Alefounder v. Dawson, 1776

	Colchester pedigree
	Colchester notes,	John Alefounder
		James Alefounder
		Robert Alefounder

Chancery proceedings, Alefounder v. Dawson, 1776, TNA reference C12/1636/8. Two pages, John Alefounder's bill of complaint followed by Peter Dawson's answer. As is usual in these cases, there is no record of the verdict. Uncertain parts are marked {thus}.

Chancery Mitford by Joseph {...}alle

Humbly Complaining Shew unto your Lordship your Orators James Upsher Alefounder and Robert Alefounder Children of James Alefounder late of the Parish of Saint Botolph Aldgate London Pawnbroker Deceased by Elizabeth his wife Infants under the Age of Twenty One Years that is to say the said James Upsher of the Age of Six Years or thereabouts and the said Robert of the Age of Four Years or thereabouts by John Alefounder of Ave Mary Lane London Surveyor their next Friend That the said James Alefounder the elder {bei}ng in his Lifetime and at the Time of his Death possessed of and intitled unto a very Considerable Stock in Trade and other Personal Estate Consisting of Leases for Years Bonds Notes ready Money and Securitys for Money Money in the Publick Funds Household Goods and Furniture Plate Jewels Linnen China Books and other Valuable Effects did on or about the Thirtieth Day of May in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy Four depart this Life Intestate leaving the said Elizabeth his Widow and your Orators and Mary Alefounder since Deceased his only Children him surviving and your Orators further Show unto your Lordship that sometime after the Death of the said James Alefounder the Elder the said Elizabeth the then Widow obtained Letters of Administration of the Personal Estate and Effects Rights and Credits of her said _^^late Husband to be Granted to her from the proper Ecclesiastical Court and by virtue thereof Possessed herself of all the said Intestates Stock in Trade Leases Bonds Notes ready Money Securitys for Money Money in the Publick Funds Household Goods and Furniture Plate Jewels Linnen China Books and other valuable Effects & all other the Personal Estate of her said late Husband to a very Considerable Amount & much more than sufficient to Pay & Satisfy all his the said Intestates Just Debts & funeral Expenses By several Thousand Pounds and your Orators further Shew unto your Lordship that upon the Death of their said late Father your Orators & the said Mary Alefounder their Sister who is since Deceased by virtue of the Statute of Distribution became intitled to two Third Parts of his Personal Estate And your Orators further shew unto your Lordship that your Orators said Mother being desirous to make a further Provision for your Orators & their said late Sister agreed with Peter Dawson of the Parish of Saint Giles in the Fields in the County of Middlesex Draper a Defendant hereafter Named to Enter into a Bond in the Penalty of One Thousand Pounds with a Condition here after mentioned and thereupon by a certain Bond or Obligation bearing date the Twenty Fourth Day of August One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy Four she the said Elizabeth your Orators said Mother became bound to the said Peter Dawson in the Penal Sum of One Thousand Pounds And after {shew}ing that the said James Alefounder late Husband of the therein bounden Elizabeth Alefounder died Intestate leaving three Children by his said wife namely your Orators James Upcher Robert & the said Mary Alefounder since deceased who were all Infants under the Age of Twenty one Years & that thereupon Letters of Administration of his Personal Estate & effects had been granted to his said Widow Elizabeth Alefounder by & out of the Ecclesiastical Court who was by virtue of the Statute of Distribution of Intestates Estates Intitled to one Third Part thereof & that the said Elizabeth Alefounder being desirous of making the best Provision she could for your Orators & their Said late Sister her said three Children for that End had of her own free Will agreed with the said Peter Dawson to secure to & for them the Sum of Five Hundred Pounds to be given & Proportioned as follows that is to say to your Orators James Upcher & Robert Alefounder the Sum of One Hundred and fifty Pounds each & to the said Mary the remaining Sum of Two Hundred Pounds to be Paid and applied to & for each & every of their use & ever at such Times & in such manner as the said