Richard Varick Signed New York Court Manuscript Collection, 1790–1795—18 Documents Featuring Early Black History, Women’s Testimony, Banking, and Ephraim Brasher
A collection of seventeen contemporary New York court manuscripts dated 1790–1795, including sixteen documents bearing the signature of Mayor Richard Varick and one incomplete recognizance.
The collection offers a vivid record of everyday legal affairs in early federal New York. Its bail bonds, peace bonds, witness recognizances, and deposition name merchants, craftsmen, laborers, a physician, a banker, and women appearing in criminal proceedings. Occupations include hatter, brush maker, cordwainer, carpenter, barber, mariner, and tallow chandler.
Highlights include a 1791 peace bond requiring good behavior toward James Hunter, explicitly described as “a free black man”; a detailed 1794 deposition by Caleb Fowler alleging beatings and death threats against his daughter; and a witness recognizance naming Jonathan Burrall as cashier of the New York branch of the Bank of the United States.
An October 1792 peace bond names Ephraim Brasher, goldsmith, strongly identifiable with the celebrated maker of the Brasher doubloon. Another document records Phebe Green’s obligation to testify concerning an alleged assault by a New York tavern keeper.
Sixteen manuscripts bear Varick’s signature. Other individuals are generally named within the documents rather than signing them. The April 6, 1793 recognizance is incomplete as photographed, lacking its continuation and signature.
Condition varies: age toning, folds, scattered staining, ink fading and show-through, with occasional edge losses and fold separations. Many documents retain contemporary docketing on their reverses. Sold as a collection of seventeen distinct court records.
A collection of seventeen contemporary New York court manuscripts dated 1790–1795, including sixteen documents bearing the signature of Mayor Richard Varick and one incomplete recognizance.
The collection offers a vivid record of everyday legal affairs in early federal New York. Its bail bonds, peace bonds, witness recognizances, and deposition name merchants, craftsmen, laborers, a physician, a banker, and women appearing in criminal proceedings. Occupations include hatter, brush maker, cordwainer, carpenter, barber, mariner, and tallow chandler.
Highlights include a 1791 peace bond requiring good behavior toward James Hunter, explicitly described as “a free black man”; a detailed 1794 deposition by Caleb Fowler alleging beatings and death threats against his daughter; and a witness recognizance naming Jonathan Burrall as cashier of the New York branch of the Bank of the United States.
An October 1792 peace bond names Ephraim Brasher, goldsmith, strongly identifiable with the celebrated maker of the Brasher doubloon. Another document records Phebe Green’s obligation to testify concerning an alleged assault by a New York tavern keeper.
Sixteen manuscripts bear Varick’s signature. Other individuals are generally named within the documents rather than signing them. The April 6, 1793 recognizance is incomplete as photographed, lacking its continuation and signature.
Condition varies: age toning, folds, scattered staining, ink fading and show-through, with occasional edge losses and fold separations. Many documents retain contemporary docketing on their reverses. Sold as a collection of seventeen distinct court records.
