This was in the Bloomington, IN paper today:
from:
HoosierTimes.com
Sunday, August 19, 2001
Police investigating online auction sale
Associated Press
WINCHESTER
State police investigators are trying to determine how a calfskin-bound
1840s court ledger from Randolph County came to be offered for sale on an
online auction site.
The seller's description says the book contains names of jurors, debt
records and sentences for murder, manslaughter and horse thievery.
Randolph County Clerk Suzanne Fogleman learned about the book on Thursday,
after a Virginia historian saw it for sale on
eBay.com and called Indiana
officials.
Fogleman said she doesn't know whether the ledger contains court orders,
which Indiana courts must keep, or old justice of the peace records, which
it can legally give away.
Randolph County's current policy is to retain both sets of records, she
said. "We are trying to find out who has it and how to get it back,"
Fogleman said.
Bidding on the item had reached $150 as of Saturday afternoon. Police were
called to look into the online appearance of the book by an administrator
for the Indiana Supreme Court.
"We'd like to talk to the seller, find out where he got this one and trace
it back," state police Sgt. Glen Rabanus said.
Kevin Pursglove, a spokesman for eBay, said Friday the online auctioning
firm had not been contacted by Indiana authorities but would cooperate with
any requests.
He said eBay has had several experiences with similar items.
"These things are so old that they've usually gone through seven or eight
different layers of ownership," Pursglove said. "The sellers generally tend
to be very understanding about the situation and return (the item) to the
appropriate authorities."
--Jane
-----Original Message-----
From: Tim Singleton [mailto:tsingleton@iclub.org]
Sent: August 19, 2001 10:01 AM
To: INRANDOL-L(a)rootsweb.com
Subject: [INRANDOL] FW: Interesting item on eBay web site
item#1456359448: 1840s INDIANA COURT LEDGER - MURDER, BUGGERY
Just passing this along...I don't know anything about this item. Can anyone
in the Winchester area check with the County Clerk's office?
Tim Singleton, tsingleton(a)iclub.org
Volunteer INGenWeb Coordinator
Adams Co. -
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inadams
Randolph Co. -
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inrandol/
-----Original Message-----
From: markj(a)omni.cc.purdue.edu [mailto:markj@omni.cc.purdue.edu]
Sent: Friday, August 17, 2001 9:53 AM
To: tsingleton(a)iclub.org
Subject: Interesting item on eBay web site item#1456359448: 1840s
INDIANA COURT LEDGER - MURDER, BUGGERY
Hi Tim,
I don't have the Randolph County Historical Society
number immediately at hand but perhaps you might
want to inform them about this! You don't suppose
this might have been stolen do you?
Regards,
Mark D. Jaeger
Purdue University Libraries
Special Collections
Title of item: 1840s INDIANA COURT LEDGER - MURDER, BUGGERY
Seller: vista
Starts: Aug-15-01 15:48:15 PDT
Ends: Aug-22-01 15:48:15 PDT
Price: Currently $68.00
To bid on the item, go to:
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1456359448
Item Description:
1841-1845 INDIANA COURT LEDGER - MURDER, BUGGERY, CIVIL WAR -
Fantastic
handwritten court docket book packed with great content! From Wincester, the
county seat of Randolph Co., IN, it measures 8" x 12" with 472 pgs. (appx.
450 used.) It's filled with cases, names, signatures and local history. The
cases contain a variety of information...goods attached (sickle, kettle,
wagon, et al), sentences, fines, related court costs (such as mileage), etc.
A few of the cases were brought by the surveyor of the public roads against
workers who failed to show up. One of the cases lists the jurors' names.
There are even some interesting Civil War connections [see below]. The vast
majority of cases are for debts, but the records also include one to two
dozen more serious matters such as horse thievery, aiding and assisting an
escape, assault and battery, affray [noisy brawl or quarrel], manslaughter,
murder, and even a case for buggery.Civil War Connections: The book is
titled, "A. Stone!
's Docket". This refers to justice of the peace, Asahel Stone (1817-1891)
who served during the war as Indiana Quartermaster General. There are
numerous items in the book signed or secretarially signed by him. He
possibly also penned some of the text. Another justice of the peace who
appears with frequency is Silas Colgrove (1816-1907) who served in the war
with the USV 27th Indiana and was breveted Brig. General. The book contains
a number of Silas Colgrove signatures. It appears as if at least as if at
least one (plus some text) is by him. In addition, one of the pages notes an
affray that took place between Colgrove and Nimrod Johnson in the office of
Asahel Stone. [Note: Apparently Gen. Colgrove (then Col.) was the one who
found Gen. Robert E. Lee's "Lost Dispatch" of Sept. 1862 - Special Orders
191.]Excerpt from the 1844 buggery case:"...Joseph Smith late of said County
was on or about the eleventh day of June 1844 guilty of the crime of buggry
by having carnal connect!
ion with a mare then in the possession of Addam Smith..."Partial list of
signatures (or marks): M. Aker, James Biggs, Nathan Brown, Nelson Clark,
James Clayton, Calvin Cowgill, James Cartwright, Abraham Graft, Sampson
Goff, William Greene, William Harris, Howard Hunt, Stephen Haynes, William
Hough, Jacob Haldeman, Stephen Huffman, Elijah Jackson, John Leach, Fielding
R. Merrifield (another jp), Adam McPherson, Nathan Mendenhall, David Monger,
Geo. W. Monks, William McQueen, John Neff, Jr., William Retz, John Starbuck,
Isaac Wright. Many more.The docket is bound in calfskin. The cover has come
loose from the spine, though still attached. Otherwise expected wear.
Internally tight, generally clean with a handful of tears. Overall VG+.Buyer
pays exact Priority Mail shipping cost. Thanks.
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