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Deed of Property from Cornelius and Idah Hoornbeck to Samuel Hatch. Shawangunk, NY, 1795. #2537

This 18th-century New York deed is an example of an indenture, a formal written instrument creating an obligation or covenant between two or more parties. The term arose from the jagged, toothlike (hence 鈥渋ndenture鈥�) or scalloped edges that once were a defining feature of these documents.Two copies would be made on the same sheet of paper and then cut apart. Should a dispute arise later, both parties would have to produce evidence of their claims. If the edges fit together like puzzle pieces when reunited, the documentation could be deemed authentic.听

Record of Letters Sent by Constant Freeman of the Boston Overseers of the Poor to Various Towns. Boston, MA, 1799-1801. #1112

The Overseers of the Poor were town officials charged with providing public aid to those in need. They also administered town 鈥渁lmshouses鈥� and 鈥渨orkhouses,鈥� where the poor could find a bed, the latter option requiring labor in exchange. Constant Freeman served as Master of Almshouses for the Boston Overseers. One of his duties, reflected in this series of letters, was seeking reimbursement for expenses incurred by Boston in boarding, feeding, and otherwise caring for residents of other towns. The determination of which town a person 鈥渂elonged to鈥� was often a point of contention and was dictated a complex series of statutes called 鈥渟ettlement laws.鈥�

Indenture of Apprenticeship for Benjamin Evans between Town Overseers of the Poor and Nicholas Hoffman. Shawangunk, NY, 1799. #2019

Indentured servants and apprentices were an important part of the colonial and early American economy. Unlike enslaved people, those bound by indentures had a timeline on their servitude. This one involves town officials placing a child--here, four-year-old pauper Benjamin Evans--with a master, which relieved the town of the financial burden of support. In exchange for the child鈥檚 labor, the master agreed to provide food, lodging, education, etc., as required by law or town officials. This indenture required that the master, Hoffman, provide young Evans with a suit and bible when his term ended at age 21.

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Deed of Newton Property from William and Clarissa Porter to William Kenrick. Newton, MA, 1841. #0008

Women appear regularly throughout the collection and almost always are identified in relation to the men in their lives鈥攁s wives whose legal identities were subsumed by their husbands under the doctrine of coverture, or as widowed or single women who could (if not enslaved or indentured) hold property and enter into contracts in their own names as femes sole (鈥渨omen alone鈥�).听 听

In this deed of Newton property, not far from the law school, Clarissa Porter is not listed up top as a grantor alongside her husband. Her name first appears at the very end, as she relinquishes her right of dower in the property being transferred. Dower was the right of a widow to a life estate in one-third of the real property owned by her husband and was a married woman鈥檚 most significant property right.

Deed of Property from Samuel Thurston to John Thurston. Winchendon, MA, 1806. #0228

The joys and struggles of parenting are as evident in this collection as they will be to researchers of the future looking back at us in 250 years. Parenting strategies and norms certainly have changed, and laws governing parents and children have evolved, but the fundamentals have remained the same. Most parents loved their children and tried to ensure their future happiness and stability; they also struggled to provide for their children in the face of economic and social forces that often were beyond their control. In this deed, father Samuel transferred a tract of land to son John as a gift, 鈥渋n consideration of the love and affection I have for my son . . . and for his advancement in the world.鈥�

Deed of Chelsea Property, Written and Witnessed by Robert Morris. Chelsea, MA, 1859. #0619

Designations of a person鈥檚 race or color are very rare in the collection, making it difficult to gain insights into the individual experiences of people of color through the documents. We identified only three documents that mention a person鈥檚 race. Certainly more examples are present in the collection, if largely invisible. For example, unless one happened to recognize his name and handwriting, it would be easy to overlook a deed written and witnessed by Robert Morris, the country鈥檚 second African American lawyer. Morris was a civil rights activist and criminal defense attorney who also served as counsel for alleged fugitives under the Fugitive Slave Act. This deed shows that he also did transactional real estate work. For more on Morris, see our Spring 2017 exhibit on Morris and his personal library, which is held by 涩里番下载鈥檚 Burns Library.

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Writ of Venire Facias for the Assembly of a Jury of Twelve Free and Lawful Men. Albany, NY, 1816. #0906.

Litigation documents, including writs, summonses and subpoenas, depositions, and recognizance bonds, comprise about 20% of the collection. This writ orders the sheriff to assemble a jury for the trial of Elizabeth Mills. New York state law did not grant women the right to serve on juries until 1937, so she would have faced an all-male jury. Only in 1975, with the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 decision in Taylor v. Louisiana, was it held unconstitutional to exclude women from juries. It also would have been an all-white jury. Even after the ratification of the Reconstruction Amendments between 1865 and 1870, it would be 1880 before the Supreme Court ruled that men of color had the constitutional right to serve on juries, with pernicious educational and property qualifications still allowed.

Stock Certificate of Laclede Gas Light Company. St. Louis, MO, 1892. #1967

Changes in the American economy can be traced in the collection from early merchant account records that reflect a largely local, rural economy to stock certificates of late 19th-century corporations that represent the rise of an urbanized, industrialized national economy. In 1896, when Charles Dow and his partner Edward Jones created the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Laclede Gas Light Company was one of the original 12 companies that comprised the index. The star-shaped punch holes indicate that this particular certificate鈥攚hich, before the digital age evidenced the owner鈥檚 equity interest in the company鈥攚as canceled when Frederick Gilbert Bourne (a Gilded Age capitalist himself) sold his shares.

Receipt for Commutation Payment for Exemption from the Ohio Militia. Warren, OH, 1865. #1120

Records relating to military service constitute a small but fascinating subset of documents in the Brooker Collection. This document caught our attention for two reasons: 1) it illustrates how G. S. Pillsbury and others with the money to do it could avoid service by paying a commutation fee or paying for a substitute (the Ohio Militia Law of 1864 required all able-bodied, white, male citizens between 18 and 45 to enroll in the state militia or pay a $4 commutation fee); and 2) it points to the role of state militias, which featured more prominently in national defense before the rise of our modern, professionalized, standing United States Armed Forces.