Description:

Thornton Matthew

Matthew Thornton, New Hampshire Declaration Signer, DS

 

Part of a 1p legal document dated October 15, 1771 signed by Declaration Signer Matthew Thornton (1713-1803) as "M. Thornton" at bottom recto. The watermarked cream paper has been tipped into a larger sheet measuring 8.125" x 10". Docketed verso. In very good condition. Professional repairs found along some folds. Isolated discoloration and a few rough patches, possibly mounting traces, also evident.

 

Future Declaration Signer Thornton--probably in his capacity as Associate Justice of the Superior Court of New Hampshire--signed this legal document circa 1771-1772. Thornton represented Coutsman, the plaintiff in the lawsuit Coutsman v. Awberry. On October 15, 1771, Awberry had promised to repay a loan of £8 but had subsequently reneged on the contract.

 

In part: "…the said Defd…made his Certain writing obligatory in form of a Penal Bill Sealed with the seal of the said Defd and Bearing date the Day and year afd and with his own handwriting thereto Subscribed…to which payment [was well and Truly to be made [by the said Defd Bound himself his Heirs Executors and administrators in the Penal sum of Sixteen Pounds Current money of Virginia…"

 

A penal sum usually applies to bond agreements and represents the maximum penalty to be paid if the loan is defaulted. Not having paid off his original loan of £8, Awberry was now responsible for £16, as well as damages of 40 shillings. Thornton's signature appears near the signatures of those omnipresent pledges of 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.)

 

Matthew Thornton earned his medical degree, opened a private practice in Londonderry, New Hampshire, and served as an army surgeon during the Louisbourg campaign of the 1740s. Thornton also served in the local militia, as a justice of the peace, as a colonial representative, and as one of three New Hampshire delegates to the 1776 Continental Congress; he signed the document in November 1776. Thornton did not have any formal legal training but served as an Associate Justice of the Superior Court of New Hampshire in the 1770s. After retirement, Thornton took up farming and operated a ferry.

 

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