Hunterdon Co. Common Pleas, 1785–1789 — James Cole v. Benjamin Cooper, a second creditor: declaration February 1785 on a £30.8.8 bond, levy on his last 300 acres “subject to prior executions”, then a capias ad satisfaciendum in 1789.

What this document records

Benjamin had a second creditor

THIS IS WHY THE ENTRY MATTERS. [A.81] shows his father Daniel executing on him for £2,236 and taking his main plantation in 1783-84. James Cole was already suing too — declaration filed 1 March 1785 — and the levy reaches "300 acres of land which remain subject to prior executions, value £50." ⇒ Benjamin was not merely indebted to his father; he was insolvent generally, and remained so to his death in 1794.

An ocr reading was already corrected

THE DEBT IS £30.8.8, NOT “~£2000.” An earlier reading of the 1789 writ page guessed about £2,000; the declaration itself states the bond — "on the twenty eighth Day of April … 1782 at T[e]wksbury … by his certain Bill obligatory … acknowledged himself to owe … the sum of thirty pounds eight shillings and eight pence in silver or gold." Damages claimed £50. A modest debt, not a second catastrophe — and the correction changes what the suit means. It also shows what OCR does to figures, which is why the todo below exists.

🆕 the original capias writ is now found and read

2026-09-11 — the loose ORIGINAL WRIT behind the capias stage is found and transcribed at [A.178], and it is the first part of this suit ever read off an image rather than out of OCR. Hunterdon Court Records 1713-1860, IGN 008351249, images 211-212, case file 34791: an alias capias ad satisfaciendum, tested May 1789, returnable August Term 1789, endorsed by sheriff Jn[o] Lowrey. It CORROBORATES this entry's two most load-bearing values, from the manuscript: the dorse docket reads Bill dated 28th Apr 1782 and for — — £30 . 8, and the recto reads "pounds eight shillings & eight pence". ⇒ the £30.8.8 correction recorded below is now image-confirmed, and the discarded "~£2,000" reading is dead for good. ONE DIFFERENCE, RECORDED AND NOT RECONCILED: this entry places the capias at October Term 1789 (IGN 008218330, img 41, from OCR); [A.178] is returnable to August Term 1789 at a different IGN. The catalog does not assert whether these are two writs or one mis-read date. → [A.178] t1. 2026-09-15: the October date is now image-confirmed (page header "October Term Minutes 1789"), so it is not a mis-read — see the_october_1789_minutes_read_off_the_image. The minutes do not say whether the October Ca. Sa. is the same writ as [A.178]'s alias of May 1789 (returnable August) or a later one.

The october 1789 minutes read off the image

2026-09-15 — read off IGN 008218330 img 41 (the page, source.file above). The opening is headed "October Term Minutes 1789" on both pages. The last entry on the right-hand page, at 2×: "James Cole [v] Benjamin Cooper } Ca: sa: in debt. — Plff p[ro] Se ipso · C.C. Mil 10/ · Committitur ordered." CORRECTS the OCR transcription below. The OCR's "Ven[ditioni] Fa[cias] in debt" and "(S. W. Stockton, atty.)" are not in this entry — they belong to the entry immediately above it, "John & Isaac Bassett survivors &c [v] Peter Hoppough } Ven: fa: in debt. S. W. Stockton atty · Returned in the panel". The Cole v. Cooper entry names no attorney: the plaintiff appears for himself, as he did on the 1785 declaration ("James Cole for himself").

The declaration read off the image

2026-09-12 — read off IGN 008350663 imgs 289–290. Docket (img 289): "Hunterdon Common Pleas. [6799 written over 679] 679 Of February Term 1785. James Cole ag[ain]st Benjamin Cooper — Declaration in Debt. James Cole for himself. filed March y[e] [?] 1785. Stockton Clk." Declaration (img 290), a printed form filled in: "Hunterdon County, ss. Of the Term of February in the Year of Our Lord, One Thousand seven hundred and eighty five. Benjamin Cooper was summoned to answer James Cole of a Plea that he render the Sum of Thirty Pounds Eight Shillings and Eight pence which to him he owes and unjustly detains &c. And thereupon the said James saith that whereas the said Benjamin On the twenty eighth Day of April in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and eighty two [at] Teuksbury in the County aforesaid by his certain Bill obligatory with his Seal Sealed and to the Court here shewn whose Date is the same Day and Year aforesaid acknowledged himself to owe to the said James the said Sum of Thirty Pou[nds eight] Shillings and eightpence in silver or Gold to be paid to the said James or his Order the first day of October next ensuing the Date of the same … Yet the said Benjamin (although often required) the Sum aforesaid to the said James hath not paid … to the Damage of the said James fifty Pounds and thereupon he bring[s] this Suit, &c. James Cole for himself." (The printed pledges "JOHN DOE & RICHARD ROE" are scribbled over.) TWO CORRECTIONS to what this entry said from OCR: 1. "Stockton" is the CLERK, not the attorney. The docket reads Stockton Clk; the OCR-era text had "Stockton [atty]" and the subjects: row called him "Attorney on the declaration". Corrected below. The 1789 capias's "S. W. Stockton, atty." is still OCR and unchecked. 2. The filing DAY is not legible. The OCR-era "March [1]st 1785" is not supported: a blot covers the day, leaving "March y[e] … 1785". Recorded as [?].

Spelling as found: "Teuksbury" — the catalog's Tewksbury is the standard form. Confirmed from the image: the bond date (28 April 1782), the place, the sum £30. 8. 8, the due date (1 October following) and damages of £50.

🆕 benjamin pleaded 1785

2026-09-12 — HE CONTESTED THE SUIT. Found by the 131-reel "James Cole" sweep ([A.180] t2). IGN 008351183 (case files no. 2226–2423), imgs 471–472, case-file stamp 2344; read at 2–4×. Plea (img 472): "Benj[amin] Cooper ad[s] James Cole } In Debt — Plea — Defendant owes nothing &c. J. Smith Att[orne]y for Def[endan]t." Docket (img 471): "Benj[amin] Cooper ad[s] James Cole } In Debt — Plea — filed May 3d 1785 — Stockton Clk." ⇒ a plea of nil debet, filed 3 May 1785 — two months after the declaration (filed March 1785) and in the same month the fieri facias [A.180] was tested. Benjamin had counsel, where Cole appeared "for himself". The plea does not say why he denied the debt.

The capias is the endpoint

A capias ad satisfaciendum in October Term 1789 is a writ to take the body — issued when there is nothing left to levy on. Four years after the levy, Cole was still unpaid and the goods were gone.