Help deciphering a probate record

[OnionPatch]

I'm looking over my 4x great grandfather's will and probate records. There is a list in his probate of people who owe him money (dated 1842). One person owed by far the largest amount. ($120.00). Written next to this entry it is noted "this note we consider very uncertain as the signer has taken the benefit of the -------act." The handwriting is hard to read. It looks like it could say the mercer act, the mercy act, the miner act.....I can't be sure. I wondered if anyone had heard of some sort of act from that time period that would allow a person to ditch their debt. I believe but am not certain that the person who owes this is a nephew to the man whose will it is. I'm not sure if it would make a difference or not if he's a relative. Any insight will be appreciated. Thx.

[watrwefitinfor]

1. Amercement Act?

A number of those have been passed. It is probably a state law, so would depend on what state your ancestor was in. Basically amercement laws allowed a path for some to reduce their debt.

Some states (South Carolina) passed amercement acts after the Revolutionary War ended - allowing some supporters of the king who would have otherwise been confiscated (lands, slaves, goods, money) to petition and plead special circumstances (ranging from actual innocence to family has nothing to eat) to have these confiscations reduced.

Others were apparently passed at other times. Googling, I ran into references to 1842, but nothing substantial. Probably need the name of your state.

Scan and post the word and some of the writing around it if you like and I'll see if I can decipher it. Or you could possibly attach it to a pm? I don't know if that can be done.

Only other possibility I can think of that would fit the context is some sort of bankruptcy act, again, would probably be specific to the state your ancestor resided in. It might be helpful to know that the US was suffering one of our periodic economic crises during the early 1840s.

Wat

[OnionPatch]

2. Well, I can't get my scanner to work, or I would post it.

My friend is going to look at it this week so I'll try to post it soon.

Meanwhile, another friend of mine said he thought it said the "Mercer" act but I've not been able to find anything on that, either. BTW, the state was Ohio.

Thanks!

[OnionPatch]

3. Ok, I have a new printer/scanner! (Boy did I need one!) Here's a scan of the document.

I only scanned the part of the probate that has the line in question. This first one is actual size.



Here's the last part of the sentence enlarged.



It looks like "Mercer Act" to me. But I can't find anything on a Mercer Act

[Spider Jerusalem]

4. Could it possibly be "Wives Act"?

That could be a W; it could be "Wives" (could there have been a law that allowed disclaiming of debts if it would have left one's widow destitute?), but then it could also be "Mines" or "Miner" or, yes, "Mercer", or possibly "Miller".

[OnionPatch]

5. Thanks, I'll check into all of those.

I've Googled the heck out of "Mercer Act" but can't find anything, so I'll try and see.

[OnionPatch]

8. Well, maybe.

David Brownlee lived for a good couple decades after this record, so he didn't have a widow at the time. Miller...hmmmm, the man he owed ran a grist mill for awhile. $120 would have been a lot of cornmeal in 1842!

[madinmaryland]

9. Just thinking out loud...

Third Note David Brownlee dated May 14 1840 --> 100.00
Interest up to May 31 1842 --------------------> 12.00
This note we consider very uncertain the signee has taken the benefit of the Mercer Act. --> 112.00

I am assuming the Mr. Brownlee owes the money to your 4x gf. Is it possible the probate court is writing off the debt as uncollectible?

[OnionPatch]

10. Yes I think they are saying that.

I'm just wondering about the Mercer Act and how it would allow a person to negate their debt.

My main objective is gathering any info that might help determine if these two are related as I suspect they are.

[madinmaryland]

11. One thing I did come across last when I did a little research into it, was

there was a law at about that time in many of the northern and border states that even if the land was bought for slaves, the slaves could not reside on the land. Kentucky, Missouri, and Ohio and laws like this. It may have also been by county. Not sure if this actually has to do with anything, but sometimes taking shots in the dark will spark something.

At that time, it was also quite easy for someone to disappear. Since this was a probate hearing, the probate court was probably eager to close the case and see that any monies left were distributed appropriately.

What information do you have on Mr. David Brownlee?

[OnionPatch]

12. Oh, there's tons of info on the Brownlees out there.

One of them married a woman who I believe is the sister of my 4xg-grandfather. (The man whose probate this is). This David Brownlee is either her son or her husband's brother. There are two in the area and I'm not sure which is this guy. If the younger, then he may be a nephew to my 4xgreat-grandfather.

I'm hitting a brick wall on my g-grandfathers line and thought if she is really his sister, I may be able to find more info on him by tracing them.

[madinmaryland]

6. Could it be possible that it is referring to the mercer's account? A mercer is also known as

a trader of linens and cloths. Could he have owed or been owed by a mercer the amount of $112?

What did your 4x great grandfather do?

[OnionPatch]

7. He was a wheelwright.

An old history I found said he made grist mills, spinning wheels and wagons and later on in life, he made coffins! The man who owed him the money was a farmer, I believe, but he may have moved west (to Illinois) by the time of this record. I wonder if that could have made a difference.

Well, thanks. I guess it's not going to make too much difference if I know for sure. I was just curious because I think they may be related and I'm just trying to find any evidence of that. I think I'll go ahead and investigate it as a theory anyway.

[csziggy]

13. A convenient reference you can download free

Black's Law Dictionary or Dictionary of Law Containing Definitions of the Terms and Phrases of American and English Jurisprudence, Ancient and Modern (First Edition, 1891)

I found it on this website: http://www.whollygenes.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=US0211 where you can buy it on CD.

But you can download it in various formats at:
http://archive.org/details/alawdictionaryc00unkngoog

I generally save the original "catalog" page, a PDF version, and the Full Text version. The Full Text version can be searched but since their OCR quality is variable, having the PDF version with images of the original pages is essentail.

For instance, for your question, the Full Text says:

MEBCE8. Lat. In the civil law. Re-
ward of labor In money or other things. As
distinguished from "pettsio," it means the
rent of farms, {pr<Bdia rustici.) Calvin.

From the PDF version:

Merces. Lat. In the civil law. Reward of labor in money or other things. As distinguished from "pensio," it means the rent of farms, (praedia rustici.) Calvin.

Between Google Books and the Internet Archive, there are thousands of old genealogies, histories, and reference books available for free that are of great use to genealogists.