Peter Dawson his Heirs Exo^-rs & Admo^-ns should & might think fitt & proper and that the said Elizabeth Alefounder had further of her own free will agreed with the said Peter Dawson his Exo^-rs and Admo^-ns that if any one or more of your Orators & their said late Sister should happen to die before his her or their said Legacy or Part thereof should be {thus} applied distributed or Expended the Share of him her or them so Dying should go & be Paid to the Survivor or Survivors and that the said Elizabeth Alefounder also of her own free will had Covenanted & agreed to and with the said Peter Dawson that the said Sum of Five Hundred Pounds {sh}ould remain & continue in the said Elizabeth Alefounders Trade during the Will and Pleasure of the said Peter Dawson his Heirs Exo^-rs & Admo^-ns and no longer the said Peter Dawson his Heirs Exo^-rs & Admo^-ns Paying such Interest unto the said Elizabeth Alefounder for & t{owards} the Maintenance & Education of your Orators & their said late Sister her said Three Children as _^^he the said Peter Dawson his Heirs Exo^-rs and Admo^-ns should and might from Time to Time make thereof and further that in Case the said Elizabeth Alefounder should Marry d{uring th}e Time the said Five Hundred Pounds should be in Trade the said Peter Dawson might if he thought fitt lett the same remain in Trade on such Husband giving such Security as should & might be satisfactory to the said Peter Dawson his Heirs Exo^-rs & Admo^-ns T{he cond}ition of the said Obligation was such that if the therein abovenamed Elizabeth Alefounder her Heirs Exo^-rs or Admons did & should well and truly Pay or cause to be Paid unto the said Peter Dawson as a Trustee for your Orators & their said late Sister his Heirs Exo^-rs or Ad{mo^-ns withi}n one Month next after the abovenamed Peter Dawson his Heirs Exo^-rs or Admo^-ns should have demanded the same in Writing from under his or their Hands or in the Presence of One or more Credible Witness or Witnesses the said Sum of Five Hundred Pounds of lawful Money of {Great Brit}ain without Fraud or delay And also did & should provide for the Maintenance & Education of your Orators and their said late Sister then the said Obligation to be void and of no Effect otherwise to be and remain in full Force and Virtue as in and by the said Bond or Obligation i{n the Cus}tody of the said Peter Dawson relation being thereunto had when the same shall be Produced to this Honourable Court may more fully and at large appear And your Orators further Shew unto your Lordship that some Time after the Execution of the said Bond or Obligation the sa{id Mary Al}efounder your Orators said Sister departed this Life leaving your Orators her surviving and thereupon your Orators became Intitled to the whole of the said Sum of Five Hundred Pounds Secured by the said Bond in equal Moietys And your Orators further shew unto y{our Lords}hip that soon after the Death of the said Mary your Orators said Sister the said Elizabeth Alefounder your Orators said Mother Intermarried with Thomas Bradshaw of Petticoate Lane in the Parish of Saint Botolph Aldgate Upholder a Defendant hereafter Named and without {havin}g Paid the said Sum of Five Hundred Pounds or any Part thereof to the said Peter Dawson & the said Thomas Bradshaw Possessed himself of the Stock in Trade & all other the Personal Estate of your Orators said late Father And your Orators being intitled to two Third P{arts of th}e Personal Estate & Effects of their said late Father in equal Moietys and also intitled in manner aforesaid to the Benefit of the said Bond or Obligation so Executed by the said Elizabeth Alefounder your Orators said Mother for the Purpose aforesaid have by themselves & {...} in a friendly manner applied to the said Thomas Bradshaw & Elizabeth his wife & requested them to come to an account with your Orators for their said late Fathers personal Estate & to Pay or Secure Two third Parts thereof for the Benefit of your Orators and also to Pay or s{ecure th}e Payment of the said Sum of Five Hundred Pounds mentioned in the said Bond or Obligation pursuant to the Condition thereof & your Orators well hoped that they would have Complied with such the reasonable Request of your Orators as in Justice and Equity they ought t{o have} done But now so it is may it Please your Lordship that the said Thomas Bradshaw and Elizabeth his wife Combining & Confederating together & to and with the said Peter Dawson and to and with Divers other Persons at present unknown to your Orators whose N{ames} when Discovered your Orators pray may be Inserted herein & they made Parties hereto with Apt words to Charge them how to Injure & Oppress your Orators in the Premises they the said Confedrates refuse to Comply with such your Orators reasonable request & as a reason for their r{efus}ing they the said Confedrates and particularly the said Thomas Bradshaw & Elizabeth his wife pretend that the said James Alefounder your Orators said late Father died Possessed of a very inconsiderable Personal Personal Estate & that the same was not sufficient to Pay {or sat}isfy his Just Debts and funeral Expences Whereas your Oro^-rs do Charge that the said James Alefounder your Orators said late Father died Possessed of a very Considerable Personal Estate & the same Consisted of the several Matters aforesaid & so the said Confedrates will sometimes {adm}itt but then they Pretend that the said James Alefounder was at the Time of his Death considerably Indebted to diverse Persons in very large and Considerable Sums of Money And that they have Exhausted the whole of the said James Alefounders Personal Estate in Paying off & Discharging the same Whereas your Orators do Charge that the debts of the said James Alefounder at the time of his Death were but small and inconsiderable and that the same have been long since Paid off & Discharged & that there now remains in the Hands of the said Thomas Bradshaw & Elizabeth his wife a very Considerable Ballance which the said Confedrates are Squandering & Wasting or have Converted to their own use And sometimes the said Thomas Bradshaw Pretends that he never received the said Sum of Five Hundred Pounds so secured by the said Bond or Obligation or any _^^Part thereof the Contrary whereof your Orators Charge to be true and so the said Confedrates will sometimes admitt but then he Pretends that the said Sum of Five Hundred Pounds was to remain in his Hands to be Employed in the said Confedrates Trade Whereas your Orators do Charge that it was Agreed in manner aforesaid that in Case your Orators said Mother should Marry during the Time the said Five Hundred Pounds should be in Trade the said Peter Dawson might if he thought fitt Let the same remain in Trade on such Husbands giving such Security as should & might be satisfactory to the said Peter Dawson his Heirs Exo^-rs or Admons and therefore your Orators Charge that as the said Thomas Bradshaw Possessed the said Sum of Five Hundred Pounds Part of the Property of the said Elizabeth his wife & hath employed the same in his Trade or otherwise Converted the same to his own use he is become answerable to your Orators for the same agreeable to the Terms of the said Bond & Condition & Agreement aforesaid but in Case he did not receive the said Sum of Five Hundred Pounds from his said Wife or her Effects which your Orators do not admit your Orators Charge that he is Bound by the _^^said Bond or Obligation of the said Elizabeth his wife & the Agreement & Condition thereunder written & Ought to Perform the same & sometimes the said Peter Dawson Pretends that he was made a Trustee in the said Bond or Obligation without his Consent & has never Acted in the Trusts in the said Bond or Obligation mentioned Whereas your Orators do Charge that the said Peter Dawson agreed to his being Named as a Trustee in the said Bond & hath actually Acted in the Trusts therein contained & hath Called upon the said Thomas Bradshaw at various Times for the said Sum of Five Hundred Pounds so Secured by the said Bond or requested him the said Thomas Bradshaw to give him a sufficient Security for the same but he has lately Declared he will Permitt the said Thomas Bradshaw To hold the said Sum of Five Hundred Pounds in his Hands without any Security tho' he well knows as the Truth in that your Orators are in Danger thereby of Losing the same & tho he has been frequently requested by your Orators & their Agents to use his best Endeavours to obtain the Payment of the said Sum of Five Hundred Pounds for your Orators or some sufficient Security for the same from the said Thomas Bradshaw All which Actings doings & Pretences of the said Confedrates are contrary to Equity & good Conscience And tend to the Manifest Wrong Injury _^^{and oppression} of your Orators In Tender Consideration Whereof and for