Amanuensis Monday: Fielding Jollett in Chancery Court

Amanuensis Monday is a daily prompt at Geneabloggers which encourages the family historian to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts.

Amanuensis:  A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I often wonder why my great aunts Violetta and Velma quit tracing the Jollett family.  After all, they thought there was nothing on earth quite so interesting as their Jollett relatives and ancestors.  They had even hired a professional genealogist to do some of the research.  Perhaps it became expensive.  Or perhaps the frustration of turning up so few documents made them give up.  My family’s theory is that they uncovered something they didn’t want anyone to know. 

(I wonder if they ever heard stories about William Jollett.)   

The truth is we have our fair share of unsavory characters and events that might have appalled refined ladies like my aunts.  Being sued for payment of debt is nothing. 

So it seems my 3G grandfather Fielding Jollett of Page County, Virginia ran into some financial trouble, perhaps buying on credit from local merchants and certainly borrowing money from some fairly wealthy farmers.  Failure to make good on the loans resulted in two lawsuits, at least one of which dragged on for almost twenty years.

Here is the Chancery Cause of Good and Walton et al. vs Fielding Jollett 1860 (Index # 1861-09):

Good, Walton

vs                                            In Chancery

Fielding Jollett

Your complainants James W. Good, and Reuben M. Walton, late partners in trade under the name and style of Good & Walton, George Summers and George W. Shuler respectfully shew that Fielding Jollett owned and possessed a lot of land situate in the county of Page containing about three hundred acres, more or less, which he purchased of Geo. Conrad and Susan his wife on the 9^th day of March 1849 for the sum of one dollar in hand paid as will be seen by reference to an office copy of said deed from Geo. Conrad and Susan his wife to said Fielding Jollett, filed herewith marked Exhibit (A) and prayed to be taken as part of this bill.

Your complainants also shew that the said Good & Walton, partners as above stated, suing in the style of Good & Walton recovered a Judgment against the said Fielding Jollett before a Justice of the peace for the sum of $43.79 Inst from 26^th Nov 1857 till paid, and 30 cents costs, as will be seen by reference to an office copy of said Judgment which was docketed in the County Clerk’s office of Page Co. 20^th Nov 1860 and a copy of which is filed herewith marked Exhibit (B), and prayed to be taken as part of this bill.

Also say that the said Good & Walton, as aforesaid, recovered a Judgment rendered by a Justice of the peace against F. Jollett for the sum of $30.77 Inst till paid and 30 cents costs, which said Judgment was docketed in the County Clerk’s office of Page Co, 24^th April 1860, all of which will be seen by reference to an office copy of said Judgment filed herewith marked Exhibit (C), and prayed to be taken as part of this bill.

Also say that the said Geo. Summers recovered a Judgment rendered by a Justice of the peace against the said F. Jollett for $40.16 inst from 19 Oct 1859 till paid and 30 cents costs which said Judgment was docketed in the County Clerk’s office of Page Co. May 10^th 1860 all of which will be seen by reference to an office copy of said Judgment filed herewith marked Exhibit (D), and prayed to be taken as part of this bill.

Your complainants also say that Geo. W. Shuler recovered a Judgment rendered by a Justice of the peace against said deft for the sum of $50 Inst from 31^st Jan 1859 till paid which said Judgment was docketed in the County Clerk’s office of Page Co. May 10^th 1860 all of which will be seen by reference to an office copy of said Judgment filed herewith marked Exhibit (E), and prayed to be taken as part of this bill.

Your complainants say that the defendant has no personal property out of which the said sums of recovery recovered in said Judgments can be [???].  Your complainants therefore pray that Fielding Jollett who is the defendant in this bill may answer this bill on oath and that the court will decree or a sale or renting of so much of the real estate of said defendant as will satisfy the debts of said complainants and that a court may be appointed for this purpose and all other & further relief appriate in the premises, and they will ever pray.

                                                                                                P. B. Borst, p. q.

How did Fielding get himself into such a mess?  Did he have dreams of becoming a wealthy farmer but then just got in over his head?  Was he a poor manager of money?  Was he an inept farmer?  Was he merely pathetic or was he a dirty rotten scoundrel intentionally skirting the law?  I hope to come to some conclusions through a series of posts examining the documents in two Chancery Causes.

(NOTE: Chancery Causes for Page County, Virginia are among the Virginia Memory Digital Collections at the Library of Virginia.)