Description
On July 12, 1782, the New York State Legislature passed “An Act relative to Debts due to Persons within the Enemy’s Lines.” This act concerned debts that could not be settled during the war between persons living in New York City, then under British occupation, and the rest of the state. A portion of the act stated “That it shall band may be lawful for any Person, now without the Power of the Enemy, being a Debtor to any Person now within the Power of the Enemy, at any Time after the Enemy shall be expelled from, or shall have abandoned the City of New-York…to have a Settlement….” In 1785 Nathaniel Reynolds of Westchester County informed John Read, administrator of the estate of the late Joseph Read, that he owed the estate about £200. Reynolds wished to settle his debt at the meeting of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas, which was to be held at the “meeting house in upper Salem [now North Salem]…or at such other place” where the court would be held.
Notes
The author of this letter may be Nathaniel Reynolds (1729-1805), a native of Greenwich who resided in Cross River in what is now the Town of Lewisboro. See Marion H. Reynolds, The History and Descendants of John and Sarah Reynolds (Brooklyn, N.Y.: The Reynolds Family Association, 1924), 103.
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Document Details
Document Title: Summons from Nathaniel Reynolds to John Read, Administrator of Joseph Read, to settle debt under provision of “an act relative to debts due to persons within the Enemies Line.”
Call Number: Mss. #617
Creator/Author: Reynolds, Nathaniel
Creation Date: 1785
Coverage: 1785
Format: Handwritten manuscript
Location: Bedford, N.Y.
Cite As: Courtesy of the Westchester County Historical Society.
Rights: No copyright – United States. Please credit Westchester County Historical Society. Please contact for higher resolution image(s).
Rights URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/PDF