Page 23 - Delaware Lawyer -Spring 2021

J.W. Johnson, Law Booksellers, 1847, p. 282.
23. Spencer, H.J. “East, Sir Edward Hyde, first baronet (1764–1847), judge in India and legal writer.” DNB 23 Sep. 2004.
24. Alexander, John K. “Dallas, Alexander James (1759–1817), lawyer and politician.” ANB. 1 Feb. 2000. McKean, to whom Dal- las dedicated his first volume, had prominent careers in both Delaware and Pennsylvania. He was a practicing attorney in Delaware, then represented the State at the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of In- dependence as a Delaware delegate. Later, he rose to prominence in nearby Pennsylvania. A recent biography by a McKean descendant describes his lengthy career. McKean, David, Suspected of Independence: The Life of Thomas McKean, America’s First Power Broker, First ed. New York: Public Affairs, 2016.
25. See Richard Brookhiser’s discussion of this situation in John Marshall: The Man Who Made the Supreme Court, p. 144.
26. There were other specialized courts in Britain that dealt with maritime law, trade, property, etc., whose decisions do not appear in the Sussex library.
27. Viner was benefactor of the Vinerian Chair at Oxford, which was first held by William Blackstone. A biographical sketch of Viner and a description of his Abridgement may be found at Ibbetson, David “Viner, Charles (bap. 1678, d. 1756), legal writer and university benefactor.” DNB. 23 Sep. 2004, also https://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepe- dia/index.php/General_Abridgment_of_ Law_and_Equity
28. J.G. Marvin, Legal Bibliography p. 711. Justice Story’s comment may be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_ Viner_(jurist)
29. Friedman, A History of American Law, p. 60, citing Paul M. Hamlin, Legal Educa- tion in Colonial New York (1939) pp. 64–65. In his biography of John Marshall, Richard Brookhiser relates that when Marshall was growing up, Blackstone was “the most popu- lar legal text in the English-speaking world” and was part of Marshall’s home schooling, his father having subscribed to the first Amer- ican edition of the famed work. Brookhiser, The Man Who Made the Supreme Court, pp. 4,14.
30. Although Edward Christian was a distin- guished judge and law professor, he is prob- ably best known for being the older brother of Fletcher Christian, who led the mutiny on the Bounty. Hoffheimer, Michael H. “Christian, Edward (bap. 1758, d. 1823), jurist and mag- istrate.” DNB. 23 Sep. 2004. His collaborator John Archbold devoted himself to compiling legal treatises covering topics ranging from practice in the courts of Kings Bench and Common Pleas to pleading and evidence in criminal cases, bankruptcy, limited liability, landlord and tenant, and even the law per- taining to pauper lunatics. Carlyle, E.I., and Michael Lobban. “Archbold, John Freder- ick (1785–1870), barrister and legal writer.” DNB. 23 Sep. 2004.
31. The first American edition of Blackstone was printed in 1771–72 and sold on a sub- scription basis for $16 a set. 840 American
subscribers ordered 1,567 copies, an “aston- ishing response”, according to Friedman, A History of American Law, pp. 59–60.
32. Handley, Stuart. “Molloy, Charles (1645/6–1690), legal writer and lawyer.” DNB. 23 Sep. 2004.
33. Lobban, Michael. “Powell, John Joseph (bap. 1753, d. 1801), legal writer.” DNB. 23 Sep. 2004.
34. However, the Sussex library lacks what was perhaps Powell’s most famous work, his multi-volume work on conveyancing: A Complete Body of Conveyancing in Theory and in Practice.
35. Macdonell, G.P., Gareth H. Jones and Vivienne Jones. “Fearne, Charles (1741x9– 1794), lawyer.” DNB. 23 Sep. 2004.
36. The complexities of and confusion over the law of evidence in the years immediately following the Revolution are alluded to in Friedman, A History of American Law, pp. 101–104.
37. Allen, C.J.W. “Peake, Thomas (1771?– 1837), barrister and law reporter.” DNB. 23 Sep. 2004. Peake also prepared the fifth edi- tion of George Croke’s reports.
38. This was probably the hand of Judge Houston, who had studied law under Clayton and remained friends with him. For information on Phillips, see Lobban, Michael “Phillipps, Samuel March (1780–1862) DNB 23 Sep. 2004.
