Introduction to Bailey, Keeler & Remsen v. JS and O. Cowdery
Bailey, Keeler & Remsen v. JS and O. Cowdery
Geauga Co., Ohio, Court of Common Pleas, circa September 1837, not litigated
Historical Introduction
In July 1837, wholesale merchants Bailey, Keeler & Remsen hired , a lawyer in , Ohio, to collect an unpaid debt from “Smith & Cowdery.” purchased approximately $1,800 of dry goods on credit from Bailey, Keeler & Remsen on 12 October 1836 and provided payment by a that was payable in nine months at the Bank of Cleveland. Although the invoice of dry goods and the promissory note identify “Smith & Cowdery” as the purchaser, they likely refer to the firm . The ability of Bailey, Keeler & Remsen to redeem the note was heavily curtailed by national economic conditions culminating in the Panic of 1837. As a result, the Bank of Cleveland refused to pay the Smith & Cowdery note and it was returned to Bailey, Keeler & Remsen. The firm circulated the note as currency, then later secured the note from the Morris Canal and Banking Company and forwarded it to Sterling for collection in July 1837.
After evidently considering multiple options, including suing JS and in the , Ohio, court of common pleas, renegotiated payment of the original note on 26 September 1837. This renegotiated debt included JS, , , , and as signatories on three promissory notes payable in twelve-, eighteen-, and twenty-four-month increments. Despite this renegotiation, Bailey, Keeler & Remsen and subsequent firms holding the claim continued to press Sterling to pursue payment of the original note; however, subsequent holders of the note could neither sue Bailey, Keeler, & Remsen nor pursue the firm’s assets for payment of the claim because the firm was labeled “without recourse” on the note. By 1839, the claim was “not in suit,” nor was “any part of it paid.” JS petitioned for bankruptcy in April 1842, and he included the debt he owed Bailey, Keeler & Remsen in the schedule of debts he created as part of his application. However, JS’s bankruptcy was unresolved at the time of his death. There is no indication that the Bailey, Keeler & Remsen debt was submitted against JS’s estate, and it is unclear whether the debt was ever resolved.
Calendar of Documents
This calendar lists all known documents created by or for the court, whether extant or not. It does not include versions of documents created for other purposes, though those versions may be listed in footnotes. In certain cases, especially in cases concerning unpaid debts, the originating document (promissory note, invoice, etc.) is listed here. Note that documents in the calendar are grouped with their originating court. Where a version of a document was subsequently filed with another court, that version is listed under both courts.
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