as much as your Orators are remedyless in the Premises at and by the Strict Rules of the Common Law and only Relievable in a Court of Equity where Matters of this Nature are properly Cognizable & Relievable To the End therefore the said Thomas Bradshaw and Elizabeth his wife & Peter Dawson and the rest of the Confedrates when Discovered may upon their several & respective Corporal Oaths full true distinct & perfect Answer make to all and Singular the Premises as fully and particularly as if the same here again repeated and Interrogated into and that according to the best of their respective Knowledge Information and belief and more particularly that the said Confedrates may answer and Sett forth Whether the said James Alefounder the elder was not in his Lifetime & at the Time of his Death possessed of a very Considerable or any & what Stock in Trade & other personal Estate Consisting of Leases for Years Bonds Notes ready Money & Securitys for Money Money in the Public Funds Household Goods & Furniture Plate Jewels Linen China Books & other & what Valuable Effects any or either & which of them And Whether he the said James Alefounder the Elder did not Depart this Life at the Time aforesaid or any other & what Time Intestate or how otherwise & Whether did not leave the said Elizabeth his Widow & your Orators & their said late Sister Mary Alefounder Deceased any or either & which of them his only Children him Surviving And Whether some time after the Death of the said James Alefounder the Elder & when particularly the said Elizabeth Alefounder his Widow _^^did not obtain Letters of Administration of the Personal Estate & Effects rights & Credits of her said late Husband To be granted to her from the proper Ecclesiastical Court & Whether she did not by Virtue thereof Possess herself of all or any & what Part of the said Intestates Stock in Trade Leases Bonds Notes ready Money Securitys for Money Money in the Publick Funds household Goods & Furniture Plate Jewels Linnen China Books & other & what Valuable Effects And all other the Personal Estate & Effects of her said late Husband to a very Considerable or any & what amount And Whether not more & how much more than suff^t. to Pay & satisfy all the said Intestates Just Debts & funeral Expences by several Thousand Pounds or any other & what Sum & Whether your Orators & Mary Alefounder their said late Sister deceased did not upon the death of their said Father by virtue of the Statute of Distributions or how otherwise become Intitled to Two third Parts of Personal Estate or any other & what Part thereof And that the said Thomas Bradshaw & Elizabeth his wife & the said Peter Dawson may Sett forth Whether such Bond of such date in such Penalty & with such Recitals & Conditions thereunder written or any other & what Bond of any other & what Date in any other & what Penalty and with any other & what recitals and with any other & what Condition thereunder written was duly made & Executed & Whether the said Bond is not in the Hands of the said Peter Dawson or whom else and that the said Peter Dawson may Produce & leave the said Bond with his Clerk in Court with Liberty for your Orators & their Agent to Inspect the same and Whether some Time & when after the Execution of the said Bond or Obligation the said Mary Alefounder your Orators said Sister did not did not Depart this Life And Whether your Orators did not upon the death of their said Sister become intitled to the whole of the said Sum of Five Hundred Pounds in equal Moietys & if not why not And Whether the said Elizabeth Alefounder your Orators said Mother did not Intermarry with the said Thomas Bradshaw and whether not without having Paid the said Sum of Five Hundred Pounds or any Part thereof to the said Peter Dawson And Whether the said Thomas Bradshaw did not Possess himself of the Stock in Trade & other Personal Estate of your Orators said late Father or any & what Part thereof as aforesaid And Whether your Orators have not Made such Application to the said Thomas Bradshaw & Elizabeth his wife or either & which of them as aforesaid And Whether they or either & which of them have or hath not refused to Comply therewith & why they so did respectively & that the said Confedrates Thomas Bradshaw & Elizabeth his Wife may sett forth Whether the Debts of the saud Intestate have or hath not been long since Paid off & discharged And Whether there does not