{"product_id":"william-bollan-signed-1734-massachusetts-bay-writ-early-colonial-lawyer-and-future-agent-in-london","title":"WILLIAM BOLLAN SIGNED 1734 MASSACHUSETTS BAY WRIT — EARLY COLONIAL LAWYER AND FUTURE AGENT IN LONDON","description":"\u003cp class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003eAn original Massachusetts Bay legal writ dated \u003cstrong\u003eApril 9, 1734\u003c\/strong\u003e, bearing an apparent early legal endorsement by \u003cstrong\u003eWilliam Bollan\u003c\/strong\u003e, the prominent colonial attorney who later represented Massachusetts before the British government in London.\u003cspan class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePrinted and manuscript document issued in the name of \u003cstrong\u003eKing George II\u003c\/strong\u003e, directing the sheriff of Essex County to attach the estate of \u003cstrong\u003eIsaac Follett of Salem\u003c\/strong\u003e, identified as a weaver or yeoman, and, if insufficient property could be found, to take him into custody. Follett was ordered to appear before the Suffolk County Inferior Court of Common Pleas in Boston to answer a claim brought by \u003cstrong\u003eDavid Dolbear of Boston, cordwainer\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccording to the writ, Follett had executed a note dated December 3, 1733, promising payment of \u003cstrong\u003e£50\u003c\/strong\u003e by January 10, but had failed to satisfy the debt. The sheriff was consequently authorized to attach property valued at £100.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe reverse contains the contemporary return of \u003cstrong\u003eThomas Chute, Deputy Sheriff\u003c\/strong\u003e, dated April 10, recording that he had attached Follett’s “house and land belonging thereto” in Salem and left a summons at the defendant’s usual residence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt lower left appears the endorsement:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“William Bollan Att[orney] Pl[aintiff]”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBollan was then practicing law in Massachusetts. In 1745 Governor William Shirley selected him as Massachusetts’s agent in England, initially to recover the province’s substantial expenses incurred during the capture of Louisbourg. He became an important advocate for Massachusetts and later wrote extensively on colonial rights, constitutional government, and freedom of speech and the press.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe writ is additionally signed by \u003cstrong\u003eJohn Ballantine\u003c\/strong\u003e, longtime clerk of the Suffolk County Inferior Court of Common Pleas, beneath the printed authority of Justice Thomas Palmer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA rare surviving example of Bollan’s early Massachusetts legal career, created more than a decade before his appointment as colonial agent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDate:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 9, 1734\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePlace:\u003c\/strong\u003e Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSignatures:\u003c\/strong\u003e William Bollan; John Ballantine; Thomas Chute, Deputy Sheriff\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Substantial paper losses through the central vertical fold, smaller punctures, fold separations, edge wear, toning and staining. Manuscript remains substantially legible. Please examine photographs carefully.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Signature Documents LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52742001983770,"sku":null,"price":1117.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2221\/0931\/files\/IMG_2576.jpg?v=1787691517","url":"https:\/\/www.thearchiveauthority.com\/en-ca\/products\/william-bollan-signed-1734-massachusetts-bay-writ-early-colonial-lawyer-and-future-agent-in-london","provider":"Signature Documents LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}