Difference between revisions of "MRP: Chancery Cases"

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Mid-C17th Chancery cases

This page provides a listing of selected Court of Chancery cases relevant to an understanding of Oxenden family commercial ventures and family affairs (Aylmer, Dallison, Oxenden, Piers, Stanley). A number of the cases originated in other courts, in particular in the Court of Kings Bench and in the Lord Mayor's Court of the City of London.

Most of the Chancery cases involve Oxenden family members or their commercial partners. Some provide a broader perspective on merchant activity amongst merchants who were contemporaries of Sir George Oxenden.

Tobell Aylmer litigation

Tobell Aylmer was a London merchant, living in Ludgate, who was a cousin of Elizabeth Dallison, possibly through Elizabeth's marriage to William Dallison. Aylmer was involved in several Chancery suits in the 1650s and 1660s involving property outside London.

C5/15/3 f. 1
C5/15/3 f. 2

C6/130/5 f. 1
C6/130/5 f. 2

C10/5/21 f. 1
C10/5/21 f. 2

C10/12/128 f. 1
C10/12/128 f. 2
C10/12/128 f. 3

Litigation involving Tobell Aylmer's daughter, Mary Hoddesdon (alias Acton)

Mary Hoddesdon (née Aylmer) was married firstly to John Acton, the son of an eponymous London goldsmith to whom the deceased Charles I was indebted; secondly, though briefly, to a John Griggs; and thirdly and finally to Christopher Hoddesdon. She outlived all three men. Several Chancery suits relate to John Acton junior's estate. C6/17/7 f. 1 is the replication of Richard Borraston, who was either the husband of Jane Borraston, whose answer is contained in C6/133/9 f. 1, or alternatively a brother of the same Jane Borraston. Jane Borraston's mother was a daughter of John Acton senior and thus a sister of Mary Hoddesdon's deceased husband. Jane's suit concerns a bequest by John Acton junior which has not been paid by Mary Hoddesdon, his executrix.

C 6/17/7 f. 1

C 6/133/9 f. 1
C 6/133/9 f. 2

Litigation involving the Bishop's place, Halling

The Bishop's place, or palace, was acquired through marriage by the grandfather of Elizabeth Dallison's husband, William Dallison II. The mansion house and estate proved problematic for the Dallison family from its acquisition onwards, and there are a number of suits involving various parties contesting individual tenancies as well as the overall lease.

C2/Eliz/D2/45 f. 1
C2/Eliz/D2/45 f. 2
C2/Eliz/D2/45 f. 3
C2/Eliz/D2/45 f. 4

C2/Eliz/D6/57 f. 1

C 3/429/50 f. 1

C6/2/39 f. 1

C22/460/21 f. 1
C22/460/21 f. 2

Litigation involving Thomas Stanley, father-in-law of Elizabeth's son Maximilian Dallison

Thomas Stanley was a brewer, who was active in the growing town economies of Gravesend, Maidstone and Rochester in the first few decades of the C17th. His only child and daughter, Frances Stanley, married Elizabeth Dallison's only son, Maximilian Dallison. Thomas Stanley was involved in a number of Chancery suits involving his brewery and property interests and his nephew's claims on a London estate.

C 9/240/194 f. 1

C 10/14/38 f. 1
C 10/14/38 f. 2

C 22/968/8 f. 1
C 22/968/8 f. 2

Litigation involving Sir James Oxenden, father of Elizabeth Dallison

Sir James Oxenden (alias Oxinden) was the father of Elizabeth Dallison and Sir George Oxenden. He was involved in several Chancery suits regarding land holdings and purchases in and around Wingham and Adisham in East Kent. These cases provide detail on some of his land holdings, tenants, and cropping and animal husbandry practices in the 1640s and 1650s.

C22/955/10 ff. 1-3 is a suit brought by Thomaszine Austen against Sir James Oxinden (sic) and three co-defendants, Robert Petman, George and Samuell Dancy (alias Dancey). It involves fifty eight acres of the demesne lands of the manor of Adisham to which Thomazine Austen claimed right and title, which she alleges had been ignored in Sir James Oxinden's purchase of demesne lands of the manor of Adisham from the co-defendants.

C22/955/10 f. 1
C22/955/10 f. 2
C22/955/10 f. 3

Litigation involving Sir Thomas Piers, brother-in-law of Elizabeth Dallison

Sir Thomas Piers (alias Peirs) was a member of the Piers family of Stonepitt, Kent. He married one of Elizabeth Dallison and Sir George Oxenden's sisters, XXXX Oxenden. He was also related to the Oxendens through Sir James Oxenden's marriage to XXXXX.

