Description:

Wilson James


James Wilson, PA Declaration and Constitution Signer, Signed Legal Summons from July 1776!

 

Partly printed and partly handwritten legal summons signed by double Declaration of Independence and Constitution signer James Wilson (1742-1798) as "Wilson" verso along the right edge. Also signed by Cumberland County clerk John Agnew as "John Agnew" in the lower right corner. Itemized bill and docket information found verso. Faint embossed ring located recto in the upper left corner. In very good to near fine condition, with expected paper folds, toning, and edge darkening. The document measures 13.5" x 3.875" when unfolded.

 

The summons reads in part:

 

"Cumberland County, ff. George the Third, by the Grace of God, of Great-Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c."

 

To the Sheriff of Cumberland County, Greeting:

 

We command you, that of the Goods and Chattels, Lands and Tenements of Owen Aslon late of your county yeoman in your Bailiwick, you cause to be made, as well the Sum of Forty pounds Lawful Money of Pennsylvania, which Robert Christie apr of Samuel York lately in our County Court of Common Pleas, before our Justices at Carlisle, recovered against him of Debt, as Eighty one Shillings which to the said Robert in our same Court were adjudged for his Damages, which he sustained by Occasion of the Detention of that Debt, whereof the said Owen is convict. And have you those Monies before our Justices at Carlisle, at our County Court of Common Pleas, there to be held the twenty third Day of July next, to render to the aforesaid Robert for his Debt and Damages aforesaid. And have you then there this Writ."

 

The case of Aslon vs. Christie involved defendant and yeoman Owen Aslon and plaintiff Robert Christie, an apprentice (?) of Samuel York. Evidently Aslon had borrowed £40 from Christie but had not repaid it in a timely manner, resulting in an additional fee of 80 shillings for damages. Aslon was ordered to appear at the next session of the "County Court of Common Pleas" at Carlisle on July 23, 1776 to face charges and pay damages.

 

It's possible that James Wilson represented either the plaintiff or defendant; he was a successful lawyer serving clients in eight central Pennsylvania counties including Cumberland in July 1776. Around the same time, Wilson was also one of nine Pennsylvania delegates to sign the Declaration of Independence. Many historians believe that Wilson's contributions as a Founding Father have been consistently underrated. Both his academic background and fine mind made him a powerful ideologue, able to articulate basic ideas behind the Revolution in pamphlet form as early as 1768. Later, Wilson fleshed out some of these abstract ideas by contributing to the first draft of the Constitution.

 

Wilson was imbued with core Scottish Enlightenment ideals while attending several prestigious Scottish universities. After emigrating to the United States as a young man, Wilson served as a tutor and lecturer. He opened a private law practice and moved to Carlisle in central Pennsylvania in 1771. In 1775-1777, 1783, and 1785-1786, Wilson served as a delegate to the Continental Congress. He was one of eight Pennsylvania delegates to sign the Constitution. President George Washington later appointed Wilson to the U.S. Supreme Court.

 


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