Guide to the Papers of Jacob Stern Thomson,Lawyer and New Jersey State Assembly man 1765-1844 MG 247

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Descriptive Summary
Biographical Note
Scope and Content Note
Arrangement
Restrictions
Access Points
Related Material
Administrative Information
Bibliography

Series Descriptions and Container List

Series 1: Financial Records, 1782-1840

Series 2: Legal Records, 1765-1840

Series 3: Military Records, 1806-1817

Series 4: Other Documents, 1807-1824


Guide to the Papers of Jacob Stern Thomson, Lawyer and New Jersey State Assemblyman
1765-1844
MG 247
The New Jersey Historical Society
52 Park Place
Newark, New Jersey 07102
Contact: NJHS Library
(973) 596-8500 x249
library@jerseyhistory.org
https://www.jerseyhistory.org
© 2004 All rights reserved.
The New Jersey Historical Society, Publisher
Inventory prepared by Stephen Yautz as part of the “Farm to City” project funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Finding aid encoded by Danielle Kovacs. February 2004. Production of the EAD 2002 version of this finding aid was made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Finding aid written in English.


Descriptive Summary

Creator: Jacob Stern Thomson
Title: Jacob Stern Thomson Papers
Dates: 1765-1844
Abstract: Contains the legal papers, dockets, financial records, notes, and military records of Jacob Stern Thomson, which were mainly related to his position as an attorney in private practice and as Clerk of Sussex County, New Jersey, spanning the years 1765 to 1844.
Quantity: 5.0 linear feet (10 manuscript boxes)
Collection Number: MG 247

Biographical Note

Jacob Stern Thomson was born in Changewater, New Jersey, circa 1772. He lived and practiced law in Marksborough, Sussex (later Warren) County, New Jersey. Thomson was admitted to the bar in 1796, and was the Clerk for Sussex County, New Jersey. From 1806 to 1826, he served in the New Jersey State Assembly as a Federalist, and later, as a Whig. Thomson died in December 1831.

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Scope and Content Note

This collection contains the legal papers, dockets, financial records, notes, and military records belonging to Jacob Stern Thomson, which were mainly related to his position as an attorney in private practice and as Clerk of Sussex County, New Jersey, and spans the years 1765 to 1844. The papers include documents signed by Joseph Bloomfield, Mahlon Dickerson, Theodore Frelinghuysen, William Halsey, Joseph C. Hornblower, Samuel Leake, William Paterson (1745-1806), and Richard Stockton (1764-1828).

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Arrangement

This collection is arranged in four series:

Series 1: Financial Records, 1782-1840

Series 2: Legal Records, 1765-1840

Series 3: Military Records, 1806-1817

Series 4: Other Documents, 1807-1824

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Photocopying of materials is limited and no materials may be photocopied without permission from library staff.

Use Restrictions

Researchers wishing to publish, reproduce, or reprint materials from this collection must obtain permission.

The New Jersey Historical Society complies with the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code), which governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions and protects unpublished materials as well as published materials.

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Access Points

The entries below represent persons, organizations, topics, forms, and occupations documented in this collection.
Subject Names:
Bloomfield, Joseph, 1753-1823.
Dickerson, Mahlon, 1770-1853.
Frelinghuysen, Theodore, 1787-1862.
Halsey, William, 1770-1843.
Hornblower, Joseph C. (Joseph Coerten), 1777-1864.
Leake, Samuel, fl. 1796-1829.
Paterson, William, 1745-1806.
Stockton, Richard, 1764-1828.
Thomson, Jacob Stern, 1772-1831.
Subject Organizations:
New Jersey. Legislature. General Assembly.
New Jersey. Militia. Sussex Brigade.
Sussex County (N.J.). Clerk’s Office.
Subject Topics:
County attorneys.
Subject Places:
Changewater (N.J.)
New Jersey–History–1775-1865.
Sussex County (N.J.)
Sussex County (N.J.)
Warren County (N.J.)
Document Types:
Advertisements.
Affidavits.
Agreements.
Bonds (legal records)
Civil court records.
Criminal court records.
Financial records.
Financial statements.
Legal correspondence.
Legal records.
Military records.
Notes.
Summonses.
Warrants.
Writs.