Litigation involving Edward Kelke, lawyer friend of Elizabeth Dallison

Edward Kelke was a Kent born Gray's Inn lawyer and friend of both Elizabeth Dallison and George Oxenden. Kelke appointed Elizabeth Dallison his sole executrix. His will was contested, leading to a Chancery suit between Elizabeth and a number of Kelke's cousins.

C 9/242/63
C 9/242/65

C 9/243/65 f. 1 Needs to be completed

C 9/243/66 Dallison v. Skipper and Smith, 1666
C 9/243/66 f. 1
C 9/243/66 f. 2
C 9/243/66 f. 3
C 9/243/66 f. 4

C 22/52/40 f. 1
C 22/52/40 f. 2
C 22/52/40 f. 3

Litigation involving Robert Raworth

Robert Raworth, a Kent born Gray's Inn lawyer, acted for Elizabeth Dallison, George Oxenden, and some other family members. Raworth is a co-defendant in a Chancery suit brought by XXX having lent £200 to XXXX to top up a loan of £1500 from XXX.

C6/133/9 f. 1
C6/133/9 f. 2
C6/133/9 f. 3

Litigation involving Captain/Sir William Ryder

Captain Ryder, later Sir William Ryder, was an active London based merchant from at least the 1640s till his death in 1670. Prior to that he appears to have been a sea captain, working Mediterranean routes. He was involved in a significant number of Chancery cases over varied issues, some of which are listed here.

Firstly, a suit was brought by Sir Richard Ford and John Buckworth against Sir William Ryder and William Cutler, the four men having been equal partners in a joint stock formed in 1664 for the importation of iron and copper from Stockholm, Sweden, for use in the Guinea trade. At issue were loans to the joint stock from William Ryder's former servant, Richard Bayly, who was now his son-in-law, and from the London goldsmith, John Colvile. The payment and indeed the existence of the loans were disputed (C5/53/26 ff. 1-3).

See C 5/54/40 Ford v. Cutler 1668 This document relates to C5/53/26 ff. 1-3.

See also C 6/597/21. This suit is independent of C5/53/26 ff. 1-3, though it does involve William Cutler and the London goldsmith, John Colvil, together with the further London goldsmith John Portman. The suit concerns a dispute over a property leased by Cutler to Colvil and Portman, and other goldsmiths, following the disasterous fire of 1666, which destroyed the goldsmith's quarter in Cheapside. As can be seen by John Portman's involvement in C 6/151Pt2/28, the goldsmith Portman invested in ships (and probably trade). London goldsmiths lent to London merchants to finance their trade (e.g. John Colvil in C5/53/26) and assisted in money transmission to support such trade (e.g. Edward Backwell in C10/155/38). However, they were also involved in direct investments in shipping, as seen above with John Portman, and in trade partnerships, such as Edward Backwell in partnership with Sir William Ryder and William Cutler in a partnership to import hemp tar and pitch for the Navy Board and to export diverse goods and merchandize back to Stockholm. This commercial involvement of London goldsmiths is a phenomenon which requires further exploration.

Secondly, a suit was brought by James Modyford and number of of London merchants and executors of deceased London merchants, who were part owners of the Thomas and William. These part owners and fellow plaintiffs included William Ryder, the merchants Jonathan Dawes and John Robinson, and the London goldsmith, John Portman. The suit relates to events in 1652. At dispute was the behaviour of Sarah Greaves, widow of the now deceased ship's captain, John Jefferson, and the Treasurer of the Navy, Richard Hutchinson. The Bill of Complaint alleges that the then Sarah Jefferson had concealed the ship's account books, and, together with the Treasurer, had conspired to withhold moneys due to the part owners of the ship (C 6/151Pt2/28 ff. 1-2).

Thirdly, a suit was brought about bills of exchange which had been drawn in 1649 on William Ryder's name in Amsterdam. The bills were drawn at the request of Thomas Marsham, a now deceased London merchant, whose name had been damaged by involvement in the royalist camp. The satisfaction of the bills by Marsham through forgiveness of debt by another London merchant, William Gomeldon, was disputed by Marsham's executors (C10/58/29, ff. 1-32).

Fourthly, a suit was brought in 1661 by the English East India Company against a number of part owners of the Royal James and Henry, which had been chartered in 1660 by the plaintiffs. The suit concerned illegal trade goods, which allegedly had been loaded on board the ship at the Downs, prior to the Royal James and Henry sailing for Madras. Defendants were Sir George Smith, Sir William Rider, Edward Wood and Maurice Thompson (C10/99/70 f. 1) and John Park, Edward Wood's former servant (C10/99/66 f. 1).

