Collection of Court Summonses from Lincoln County, Maine

Clerk of the Court

Published by Lincoln County Court of Maine, Lincoln County, ME, 1853

About this Item

A collection of seventeen (17) legal summons to the Constables of various towns in Lincoln County, Maine. The summons date from April 1828 to July 1853 and were sent by the Clerk of the Court for Lincoln County, ME, which during these dates were Nathaniel Coffin, J. Smith, and E. B. Bowman. The majority of the summonses were for jury duty. The summons were preprinted letters in which it stated that Constable of the town was required to inform the town and its citizens that they were required to send a representative to court on the appointed date to serve on a jury. At the base of the form was a section for the town constable to fill in the name of the town resident that would be answering the summoning, and certify that they informed said citizen of their duty, and sent the summons back to the Clerk. There is often small calculations for reimbursement on these summons for such things as the cost of postage for mailing it back. There are three court summons in this collection which are not jury duty summons. The first is a warrant for the arrest of Martin Munroe (1783-1867) of Thomaston, for the assault and battery of against his wife, Eliza Munroe (1785-1865). There is a short note on the back of the summons in which it states that Munroe was found and brought to the court. There are also several calculations done for expenses incurred by the transfer of Munroe, such as lodging and food that were to be reimbursed. Unfortunately no information on the outcome of this case was found, though a genealogy search revealed that the two stayed married after this event and had two daughters. The second court summons is an order of appearance to Nathaniel Quint and Thomas Sandford, both of Topsham, ME, to appear before a judge regarding a matter of financial debt between the two men. On the back of this summons is written "Quint v. Sandford" and a short note regarding the outcome of the case, which was in favor of the plaintiff, for $78.76. The last is also an order of summons but for the representative of the town of Thomaston, ME, which was brought under indictment for their failure to maintain some roads within the town. The case, entitled State v. Thomaston, would eventually be won by the town of Thomaston. On the back of the summons is a note by Peter Fuller, the town's Sheriff that states that they send the Town Clerk Oliver Foles to argue the case. All of the summonses were sent by folded, stampless post. The majority of the letters have a number written on the outside. They have been organized chronologically. Measures (sample) 7 1/2" x 3" (folded), 12 1/2" x 7 1/2" (unfolded). To view the collection, please click on the following link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/cC4zY73uX4XMBF9b7. On a historical note, the original boundaries of Lincoln County in Maine covered almost 90% of what is currently the state of Maine, and as such as the state's population crew, it was carved out into several additionally countries. This means that some of the towns that these summons were sent to are no longer apart of the present day Lincoln County, but rather apart of Maine counties of Sagadahoc, Kennebec, Knox, Androscoggin, and Penobscot. The names of the exact towns the summons were sent to are: Litchfield, Nobleboro, Whitefield, Thomaston, Topsham, Dresden, Friendship, Lewiston, Alna, Bath, Phippsburg, Webster, Bowdin, and Edgecomb. General wear. Letter folds, some pieces have separation at the folds. Minor penciling. Seller Inventory # 20000173

Bibliographic Details

Title: Collection of Court Summonses from Lincoln ...

Publisher: Lincoln County Court of Maine, Lincoln County, ME

Publication Date: 1853