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Related Material

For related collections, see:

Manuscript Group 10, Hornblower Family Papers

Manuscript Group 42, William Paterson Manuscripts

Manuscript Group 46, New Jersey Legislature Minutes

Manuscript Group 98, M.F. Dickerson and Company Records

Manuscript Group 101, Dickerson Mine Records

Manuscript Group 368, Stockton Family Papers

Manuscript Group 377, Joseph Bloomfield Papers

Manuscript Group 380, Frelinghuysen Family Papers

Manuscript Group 542, William Paterson Docket

Manuscript Group 995, Sussex County Justice of the Peace Marriage Records

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Administrative Information

Custodial History

The source of this collection is unknown.

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as: Manuscript Group 247, Jacob Stern Thomson Papers, The New Jersey Historical Society.

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Bibliography

Biographical File, The New Jersey Historical Society.

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Series Descriptions and Container List

Series 1: Financial Records, 1782-1840

Scope and Content:

The financial records include account statements, bonds, invoices, payment orders, and receipts, mostly pertaining to Thomson’s law practice and to his role as Sussex County Clerk. The financial records are arranged by type of document and chronologically therein.

Box Folder Title Date
1 1 Account Statements (43) 1782-1800
1 2 Account Statements (59) 1801-1812
1 3 Account Statements (13) 1813
1 4 Account Statements (8) 1814
1 5 Account Statements (68) 1815-1819
1 6 Account Statements (5) undated
1 7 Bonds (17) 1798-1812
1 8 Bonds (3) 1813
1 9 Bonds (19) 1815-1840
1 10 Invoice 1798
1 11 Payment Orders (3) 1806
1 12 Promissory Notes (4) 1796-1808
1 13 Promissory Notes (5) 1814
1 14 Promissory Notes (10) 1818-1838
1 15 Quitclaim 1803
1 16 Receipts (17) 1794-1810
1 17 Receipts (8) 1812-1813
1 18 Receipt undated

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Series 2: Legal Records, 1765-1840

Scope and Content:

The legal records in these papers contain mainly court entries, legal correspondence, notes, and other legal documents, also in relation to Thomson’s role as lawyer and county clerk.

Subseries A: Court Entries, 1788-1824

Scope and Content:

The court entries, which are summaries of court decisions made, are mostly from the New Jersey Supreme Court, 1788-1824, the Sussex County Court, 1788-1824, and also include court entries from other locations such as Northampton County, Pennsylvania, and Hunterdon County, New Jersey. These are arranged alphabetically by geographic location. Each court entity’s entries are filed chronologically.
Box Folder Title Date
1 19 Court Entries: Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (3) 1788-1800
1 20 Court Entries: Burlington County, New Jersey (3) 1797-1804
1 21 Court Entry: Dorchester County, Maryland 1806
1 22 Court Entries: Gloucester County, New Jersey (4) 1795-1807
1 23 Court Entries: Hunterdon County, New Jersey (4) 1793-1794
1 24 Court Entries: Hunterdon County, New Jersey (3) 1817-1818
1 25 Court Entries: New Jersey Supreme Court 1788
1 26 Court Entries: New Jersey Supreme Court (3) 1789
1 27 Court Entries: New Jersey Supreme Court (4) 1790
1 28 Court Entries: New Jersey Supreme Court (5) 1791
Box Folder Title Date
2 1 Court Entries: New Jersey Supreme Court (5) 1792
2 2 Court Entries: New Jersey Supreme Court (6) 1793
2 3 Court Entries: New Jersey Supreme Court (4) 1794
2 4 Court Entries: New Jersey Supreme Court (5) 1795
2 5 Court Entries: New Jersey Supreme Court (4) 1796
2 6 Court Entries: New Jersey Supreme Court (10) 1797
2 7 Court Entries: New Jersey Supreme Court (4) 1798
2 8 Court Entries: New Jersey Supreme Court (10) 1799
2 9 Court Entries: New Jersey Supreme Court (4) 1800-1801
2 10 Court Entries: New Jersey Supreme Court (30) 1802-1812
2 11 Court Entries: New Jersey Supreme Court (4) 1813
Box Folder Title Date
3 1 Court Entries: New Jersey Supreme Court (13) 1815-1824
3 2 Court Entries: New Jersey Supreme Court undated
3 3 Court Entries: Northampton County, Pennsylvania (2) 1815-1818
3 4 Court Entries: Salem County, New Jersey (2) 1797-1805
3 5 Court Entries: South Carolina Court of Common Pleas 1805
3 6 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey (9 1788-1794
3 7 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey (20) 1795-1797
3 8 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey (11) 1798-1799
3 9 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey (10) 1800-1801
3 10 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey (35) 1802-1804
3 11 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey (15) 1805
3 12 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey (22) 1806
3 13 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey (18) 1807
3 14 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey (20) 1808
3 15 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey (28) 1809
3 16 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey (37) 1810
Box Folder Title Date
4 1 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey (30) 1811
4 2 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey (21) 1812
4 3 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey (23) 1813
4 4 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey (17) 1814
4 5 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey (18) 1815
4 6 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey (6) 1816
4 7 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey (23) 1817
4 8 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey (13) 1818-1819
4 9 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey (18) 1820-1822
4 10 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey 1823
4 11 Court Entries: Sussex County, New Jersey (3) 1824
4 12 Court Entries: United States Middle Circuit Court (10) 1800-1804