now remain in the Hands of the said Thomas Bradshaw & Elizabeth his wife or either & which of them a very Considerable & what Ballance And Whether they or either & which of them are not Squandering or Wasting the same or have not Converted the same to their own Use or how otherwise And that the said Thomas Bradshaw may Sett forth Whether he has not received the said Sum of Five Hundred Pounds so Secured by the said Bond or Obligation or any & what Part thereof And Whether the said Thomas Bradshaw is not become Answerable to your Orators for the said Sum of Five Hundred Pounds agreeable to the Terms of the said Bond and Condition & Agreement as aforesaid And Whether not for the reasons aforesaid or any other & what reason and Whether the said Thomas Bradshaw is not bound by the said Bond or Obligation of the said Elizabeth his wife & the Agreement & Condition thereunder written & if not why not And Whether he ought not to Perform the same & if not why not And that the said Peter Dawson may Sett forth Whether he was made a Trustee in the said Bond or Obligation without his Consent And Whether he has not Acted in the T{rusts} in the said Bond or obligation mentioned in manner aforesaid or how otherwise And Whether he did not Agree to his being Named as a Trustee in the said Bond And Whether he has not Called upon the said Thomas Bradshaw at various or any & what Time or times for the said Sum of Five Hundred Pounds or requested him the said Thomas Bradshaw to give him a sufficient Security for the same or how otherwise And Whether he has not lately declared he will Permitt the said Thomas Bradshaw to hold the said Sum of Five Hundred Pounds in his Hands without any Security & why he so did And Whether your Orators are not in Danger thereby of Losing the same And Whether he the said Peter Dawson has not been frequently & how often requested by your Orators & their Agents to use his best Endeavour to obtain the Payment of the Sum of Five Hundred Pounds for your Orators or some sufficient Security for the same from the said Thomas Bradshaw & that the said Thomas Bradshaw & Elizabeth his wife may Sett forth a full true & particular Account of the said Intestates personal Estate & Effects Come to their or either of their Hands Custody or Power or the Hands Custody or Power of any other Person _^^{or Persons} with their or either of their Knowledge Privity or Consent or which without their Wilfulf Default might have Come to the Hands Custody or Power of them or either of them together with the Natures Kinds Qualities Quantities full true & utmost Values thereof & every Part thereof & how they respectively have Applied the same & may Pay your Orators their Distributive Shares of the said Intestates Personal Estate & that the same may be so Secured under the Direction of this Honourable Court for the Benefit of your Orators & that the said Thomas Bradshaw may be Decreed to Pay or secure the said Sum of Five Hundred Pounds for the Benefit of your Orators agreeable to the said Bond in such manner as this Honourable Court shall Direct And that a Guardian may be appointed for your Orators & also a Suitable Maintenance under the Direction of this Honourable Court And that your Orators may have such further & other Relief in the Premises as in the Nature of their Case may require And as to your Lordships shall seem Meet May it Please your Lordship to grant unto your Orators his Majesty's most Gracious Writ or Writs of Subpæna issuing out of and under the Seal of this Honourable Court to be directed to the said Thomas Bradshaw and Elizabeth his wife and Peter Dawson and the rest of the Confedrates when Discovered thereby Commanding them and every of them at a certain Day and under a certain Pain therein to be Limitted personally to be and appear before your Lordship in this Honourable Court then and there full true and perfect Answer and Discovery to make to all and singular the Matters aforesaid and further to stand to Perform and Abide such further Order Direction and Decree therein as to your Lordship shall seem Meet and your Orators shall ever Pray &c W^m. Waller

Cottrell

Chancery

Sworn at the Public Office		Finche    22d. June 1776
the 22 of June 1776 before
John Hett

The several Answer of Peter Dawson one of the Defendants to the Bill of Complaint of James Upsher Alefounder and other Complainants

Cottrell

Last updated 4th June 2009 by Peter Alefounder