Difference between revisions of "Cases Argued and Adjudged in the High Court of Chancery"

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===by Thomas Vernon===
 
===by Thomas Vernon===
 
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[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Vernon_%28lawyer%29 Thomas Vernon] was a law reporter and politician who supported the government in the House of Commons.  
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Thomas Vernon (1654-1721) was one of the preeminent practitioners in chancery cases of his day and a politician in the House of Commons.<ref> Stuart Handley, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/28248, “Vernon, Thomas (1654–1721)”], “Oxford Dictionary of National Biography”, (Oxford University Press, 2004- ), accessed 22 Nov 2013.</ref> He was admitted to the Middle Temple in 1672 and called to the bar in 1679.<ref>Ibid.</ref> In 1680 he married Mary Keck, daughter of one of the day’s leading chancery counselors, a union which helped his career in the same field.<ref>Ibid.</ref><br /><br />He amassed great wealth from his labors, enabling him to spend £62,000 on land between 1685 and 1717.<ref>Ibid.</ref> He also engaged in politics, becoming a knight of the shire in 1715.<ref>Ibid.</ref> He remained active in chancery until his death and was the thirteenth busiest practitioner the year before his death.<ref>Ibid.</ref><br /><br />His reports were published posthumously, the manuscript of which was the subject of some controversy.<ref>Ibid.</ref> After his death, his wife, his trustees, and his heirs claimed the papers as their own.<ref>Ibid.</ref> Ultimately, the court decided to keep and publish the papers without collecting profit from the work.<ref>Ibid.</ref> Scholars consider the first edition of the work, of which George Wythe had a copy, to be so full of error that it is nearly useless.<ref>J. G. Marvin, ''Legal Bibliography or a Thesaurus of American, English, Irish, and Scotch Law Books'' (Philadelphia: T. & J. W. Johnson, Law Booksellers, 1847) 709.</ref> Later editions correct the mistakes from the first edition and are considered the “best of the old Chancery reporters,” however, “unless they are read with scrupulous attention, they may prove to be dangerous guides.”<ref>Ibid.</ref>
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<blockquote>Vernon's will was the subject of some contention in chancery, a dispute arising over the fate of his manuscript notes on chancery cases between 1681 and 1719. His widow claimed them as part of the ‘household goods and furniture’ which she had been left; the trustees claimed them as part of the residuary estate, as they had been left ‘the residue of my personal estate’; and the heir, Bowater Vernon, claimed them as the guardian of the reputation of the testator. Lord Chancellor Macclesfield decided the case by retaining the manuscripts in order to have them printed under the court's direction without making any profit. Under the direction of Macclesfield and then Lord King they were published as Cases argued and adjudged in the high court of chancery, published from the manuscripts of Thomas Vernon in 1726–8 under the editorship of William Melmoth, the elder, and William Peere Williams. This edition was found to be so full of errors and discrepancies that, at the suggestion of Lord Eldon, a new and far superior edition was brought out in 1806–7 by John Raithby. A further edition appeared in 1828.<ref> Stuart Handley, ‘Vernon, Thomas (1654–1721)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/28248, accessed 30 May 2013] </ref> </blockquote>
 
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==Bibliographic Information==
 
==Bibliographic Information==
 
'''Author:''' Thomas Vernon
 
'''Author:''' Thomas Vernon

Revision as of 12:43, 22 November 2013

by Thomas Vernon

Thomas Vernon (1654-1721) was one of the preeminent practitioners in chancery cases of his day and a politician in the House of Commons.[1] He was admitted to the Middle Temple in 1672 and called to the bar in 1679.[2] In 1680 he married Mary Keck, daughter of one of the day’s leading chancery counselors, a union which helped his career in the same field.[3]

He amassed great wealth from his labors, enabling him to spend £62,000 on land between 1685 and 1717.[4] He also engaged in politics, becoming a knight of the shire in 1715.[5] He remained active in chancery until his death and was the thirteenth busiest practitioner the year before his death.[6]

His reports were published posthumously, the manuscript of which was the subject of some controversy.[7] After his death, his wife, his trustees, and his heirs claimed the papers as their own.[8] Ultimately, the court decided to keep and publish the papers without collecting profit from the work.[9] Scholars consider the first edition of the work, of which George Wythe had a copy, to be so full of error that it is nearly useless.[10] Later editions correct the mistakes from the first edition and are considered the “best of the old Chancery reporters,” however, “unless they are read with scrupulous attention, they may prove to be dangerous guides.”[11]

Bibliographic Information

Author: Thomas Vernon

Title: Cases Argued and Adjudged in the High Court of Chancery

Publication Info: London, In the Savoy: Printed by E. and R. Nutt and R. Gosling (assigns of Edw. Sayer) for J. Tonson, 1726-28.

Edition:

Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library

Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy

View this book in William & Mary's online catalog.

References

  1. ↑ Stuart Handley, “Vernon, Thomas (1654–1721)”, “Oxford Dictionary of National Biography”, (Oxford University Press, 2004- ), accessed 22 Nov 2013.
  2. ↑ Ibid.
  3. ↑ Ibid.
  4. ↑ Ibid.
  5. ↑ Ibid.
  6. ↑ Ibid.
  7. ↑ Ibid.
  8. ↑ Ibid.
  9. ↑ Ibid.
  10. ↑ J. G. Marvin, Legal Bibliography or a Thesaurus of American, English, Irish, and Scotch Law Books (Philadelphia: T. & J. W. Johnson, Law Booksellers, 1847) 709.
  11. ↑ Ibid.
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