Subseries B: Legal Correspondence, 1796-1829

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains the legal correspondence of Jacob Stern Thomson, and mainly is from his private law practice, and discusses court cases with other attorneys, most notably with Samuel Leake. Other legal correspondence in this series is requests for information and documentation from the Sussex County Clerk’s office. The legal correspondence subseries is arranged chronologically.
Box Folder Title Date
4 13 Legal Correspondence (64) 1796-1804
Box Folder Title Date
5 1 Legal Correspondence (40) 1805
5 2 Legal Correspondence (30) 1806 Jan-June
5 3 Legal Correspondence (46) 1806 July-Dec
5 4 Legal Correspondence (27) 1807 Jan-June
5 5 Legal Correspondence (10) 1807 July-Dec
5 6 Legal Correspondence (30) 1808 Jan-June
5 7 Legal Correspondence (33) 1808 July-Dec
5 8 Legal Correspondence (31) 1809 Jan-June
5 9 Legal Correspondence (25) 1809 July-Dec
5 10 Legal Correspondence (29) 1810 Jan- June
5 11 Legal Correspondence (19) 1810 July-Dec
5 12 Legal Correspondence (24) 1811 Jan-June
Box Folder Title Date
6 1 Legal Correspondence (23) 1811 July- Dec
6 2 Legal Correspondence (32) 1812 Jan-June
6 3 Legal Correspondence (18) 1812 July-Dec
6 4 Legal Correspondence (27) 1813
6 5 Legal Correspondence (29) 1814
6 6 Legal Correspondence (21) 1815
6 7 Legal Correspondence (15) 1816
6 8 Legal Correspondence (14) 1817
6 9 Legal Correspondence (28) 1818-1819
6 10 Legal Correspondence (25) 1820-1822
6 11 Legal Correspondence (39) 1823
6 12 Legal Correspondence (36) 1824
Box Folder Title Date
7 1 Legal Correspondence (5) 1825-1829
7 2 Legal Correspondence (12) undated

Subseries C: Notes, 1786-1824

Scope and Content:

The notes in this subseries include drafts of court entries, research on legal precedents for the cases that Thomson was hired as legal representation, as well as drafts of account statements and papers that once possibly acted as dockets for the legal documents in this collection. The notes are arranged in chronological order.
Box Folder Title Date
7 3 Notes (32) 1786-1812
7 4 Notes (4) 1813
7 5 Notes (3) 1814
7 6 Notes (24) 1815-1824
7 7 Notes (37) undated
7 8 Notes (44) undated
7 9 Notes (44) undated
7 10 Notes (34) undated
7 11 Notes (25) undated
7 12 Notes (25) undated

Subseries D: Other Legal Documents, 1765-1840

Scope and Content:

