Legal Form Book of Peter Tinsley, Clerk of the High Court of Chancery

Tinsley Form Book Summary

Peter Tinsley served as George Wythe’s clerk while Wythe presided over the High Court of Chancery. As clerk, Tinsley compiled a collection of forms for the various documents that the court would need to issue. This collection is referred to as Tinsley’s “form book.” This book was intended to save time and labor by providing a repository of model language so that the clerk would not have to start from scratch every time the court needed to issue a document. This book may also have served a related (whether intentional or incidental) purpose of standardizing the language of documents issued by the court so that court documents were consistent.

The form book is divided into eight sections, plus an index.

1. Forms of Injunctions (pages 1-10): An injunction is an order by the court for a party to do or not to do something. These form injunctions generally address situations in which the court needed to stop a party “from further proceeding on a judgment.”
   For example, one form in this section is the plain “Injunction to a Judgment on a forthcoming bond.” Many of the forms appear to be derivative of this one, with subtle differences. They differ in length, the location of the court, the parties involved, the amount of bond required, and probably other respects more readily apparent to the careful eye of Tinsley. There are forms for situations involving “part of a judgment” or “8 years interest [on a judgment]” or “[a] Judg[ment] [that] was affirmed on an appeal” or “a Judg[ment] [o]btained by assignee,” or “Judgments obtained in different ~ Courts.” It is clear that Tinsley wanted to have several examples to choose from. He must have appreciated the subtle differences in the seemingly similar cases that came before the court.
   Other highlights from this section include a form to direct a trustee to refrain from selling certain property and another to direct an official (“the Sergeant of the City of Richmond”) not to seize or liquidate certain property. No matter the details of the next injunction that the court needed to issue, Tinsley probably had a form that was at least close to it.
2. Forms of Orders (pages 11-50): Court orders often involve decisions on motions. One such motion is a “demurrer,” which is a motion asking the court to dismiss the case because it is fatally flawed in that the facts alleged provide no legal basis for relief. Tinsey had three forms dealing with demurrers. All three of them were for overruling demurrers, which would be used when the court decided that there was a legal basis for relief. Also, all three forms direct the defendant (the party who brought the motion and lost) to pay for the plaintiff’s costs related to the demurrer.
   Perhaps more interesting are the multiple orders dealing with parties who were out of the country, referred to as “absentees.” In at least three of these forms, it appears that the plaintiff was awarded land belonging to a defendant who had left the young nation, perhaps because the defendant had been a British loyalists. The revolutionary war fighting lingered in the south. As the fighting came to an end and the British were leaving the former colonies, “up to tens of thousands of loyalists sometimes went with the retreating army to Britain and other parts of the British Empire.” So, these forms may indicate that the George Wythe heard cases (perhaps even regularly) where British Loyalists lost their land by default.
   Some forms in the second section contain probably unfamiliar terms like “fieri facias.” According to the Cornell LII, “This is a court document that instructs a sheriff to seize and sell a defendant's property in order to satisfy a monetary judgment against the defendant.” Then there is the “Scire Facias,” which is “a writ, founded on a record, requiring the person against whom it is issued to appear and show cause why the record should not be enforced or annulled.”
3. Certificates (pages 51-52): This section contains three forms. The first two were for dismissing a case and the last one was for verifying that the plaintiff obtained a bond.
4. Process (pages 53-70): The first few forms in this section are called “supersedeas[es].” These forms are directed to the sheriff and appear to have something to do with holding off on collections while an appeal is pending. According to Jones day, a “supersedeas bond” is “the bond a losing defendant must pay to secure its right to appeal and stay the judgment.”
   Other forms in this section are used to bring someone before the court (“attachment”). There are several forms labelled with the previously-mentioned term “Scire facias.” These forms are also directed to the sheriff and most of them involve the situation where a party has “departed this life,” apparently while the case was pending. The forms “command” the sheriff to “summon” someone to come before the court. There are also forms of “Certiorari,” in a few different variations, each of which is directed to the justices of a particular county, apparetly used to request records from those justices of the proceedings in cases that had been appealed to the High Court of Chancery. The labels of other forms in this section contain terms such as “Writ,” “Mandamus,” “Commission,” “Habeus Corpus,” and “Subpoena.”
5. Executions (pages 71-76): Each of the executions is directed to the sheriff, requesting that the sheriff procure money from the sheriff’s “bailiwick” to be paid on a court award. This section also contains a form titled a “Writ of Elegit,” which directs the sheriff to take one person’s property and give it to another person “saving only the oxen and beasts of his plough, and also a moiety of all [the judgment debtor’s] lands and tenements.”
6. Rules of Court (pages 77-80): This section lists procedural rules in the High Court of Chancery that deal with issues such as timing for motions, examination of witnesses, examination of accounts, dismissal of cases, and reinstatement of cases. One rule seems to have been directed at clearing the court’s docket; it stated that all cases “depending at the rules” would be dismissed unless the plaintiffs took action to move them along “on the first rule day after the next term.”
7. Bonds (pages 81-88): These forms generally seem to have been used to verify that someone (probably the appealing party in most cases) has posted security (a bond) in case one of the other parties suffers damages. The bond would protect the appellee and provide him with a source of recovery for his costs litigating the appeal “in case the said decree be affirmed.”
8. Appeal (pages 89-90): There is only one form in this section. It was taken from a proceeding that took place before Judge George Wythe on September 1, 1799. It appears to be a recitation of several procedural events that took place. Perhaps Tinsley used this form as a model for other instances when Wythe ordered, “Be it remembered...” as he did here.

