Manuscript Group 790, Maskell Ewing, Jr. (1758 – 1825), Recorder of the City of Trenton Docket, 1799 – 1805
Archives Documents, Manuscripts, Maps, & Photographs
Manuscript Group 790, Maskell Ewing, Jr. (1758 – 1825), Recorder of the City of Trenton
Docket, 1799 – 1805, 0.25 linear feet / 1 volume
Call Number: MG 790
Docket of court cases and other legal matters kept by Ewing as recorder of the city of Trenton. Included are oaths taken, marriages performed, and some legal documents inserted in the volume. Maskell Ewing, Jr. was born in Cumberland County and was elected clerk of the state assembly before he was twenty-one. He served as recorder from around 1799 until 1805, when he moved to Pennsylvania and subsequently represented Delaware County in the state senate.
Gift of Mrs. Richard Humphreys, 1972.
Maskell Ewing, Jr., the son of Mary Paget and Maskell Ewing, Sr., was born in Greenwich, New Jersey (Cumberland County) on January 30, 1758. Maskell, Sr. served as the County Clerk in Greenwich and Maskell, Jr. grew up helping his father. His experience was rewarded when he was appointed clerk of the General Assembly in Trenton before he was 21 year old. Maskell, Jr. relocated to Trenton and stayed in the position of clerk for the next twenty years.
The legal world also interested Maskell, Jr. and he became an attorney in 1788 after studying under lawyer William C. Houston. Maskell served as the recorder of the City of Trenton from approximately 1799-1805 and, after moving to Philadelphia and then to Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 1805, he served as the state senator from that county for six years.
Maskell Ewing, Jr. died on August 26, 1825, while visiting his hometown of Greenwich, New Jersey.
This volume was the gift of Mrs. Richard Humphreys, 1972.
Maskell Ewing?s docket covers the entire time he served as recorder of the City of Trenton, from March 23, 1799 through July 23, 1805. The majority of cases listed involve debts, although there are also records of marriages and oaths taken. Entries include the date the case was heard, the names of the plaintiffs and defendants, the complaint and the outcome of the case.
There are also a number of loose papers filed throughout the volume. Some of these papers are attached to the page that deals with the relevant case. Other papers are randomly inserted. These papers include miscellaneous bills and summons.
Manuscript Group 283, Ewing Family (Trenton, NJ) Papers
Processed by Kim Charlton, October 1999 as part of the “Farm to City” project funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
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