39. Chaney, Kevin R. “Reeve, Tapping (1744–1823), jurist, legal educator, and author.” ANB. 1 Feb. 2000.
40. Getzler, Joshua S. “Sugden, Edward Burtenshaw, Baron St. Leonards (1781– 1875), lord chancellor.” DNB 23 Sep. 2004.
41. Burns, Chester R. “Beck, Theodric Romeyn (11 Aug. 1791–19 November 1855), ANB Feb. 2000.
42. “Emmerich de Vattel”, Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/ biography/Emmerich-de-Vattel. Accessed April 20, 2021. See also “George Washing- ton’s 221-year overdue library book. A time- line.” The Week, May 21, 2010, retrieved 3 May 2011.
43. Georgetown Law Library. English Legal History Research Guide: Practice Books. https://guides.II.georgetown.edu/ c.php?g=316622&p=2115019
44. John Impey (d. 1829) was a member of the Middle Temple for 60 years. He authored numerous legal tomes in addition to the Mod- ern Pleader, including books of instructions for various officials. Tait, James and Jonathan Harris. “Impey, John (bap. 1746, d. 1829), legal writer.” DNB. 23 Sep. 2004. Informa- tion on William Tidd may be accessed at Carlyle, E.I. and Jonathan Harris, “Tidd, William (1760–1847), legal writer.” DNB 23 Sep. 2004.
45. This was likely John Coard Hazzard (1754–1825). Local lore claims Hazzard piloted the boat that carried George Washing- ton across the Delaware in December 1776. His son David was Delaware’s 29th Governor.
46. The identity of the old solicitor is not given. This book was published by an Eliza-
beth Lynch, a law book publisher in Dublin. There are several books in the collection that were published by women, suggesting that publishing was a field then open to women. See 54.
47. An indication of the importance of Justices of the Peace to the system is that there were 564 appointments for justices in Sussex County between 1682–1887. Scharf’s History of Delaware, pp. 1211–13. The copy of the Conductor Generalis that is in the Sussex Library was written and published by one James Parker in Woodbridge, NJ in 1764. It contains signatures of David Train, with the date 1776, and also of Simon Kollock and John W. Dingle.
48. Matthews, Nancy L., “Sheppard, William (bap. 1595, s. 1674), barrister and le- gal writer.” DNB. 23 Sep. 2004.
49. “Brig. Gen. John Kilty,” Geni. com. Accessed 9 Apr. 2021. https:// www.geni.com/people/Brig-Gen-John- Kilty/6000000061137550856
50. MSS 0096, Item 0034, James Patriot Wilson docket book, University of Delaware Library, https://library.udel.edu/special/ findaids/view?docId=ead/mss0096_0034. xml;tab=use. An article about the Red Book, written by John M. Dawson, then-librarian of the University, appears in the University of Delaware News, Winter 1971–72.
51. Boorstin, Daniel J. Delaware Cases 1792– 1830. St. Paul, Minn: West Pub, 1943.
52. Dawson, John M. “Wilson’s Red Book”, p. 9.
53. The “Red Book” was given to the Uni- versity in 1962 by Elisabeth W. Houston and Mary Houston Robinson of Georgetown, DE in memory of their father, Georgetown attorney and Delaware Congressman Robert G. Houston. Mr. Houston was a nephew of Judge John W. Houston, who came into pos- session of Wilson’s law library and passed it on to his nephew.
54. Jones, N.G. “Foster, Sir Michael (1689– 1763)” DNB 17 Sep. 2015. This book contains an account of the 1746 trial of some Scottish rebels. James Patriot Wilson acquired it in 1794. It is another example of a book published by a woman, “Sarah Cotter, in Skinner Row”, Dublin, and at the end of the book is a listing of law books offered by Ms. Cotter. For an interesting account of the role of women in legal publishing see Franz, Anna, “Evidence of Women: Women as Print- ers, Donors, and Owners of Law Texts.” (2015). American Law.11. https://digitalc- ommons.law.yale.edu/amlaw/11
The author is greatly indebted to Rebecca Johnson Melvin, Librarian, Special Collec- tions and Museums, at the University of Dela- ware Library, for her interest, encouragement and assistance at a time when the library was closed to the general public due to COVID restrictions.
The National Park Service’s records on the Delaware SP Judge’s House and Law Office are at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75324707.
SPRING 2021 DELAWARE LAWYER 21