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( 67 ) March. 10th. 1690/1 Declaring him to be so before Magistrate & witnesses is Suffitient discharge for any Servant that comes in wth out Indenture Nam eodem modo Solvitur oblige quam ligatur. there being fresh presidents for it upon record viz mr- ffrancis Jenckins then a Comissioner for this County did declare by word Tymothy Mackarthy his Servant and before the expiration of his time free and before the Clerk could well withdraw his hand from the Record he bound himself to ye said mr ffrancis:Jenckins for above ten years, and if a Servant before the expiration of his transported time why not another Servant a month after his freedome by the same Quere. And lastly the deft sayes that the sd Stitt was free by the Custome of the Country at the end of five years which was upon the 23 day of Janry last past, his contract and his ffathers being only by word his discharge may and in Law is good by word whereof there is positive Evidence,and the said Stitt bound to perform his Obligation (proved and acknowledged) the 24th of ffebry. following which was a full month for Consideration otherwise the president will be of so dangerous a Consequence that all Servants and Apprentises, may plead -ion est factum, to the great damage of Masters & tradesmen and also to the Comonwealth, To the weal of which and encouragement of Manifactories the Law hath a spetial care, neither will any other deed, Indented Sealed and never so Solemnly declared and acknowledged be of any force to bind the Obligee to the performance And this deft pleads in Barr of the judgment, the verdict of the Jury being Contrary to positive evidence James: Sangster. pr deft - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - vide Letter. To the worll Cort. David Browne, and the rest of the worll the Comrs of Somerset County in Court Sitting these humbly pre- Gentlemen May it please your worshipps/Sometime in ffebruary last past(I suppose at or upon y 24th.day) Came John Starrett with a Ladd or youth to my house the youths name (as near as I can remember was Robert:Stitt) and after they had been in my house some Small time, John:Starrett spoke to me these words following as near as I can well remember.viz)Sr.I have here brought a Ladd before you,and doe declare that he hath Served me justly & truly the time according to the Custom of the Country (or to that effect) and doe here before you discharge him from all Service whatsoever upon account of his transportation; (as near as I can remember, there was also at that time Richard:Macklure and ffrancis Alexander psent) upon these words I calld the Ladd and askt him if he took notice of what his Master said, he answered me yes, and bowed himself reverently(I tooke it) in the way of thankfullness to his late Master. Some Small time after John:Starrett produces an Indenture ready drawn & speaks thus or to this effect. Sr.the Ladd is willing to bind himself to me again to Serve according to the tenour of this Indenture, at which I was somewhat Surprized and calld the Ladd and said thus to him.Sweet hart y binding of Apprentises is and ought to be a tender thing, thou hast heard thy late Master declare thee to be a freeman before me and these other people present. If thou art not willing to Serve thy old Master again, speak & declare it here be afraid of no man, thou are in the place of Justice and shalt have Justice, thy Master hath declared the to be a freeman & thou art a freeman, and if at any time thy Master should deny the same tell me, and I will appear as an Evidence against him upon this I bid him consider, and rose up and lighted a pipe of tobacco and Smoakt it out after he came in I askt if his Master or no other had deluded him by fair words or pretences to make him give his consent, he said no. I demanded his reason for binding him Selfe again, he said, a desire he had to learn the trade of a Cooper. And likewise that his Master had been a good Master to him, and therefore hehad rather Serve him then anyone els & imediatly Signed the Indenture, to which I referr your worps. this is the tenour of what I formerly declared upon Oath in Open Court, and doe now again affirm the same to be certain truth in the presence of the great God of Heaven & Earth, in witness whereof I have hereunto Sett my hand and Seal the 15th. of August 1690 Verte Edmund: Howard ? |
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Somerset County Judicial Records, 1690-1691
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