The documents in this subseries include affidavits, articles of agreement, land deeds, blank legal forms, copies of New Jersey state legislation, memoranda, summonses, trial notices, warrants, and writs. The documents in this subseries are arranged by type of document and chronologically therein.
Box Folder Title Date
8 1 Affidavits (41) 1783-1812
8 2 Affidavits (3) 1813
8 3 Affidavits (3) 1814
8 4 Affidavits (25) 1815-1840
8 5 Arbitration Agreement 1784
8 6 Articles of Agreement 1784
8 7 Articles of Agreement (10) 1800-1812
8 9 Articles of Agreement 1817
8 10 Articles of Vendue 1812
8 11 Assignments (10) 1796-1812
8 12 Assignments (3) 1814
8 13 Bail Documents (3) 1798-1808
8 14 Bail Documents (3) 1815-1817
8 15 Bills of Exception (8) 1801-1808
8 16 Certificates (4) 1801-1810
8 17 Certificate 1813
8 18 Certificates (3) 1816-1824
8 19 Commissions (3) 1801-1806
8 20 Commissions (2) 1812-1814
8 21 Commission 1817
8 22 Complaint 1800
8 23 Demurer to Evidence 1809
8 24 Election Records: Sussex County, New Jersey (2) 1808
8 25 Forfeiture Notices (21) 1805-1814
8 26 Forfeiture Notices (24) 1815-1840
8 27 Forfeiture Notices (3) undated
8 28 Land Deeds (6) 1765-1796
8 28 Land Deeds (8) 1804-1812
8 29 Land Deeds (8) 1804-1812
8 30 Land Deed 1813
8 31 Land Deed 1824
8 32 Land Surveys (2) 1811
8 33 Land Surveys (4) undated
8 34 Legal Forms, Blank (18) undated
8 35 Legal Forms, Blank (20) undated
8 36 Legal Notices (9) 1802-1812
8 37 Legal Notices (3) 1814-1819
Box Folder Title Date
9 1 Legislation, State of New Jersey (5) 1797-1824
9 2 Legislation, State of New Jersey (12) undated
9 3 List of Justices, Sussex County Court, Sussex County, New Jersey (2) 1801-1802
9 4 Memoranda (11) 1783-1812
9 5 Memorandum 1814
9 6 Memoranda (5) 1816-1823
9 7 Mortgage Deed 1813
9 8 Order of Obligation 1792
9 9 Petitions (6) 1800-1807
9 10 Petition 1824
9 11 Plea 1807
9 12 Precedents, Legal (7) 1793
9 13 Resolutions (2) 1814
9 14 Subpoenas (2) 1798-1815
9 15 Subscriptions (3) 1814
9 16 Summonses (37) 1780-1804
9 17 Summonses (78) 1805-1812
9 18 Summonses (7) 1813
9 19 Summonses (15) 1814
9 20 Summonses (83) 1815-1840
9 21 Transcript of Court Case (2) 1801
Box Folder Title Date
10 1 Trial Notices (16) 1800-1801
10 2 Trial Notices (20) 1802-1804
10 3 Trial Notices (4) 1805-1806
10 4 Warrants (3) 1811-1812
10 5 Warrants (2) 1815-1840
10 6 Wills (3) 1792-1802
10 7 Writs (10) 1798-1811
10 8 Writ 1819

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Series 3: Military Records, 1806-1817

Scope and Content:

The documents in this series are the records of the Sussex Brigade of Militia, which mainly contains certificates, listings of delinquents and the fines imposed upon them, and other records. These records were kept by Thomson, since he served as paymaster for the Sussex Brigade. The documents in this series are filed in chronological order.

Box Folder Title Date
10 9 Sussex Brigade Records (16) 1806
10 10 Sussex Brigade Records (15) 1807
10 11 Sussex Brigade Records (28) 1808-1809
10 12 Sussex Brigade Records (49) 1810-1811
10 13 Sussex Brigade Records (20) 1812
10 14 Sussex Brigade Records (14) 1813
10 15 Sussex Brigade Records (30) 1814
10 16 Sussex Brigade Records (38) 1815
10 17 Sussex Brigade Records (13) 1816
10 18 Sussex Brigade Records (15) 1817
10 19 Sussex Brigade Records (2) undated

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Series 4: Other Documents, 1807-1824

Scope and Content:

This series contains advertisements, mostly from newspapers from 1807 to 1820, and an invitation to an event dating from 1824, which was received by Thomson in his capacity as a New Jersey State Assemblyman. An undated recipe for “Dr. Witt’s Cholic, or Baby, Drops,” completes the collection.

Box Folder Title Date
10 20 Advertisements (18) 1807-1820
10 21 Advertisements (3) undated
10 22 Invitation 1824
10 23 Recipe undated

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