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Forms of Injunctions The Commonwealth of Virginia to the Sheriff of County Greeting: You are hereby commanded to summon James Ritchie, to appear before the Judge of the High Court of Chancery of the Capitol in the City of Richmond on the 17th day of the next term to answer a bill in Chancery exhibited against him by Edward Digges: and this he shall in no wise omit under the penalty of £100 and have then there this writ: Witness George Wythe judge of our said Court of Richmond this 10th Day of June 1802, and in the 26th year of the Commonwealth. P. Tinsley C,C

Subpoena

To injoin the defendants their agents, attornies and all others concerned from further proceeding on a judgment obtained by the defendant James Dunlop exor of Thomas Montgomery who was assignee of William Ransdell against the plaintiff in the district court of Dumfries as to the sum now appearing by the said judgment to be due, until the further order of this Court. But the effect of this injunction is to be suspended until the plaintiff enters into bond with sufficient security in the Clerks office of the said district Court in a penalty equal to double the money hereby injoined and until he also files with the said Clerk, or with the Clerk of this Court, a release of all errors at law in the said judgment proceedings P. Tinsley C,C Memo If the release of errors be filed with the Clerk of the district aforesaid a copy thereof is to be certified to this court P. Tinsley C,C

Injunction to part of a judgment obta. by assignees

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Injunction to a Judgt. Deputy Shff and his securities	To injoin &c. from proceeding on a judgment obtained by the defendant W.C. against the plaintiff and the Securities for the faithful execution of his office as deputy Sheriff as to £10 until &c.
Injunction to a judgment on forthcoming bond	To injoin &c. from proceeding on a judgment obtained by the defendant J.M against the plaintiff C.D. in the district court of Dumfries on a bond given for the forthcoming of property at the day of sale on an execution sued out of the Clerks Office of the said district court on a judgment obtained therein by the said defendant J.M against the plaintiff J.S until &c.
Injunction to a Judgt. on a forthcoming bond [???] Plt and the securities for the delivery of the property at the day of sale.	To injoin &c. from proceeding on a judgment obtained by the deft against the plaintiffs J.C and S.C in the district court of Dumfries on a bond given for the forthcoming of property at the day of sale on an execution sued out of the Clerks office of the said district court on a judgment thereon obtained by the deft [???]the plt H.T until the further order of this Court. P.T. C,C
Injunction to a Judgt. on a forthcoming bond as to 8 years interest	To injoin &c. from further proceeding on a judgment obtained by the deft against the plaintiff on a bond given for the forthcoming of property at the day of sale, upon an execution sued out of the Clerks office of the district court of Dumfries on a judgment obtained thereon by the defendant against the plaintiff as to so much of said first mentioned judgment as is equal to eight years interest on the principal money recovered by the last mentioned Judgt. until &c. P.T. C,C
Injunction to a Judgt. on a forthcoming bond which Judgt. was affirmed on an appeal to the Dt. Ct. of C.	To injoin &c. from further proceeding on a judgment obtained by the defendant against the plaintiff and others in the district Court of

