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Original 1840 Passaic County, New Jersey handwritten legal manuscript concerning a debt action brought by John I. Sipp against John H. Glass and Cornelius Post in the Court for the Trial of Small Causes before Adrian Van Riper, Justice.
The document is captioned:
Passaic County ss.
John I. Sipp, Plaintiff
against
John H. Glass
&
Cornelius Post, Defendants
“In Debt”
The underlying promissory note is dated July 17, 1840 and reads substantially:
“Ninety days after date we promise to pay John I. Sipp or order ten dollars for Value Rec’d without defalcation or discount.”
The note names:
Witness present — Ann Sipp
John H. Glass
Cornelius Post — “his X mark”
The appearance of Cornelius Post’s X mark is an especially interesting example of an antebellum legal instrument executed by a party signing by mark.
The lower portion contains John I. Sipp’s formal demand against the defendants. Sipp states that the original $10 principal remained due together with interest and calculates the amount claimed at:
$10.65
The manuscript specifically describes “one year & one months Interest,” which together with the principal produced the $10.65 demand.
The plaintiff’s name, “John I. Sipp Plaintiff,” appears at the conclusion.
JOHN I. SIPP & ANN SIPP
Published nineteenth-century Kip-family genealogy identifies an Ann Sipp, born February 21, 1819, as the daughter of John I. Sipp and Adrianna Merselis.
Given the identical father-and-daughter names, locality and date, the Ann Sipp named as witness on this 1840 document very strongly appears to be John I. Sipp’s daughter, then approximately 21 years old.
Ann Sipp later married Edo Kip on November 3, 1842.
This gives the document an unusually useful family and genealogical connection beyond the ordinary debt proceeding.
ADRIAN VAN RIPER
The action was brought in the Passaic County Court for the Trial of Small Causes before Adrian Van Riper, Justice.
Van Riper is independently documented in a period New Jersey governmental directory among the Justices of Passaic County.
EARLY PASSAIC COUNTY HISTORY
Passaic County had only been created by the New Jersey Legislature in 1837 from portions of Bergen and Essex Counties.
This 1840 proceeding therefore dates from approximately the third year of Passaic County’s existence and represents very early surviving county judicial ephemera.
MILITARY RESEARCH
The identifiable men named in the document were checked for War of 1812 and Civil War service.
No military service has been confidently established for the exact John I. Sipp, John H. Glass, Cornelius Post or Adrian Van Riper appearing here.
Published New Jersey War of 1812 records contain several men with the same regional surnames — including Henry Glass, Henry H. Post, Elias I. Post, Adrian A. Sip, John A. Van Riper and Philip Van Riper — but these are different individuals and are not represented as the men named on this document.
DATE NOTE
The original promissory note is clearly dated July 17, 1840.
A separate blue-ink notation at the lower left appears to read “Nov. 18th 1840.” The body of the demand, however, expressly calculates one year and one month of interest. Because the period notations do not fully reconcile chronologically, both are described as they appear rather than assigning an unsupported interpretation.
An excellent early New Jersey manuscript for collectors of Passaic County history, antebellum legal documents, American genealogy, the Sip/Sipp and Post families, early small-causes courts, promissory notes and nineteenth-century financial history.
CONDITION:
Original period paper with multiple historic folds, age toning, scattered foxing and staining, and noticeable blue ink staining/blotting concentrated principally along the upper portion and in several smaller areas. There is paper loss and wear along the left edge, including an irregular loss near the upper left portion, along with scattered small holes, edge nicks and fold wear.
Despite the age and condition issues, the principal manuscript remains strong and highly legible, including the names, debt language, financial amount and court information.
Please examine all photographs carefully for exact condition and scale.
Year: 1840
Original Note Date: July 17, 1840
Blue-Ink Notation: Appears to read November 18, 1840
Type: Handwritten Legal Document / Promissory Note Debt
Country: United States
State: New Jersey
County: Passaic County
Court: Court for the Trial of Small Causes
Legal Action: In Debt
Plaintiff: John I. Sipp
Defendants: John H. Glass; Cornelius Post
Justice: Adrian Van Riper
Witness Named: Ann Sipp
Principal Amount: $10.00
Amount Demanded: $10.65
Payment Term: 90 Days
Interest Stated: One Year & One Month
Signed / Marked: Yes
Names / Marks Appearing: John I. Sipp; John H. Glass; Cornelius Post X Mark
Cornelius Post: Signed by X Mark
Witness: Ann Sipp
Genealogical Association: Sip / Sipp Family
Era: Antebellum / Early 19th Century
Subject: New Jersey Law; Debt; Promissory Note; Genealogy; Local History
Language: English
Material: Paper
