Description:

Henry Clay
[Woodford County, KY], n.d.
Henry Clay Signed Legal Doc As "Pro Querente" Or "For The Plaintiff"
AMS

A 1p autograph manuscript signed by Henry Clay (1777-1852), then in his capacity as plaintiff's counsel, as "H. Clay p.q." near the bottom ("p.q." is the abbreviation for a now mostly obsolete legal term meaning "pro querente" or "for the plaintiff.") N.d., possibly 1847? [Woodford County, Kentucky.] Inscribed overall on laid paper, with contemporaneous blanks left in the document to be filled in later. Docketed and hand-stamped verso. Expected wear including flattened transmittal folds, with discolored creases and tiny scattered breaks along the folds. Uneven toning verso, and irregularly trimmed. Else very good to near fine. 8" x 9.75." Provenance: Ex-Charles Hamilton, 1972.

Henry Clay was a practicing lawyer for over 50 years while he concurrently pursued a career in American politics. He accepted cases in and around the populous city of Lexington, where he first established his private practice circa 1800. In this debt collection case introduced to the Woodford County Court of Woodford, Kentucky, Henry Clay represented Samuel Wooldridge (the assignee of William Hawkins), in the lawsuit Wooldridge v. Blair. On April 9, 1801, one James Blair had promised to repay a loan of £20 to William Hawkins, but had subsequently reneged on his commitment. Woodford County is located in a western suburb of Lexington, today part of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area.

In part: "For that whereas the said deft on the 9th day of April in the year of our Lord 1801 at the parish of Kentucky and in the County aforesaid by his certain promissory note sealed with his seal and to the Court now here shewn, the date whereof is the same day and year aforesaid promised to pay unto the said William Hawkins the sum of twenty pounds on demand…Yet the said deft although often required the said Sum of £20 nor any part thereof to the said plt hath not paid but the same to him to pay hitherto hath refused and still doth refuse to the damage of the plt £20 and therefore he brings suit…"

Clay's signature appears near the "signatures" of those omnipresent pledges of the prosecution, John Doe and Richard Roe. This imaginary pair has appeared in the records of English court cases since the Middle Ages and represented the "average citizen." (Another duo favored by lawyers was John Den and Richard Fen.)

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 8" x 9.75"
  • Medium: AMS

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