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of Charlottesville affirming a judgment of the County Court of Albemarle rendered on a bond given for the forthcoming of property at the day of sale upon an execution sued out of the Clerks Office of the said County Court on a judgment obtained therein by the defendant as assignee of S.C against the admons of C.S. deceased until the further order of this court: But the effect of this injunction is to be suspended until the plaintiff enters into bond with sufficient security in the Clerks Office of the said district court in a penalty equal to double the money recovered by the judgment first mentioned with such condition as the law requires; and until he and the said W.S.H. also file with the said Clerk of the district Court or with the Clerk of this Court a release of all errors at law in the said judgment and proceedings	margin small column
To injoin &c. from further proceeding on the execution now in the Sheriffs hands of Fluvanna in favor of William Adams and others against Richard Cocke until the further order of this court: But the effect of this injunction is to be suspended until the plt: B.R enters into bond with sufficient security in the Clerks office of the respective Courts in which the judgments on which the said executions were rendered in penalties equal to double &c.	Injunction to executions now in the Shffs hands.
To injoin the defendant his agents attornies and all others concerned from further proceeding on a judgment obtained by the defendant against the plaintiff in the county Court of Goochland also on a bond	Injunction to a Judgt. and to a bond given in virtue of an exon sued out on the said Judgment.

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Margin SMALL column	bond given for the forthcoming of property at the day of sale upon an execution sued out of the said County Court on the judgment aforesaid, until the further order of this Court, but the effect of this Subpoena is to be suspended until the plaintiff enters into bond with sufficient security in the Clerks office of the said County Court in the penalty of two hundred and twenty pounds with such condition as the law requires, and until he also files with the said Clerk or with the Clerk of this court a release of all errors in the said judgment &c. proceedings P.T. C,C
In the case of a review where the decree reviewed is not final.	Virginia In the High Court of Chancery Between A.E. plaintiff and C.D. defendant The plaintiff by leave of the Judge of the said court is allowed to file a bill for reviewing the decree and proceedings in the suit between A.E. plaintiff and C.D. defendant, and having filed the same accordingly, the commissioners appointed for performing the said decree which was pronounced on the day of are hereby to suspend all proceedings on the said decree until the further order of the said H.C.C. P.T. C,C
Surveyors fees Sergeant inhibited from proceeding to distrain.	To inhibit the Sergeant of the City of Richmond from proceeding to distrain the property of the plaintiff to satisfy the tickets put into his the said Sergeants hands by the defendant Edward Jackson for fees said to be due him as surveyor of Randolph County from the plaintiff for services performed in the years one thousand seven hundred and ninety five and 1796, amounting to $908 and 66 until

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until the further order of this Court.
To inhibit the defendant R.K. until the further order of this court from proceeding to sell more of the property conveyed to him in trust by the plaintiff Rice N. by Indenture bearing date the 29.th of March 1800 to secure the payment of a debt due by him the said R.N. to Robert Haslie and others surviving partners of B.H. & Co. than may be sufficient to raise so much of the debt intended to be secured by the said indenture as shall remain after deduction therefrom of one hundred and forty nine pounds 13/5 with interest thereon from the 25.th day of July 1799. P.T. C,C	Trustee inhibited from proceeding to sell trust property.
To injoin &c. from further proceeding on a judgment obtained by the defendants J.D. &c. exors of T.M who was was assignee of W.R. against the plaintiff in the district Court of Dumfries as to the sum now appearing by the said judgment to be due: until the further order of this court. But the effect of this injunction is to be suspended until the plaintiff enters into bond with sufficient security in the Clerks Office of the said district court in a penalty equal to double the money hereby injoined and until he also files the said Clerk or with the Clerk of this Court a release of all errors of law in the said judgment and proceedings. P.T. C,C	Injunction to part of a Judgt. Obtained by assignee.
To injoin &c. from further proceedings on a judgment obtained by the defendants J.L. and J.L. exors of F.L. deceased against the plaintiff in the district court of Fredericksburg until the last day of this month, and no longer, upon condition that the goods	Injunction to continue to the end of such a period then to cease unless cause be shown to the contrary after giving notice to the deft. as required

