. He later served as Attorney General of Pennsylvania (1790-1799, 1811-1817) and as U.S. District Attorney for Pennsylvania (1800-1801). In 1812, he was the unsuccessful Federalist candidate for Vice President.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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