On
22 December 1780, the General Assembly of the new state of New
Jersey passed a law to more effectively prevent inhabitants of
the state from trading with the British forces (see Acts
of the Fifth General Assembly of the State of New Jersey,
first sitting, Chap. V, pp. 11-19). By section 18 of this law,
merchants in counties bordering enemy territory (i.e. New York),
and selling goods produced outside New Jersey or neighboring states,
were required to apply to the county court of quarter sessions
for a license to open a shop or store. Petitioners were required
to solicit signatures from fifteen "reputable and well-affected"
freeholders from the same county, certifying the applicant to
also be of good repute and "well-affected" to the government
of the state.
The penalty for selling foreign goods without a license was six
pounds per offense--half of which was to go to the support of
the poor in the township where the offense was committed. The
courts were allowed to charge six shillings for the issuance of
the licence. They were also empowered, of course, to revoke any
shopkeeper's license if a legitimate complaint was made against
him.
This
series contains signed petitions of Middlesex County (mainly New
Brunswick) shopkeepers. Although directed to apply to the court
of quarter sessions for a license, many petitions in this series
were addressed to the court of common pleas. They date from January,
1781, soon after the enactment of the wartime trade legislation
referred to above, to April of that year. [Note: In some instances,
only the date of the court term (month and year) was listed on the
petition.]
Item No.
Description
Images
1.
Bennett,
James, New Brunswick, January 1781
(Click image to enlarge)2.
Bonney,
James, Woodbridge Twp., 3 April 1781
(Click image to enlarge)3.
Bray,
John, Raritan Landing, April 1781
(Click image to enlarge)4.
Chambers,
James, [no location given], 12 January 1781
(Click image to enlarge)5.
Douglass,
James, New Brunswick, January 1781
(Click image to enlarge)6.
Eastburn,
John, New Brunswick, January 1781
(Click image to enlarge)7.
Eastburn,
Robert, New Brunswick, January 1781
(Click image to enlarge)8.
Garritsen,
Samuel W., New Brunswick, January 1781
(Click image to enlarge)9.
Hall,
William, New Brunswick, January 1781
(Click image to enlarge)10.
Hartupee,
Charles, Windsor Twp., 1 April 1781
(Click image to enlarge)11.
Jaques,
Enos, Woodbridge Twp., 16 January 1781
(Click image to enlarge)
12.
Lawson,
William, New Brunswick, January 1781
(Click image to enlarge)13.
Low,
Peter, New Brunswick, January 1781
(Click image to enlarge)14.
Manning,
Jeremiah, [no location given], 4 April 1781
(Click image to enlarge)15.
Paton,
James, [Woodbridge/Piscataway Twp.], January 1781
(Click image to enlarge)16.
Plum,
John, New Brunswick, January 1781
(Click image to enlarge)
17.
Richmond,
James, New Brunswick, January 1781
(Click image to enlarge)18.
Rowan,
Andrew, Windsor Twp., 19 March 1781
(Click image to enlarge)19.
Schureman,
James, New Brunswick, January 1781
(Click image to enlarge)
20.
Seaburn,
Jacob, New Brunswick, January 1781
(Click image to enlarge)21.
Sloan,
William, Cranbury, 8 January 1781
(Click image to enlarge)22.
Stryker,
Barent, New Brunswick, January 1781
(Click image to enlarge)23.
Thompson,
John, New Brunswick, April 1781
(Click image to enlarge)
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Created
July 2009