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Margin SMALL column	goods and chattels taken or to be taken, in execution be suffered to remain under the Officers power, to the end that in the mean time, the defendants to whom the plaintiff is required to give reasonable notice of this motion may attend the Judge of the high court of Chancery personally or by counsil for the purpose of opposing it if they will and that if the injunction be not continued, the creditors may not be longer delayed. P.T. C,C
Injunction to a Judgt. and to two others to be confessed in the actions now depending in court.	To injoin &c. from further proceeding on a judgment obtained by the defendant of the plaintiff in the district court of ~ Winchester, until the further order of this court: But the effect of this injunction is to be suspended until the plaintiff enters into bond with sufficient security in the Clerks office of the said district court in a penalty equal to double the money recovered by the said judgment with such condition as the law requires and until he also files a release of errors. &c. (from) And upon the plaintiffs confessing judgments in the two actions commenced against him by the defendant and now depending in the said district Court, and entering into like bond in a penalty equal to double the money recovered by the judgments so to be confessed: and moreover filing with the said Clerk, or with the Clerk of this court, a release of all errors at law in the said ~ judgments and proceedings, the defendant, his agents, attornies & all others concerned, are hereby injoined from further proceeding on the said judgments until the further order of this court. P.T. C,C
Injunction to two Judgments specifying the sums injoined	To injoin &c. from further proceeding on two judgments obtained by the defendants against the plaintiffs in the district court of T

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one for £112 10 with interest from the 1.st day of April 1792. and costs and the other for £120 17 6 ¼ with interest from the 1.st day of April 92, and costs, until the further order of this court, but the effect of this injunction is to be suspended until the plaintiff enters into bond with sufficient security in the Clerks office of the said district court in a penalty equal to double the money recovered by the said judgments with such condition as the law requires: and until he also files with the said Clerk or with the Clerk of this court a release of all errors of law in the said judgments and proceedings. P.T. C,C
To inhibit the commrs. from proceeding to make sale of the eight hundred acres of land mentioned in the complainants bill it being part of the land mortgaged by John P.P. to J.B. by indenture bearing date the 8.th day of September 1787, for the foreclosure of which said mortgage a decree was made on the 22d day of May 1801, in a suit in the high Court of Chancery between the said J.B. plaintiff and M. Posey defendant, until the further order &c. but the effect &c. penalty of the bond to be directed by the Judge. Memo. The Clerk of the said County Court is directed to transmit to this court the bond to be taken in pursuance of the above injunction.	Commissioners inhibited from proceeding to sell land.
To injoin &c. from further proceeding on two judgments one obtained by the defendant J.M. against the plaintiff in the district court of B and the other against him as Garnishee of the defendant F.G. in	Injunctions to Jugdmt. obtained vs the plt. in different characters and in different Courts.

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Margin SMALL column	in the County Court of Brunswick, until the further order of this court: but the effect of this injunction is to be suspended until the plaintiff enters into bonds in the Clerks office of the said county and district courts in a penalty equal to double the amount of the said judgments, and until he also files with the said Clerks a release of all errors at law in the said judgments and proceedings. P.T. C,C
Upon plaintiffs confessing Judgdt. Injunction awarded.	Fontaine Maury against John Proudfit Upon the plaintiffs confessing judgment in the action commenced against him in the County Court of Spotsylvania by the ~ defendant for the debt and interest sought thereby to be recovered and entering into bond with sufficient security in the Clerks office of the said County Court in a penalty equal to double the amount due by the said judgment with such condition as the law requires in cases of injunctions, and moreover filing with the said Clerk or with the Clerk of this Court, a release of all errors of law in the said judgment and proceedings; the defendant his agents &c. are hereby injoined from proceeding on the said judgment until the further order of court. P.T. C,C
Injunction from further proceeding on a forthcoming bond.	To injoin &c. from proceeding on a bond given for the forthcoming of property at the day of sale upon an execution sued out of the county Court of Gloucester on a judgment obtained in the said court by W.D. assignee &c. of S.C who was assignee of J.H. against the plaintiff, until the further order of this Court; but the effect of this injunction is to be suspended until the plaintiff enters into bond with sufficient security in the Clerks office of the said county court

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court in a penalty equal to double the money appearing to be due by the said bond, with such condition as the law requires, and until he also files with the Clerk of the said Court, or with the Clerk of this Court a release of all errors in the said judgment and proceedings P.T. C,C	000
To injoin &c. from further proceeding on two judgments obtained by the defendants G&c.F.T &c. assignee of C.M.&c. against the plaintiff one in the county Court of Norfolk, and the other in the district court of Suffolk, until the further order of this Court; but the effect of this injunction is to be suspended ~ until the plaintiff enters into bond in the Clerks office of the said respective Courts with sufficient security in penalties equal to double the money recovered by each of the said Judg.ts with such condition as the law requires; and until he also files with the Clerks of the said Courts a release of all errors of law in the said Judgments and proceedings P.T. C,C	Injunction to two Judgments obtained in different ~ Courts
To injoin &c. from further proceeding on two judgments obtained by the defendant against the plaintiff in the district court of New London, one for the 104 pounds 10/- [???] with interest from the 9.th day of January 1794, till payment and the Costs, the other for 131 pounds 1/- [???] with interest from the same period till payment and costs, until the further order of this court: but the effect of this injunction is to be suspended, until the plaintiffs enter into bond with sufficient security in the Clerks office of the said district court in a penalty equal to double the money recovered by the said judgments with such condition as the law requires; and until they also file with the said Clerk, or with the clerk of this court a release of all errors at law in the said judgments and proceedings P.T. CC	Injunction to two Judgments sums recovered by the said Judgments specified.

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Forms of Orders Anthony Thornton and Mary his wife……… plaintiffs against Graham Franks and others………………......defendants The demurrer put in to the bill of the plaintiffs by the defendants Francis Gaines and Frances his wife was this twentieth day of March, in the year of our lord, one thousand seven hundred and ninety three, argued by counsil and ~ overruled by the Court, and therefore the court doth order these defendants to answer the said bill, and to pay to the plaintiffs their costs occasioned by the demurrer: and doth further order that the defendant Zachariah Shackleford, do make up an account of his administration of the estate of Richard Shackleford deceased, and also an account of the estate of Philip Rootes exor of Philip Rootes deceased and of the testator Philip Rootes which came to his hands; and with the consent of defendants Francis Gaines and Frances his wife by their counsil It is ordered that they do also render an account of the portion of the said estates which came to their hands, which accounts are to be made up before master commissioner Hay, who is directed to examine state and settle the same and make report thereof to the Court with such matters specially as he may think pertinent or as the parties may require

Order overruling Demurrer and directing account.

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Plea to stand as an answer and leave given the deft to put in a further answer

William Thornton Alexander………………… plaintiff against Patrick Maury………………………………...defendant The plea of the defendant, put into the bill of the Plt came on, this twenty third day of September, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and ninety three, to be argued by counsil, and the court doth direct the said plea to stand for an answer, and doth give leave to the defendant further to answer the bill of the plaintiff.

Decree for partition and allotment and report to be made

Jesse Curd and others…………………………….plaintiffs against Suzanna Ellis and others…………………………defendants This cause, by consent of parties, came on, this fifteenth day of September, in the year of our lord, one thousand seven hundred and ninety five, to be heard on the bill and answers and the decree of the county court of Goochland in chancery, in a cause wherein the said Susanna Ellis widow and the present plaintiffs were plaintiffs and the said Samuel Woodson was defendant, and was argued by counsil; on consideration whereof the court doth appoint Miles Seldon, Nath.e Wilkinson, Daniel L. Hylton and William Price commissioners of whom any two or more may act, to assign to the said ~ Susanna the widow, her dower of the lands and slaves whereof John Ellis the father was seized and possessed at the times of his death, including in such lands the twenty five acres of Wood land mentioned in the said decree, of the County court of Goochland, and make partition of all the said lands and slaves subject to the said

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said dower, among the children of the said John Ellis to be holden by them in coparcenery, and do also distribute the personal estate of the said John Ellis amongst his window and children, allotting one third part thereof to her, and that the defendant, Samuel Woodson, do convey the inheritance of the said twenty five acres of land after the confirmation of the report, to that plaintiff within the limits of whose property the same shall be; and that the said acting commissioners report the partition and distribution to the Court.

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See also

• Peter Tinsley
• Wythe's Judicial Career
• Commission to Take Depositions, 9 November 1796

External links

• Read this book in Google Books.