Fifthly, a suit was brought in 1668 by a former partner of Sir William Ryder, the London merchant William Cutler. At issue was the performance and distribution of provision of a partnership of Ryder, Cutler and George Cocke. The partnership had been formed to fulfill what became a series of five important annual naval contracts for the importation of hemp, tar and pitch from the Baltic, which ran between 1662 and 1666. Edward Backwell, a leading London goldsmith, was subsequently brought into an altered partnership (C10/155/38 ff. 1-3). Off the back of the annual contracts the partners created a substantial export business, and added additional imports of iron and copper for Thomas Westerne & Partners. The bill of complaint was stated in C10/155/38 f. 1, to which an answer and disclaimer was made by Ryder's servant, Samuell Heron, in C10/155/38 f. 2, and an answer by Ryder in C10/155/38 f. 3.

See also C 5/53/78 Sowton v. Cutler: Middlesex, 1669, and C 6/218/65 Sowton v Cutler. Plaintiffs: Samuel Sowton. Defendants: Thomas Cutler and David Clarke. Subject: money matters, Middlesex. Document type: bill, two answers, three schedules. 1676. The first document is likely to relate directly to C10/155/38 ff. 1-3, directly. The second document may relate indirectly, or may concern a separate matter. Samuell Sowton was one of the Stockholm based correspondents used by the partnership of Ryder, Cutler and Cocke. Thomas Cutler was the son of William Cutler, and was also a correspondent in Stockholm (his appointment is mentioned in C10/155/38 f. 1). However, Thomas Cutler is not mentioned in William Cutler's will.

Sixthly, a suit was brought by London based Edward Gibbon, gentleman, against the widow of the captain of the Eagle and a number of alleged confederates, who included Sir William Ryder, Sir Richard Ford, John Buckworth, and Ryder's son-in-law, Richard Middleton. The suit ranges over a number of document numbers (C10/86/36; C10/89/61; C10/160/44; C10/161/25)

Seventhly, a suit was brought by Edward Gavile, a woodmonger of St Clements Danes, Middlesex, against the estate of the deceased Sir William Ryder (C10/160/47 f. 1). Gavile alleged that Ryder had failed to deliver to Gavile a large parcel of wood from lands he owned in Kent.

C5/53/26 f. 1
C5/53/26 f. 2
C5/53/26 f. 3

C5/53/78 f. 1
C5/53/78 f. 2
C5/53/78 f. 3
C5/53/78 f. 4

C5/54/40 f. 1

C 6/151Pt2/28 f. 1
C 6/151Pt2/28 f. 2
C 6/151Pt2/28 f. 3

C6/218/65 f. 1
C6/218/65 f. 2
C6/218/65 f. 3
C6/218/65 f. 4
C6/218/65 f. 5
C6/218/65 f. 6

C10/58/29 f. 1
C10/58/29 f. 2

C10/86/36 f. 1
C10/86/36 f. 2
C10/86/36 f. 3

C10/89/61 f. 1
C10/89/61 f. 2
C10/89/61 f. 3
C10/89/61 f. 4
C10/89/61 f. 5

C10/160/44 f. 1

C10/160/47 f. 1
C10/160/47 f. 2

C10/161/25

C10/99/66 f. 1
C10/99/70 f. 1

C10/155/38 f. 1
C10/155/38 f. 2
C10/155/38 f. 3

Litigation involving English East India Company

C10/99/64 f. 1
C10/99/65 f. 1
C10/99/67 f. 1
C10/99/68 f. 1

Litigation involving merchant contemporaries of Sir George Oxenden

The London merchants George Cock, James Temple, and John Fenn chartered the William for a voyage to Guinea. Subsequently Cock and Fenn, Temple by then dead, were in dispute with the part owner of the ship and its Master, for alleged non performance of the terms of the contract (C6/36/21 ff. 1-4)

William Cutler Esquire was in dispute with the London goldsmiths John Colvile and John Portman over property they leased from him following the fire of 1666, which had destroyed their Cheapside business properties (C6/597/21).

C6/36/21 f. 1
C6/36/21 f. 2
C6/36/21 f. 3
C6/36/21 f. 4

C6/597/21 f. 1

C10/160/41 f. 1
C10/160/41 f. 2
C10/160/41 f. 3

Oxenden vs Dallison litigation following Elizabeth Dallison's death

Elizabeth Dallison died estranged from her eldest son, Maximillian Dallison. Her will was contested vigorously by her son, leading to a series of related Chancery suits.

C 9/40/48 f. 1
C 9/40/48 f. 2
C 9/40/48 f. 3
C 9/40/48 f. 4
C 9/40/48 f. 5

C 9/40/57 ff. 1-2
C 9/40/57 ff. 3-4
C 9/40/57 f. 5
C 9/40/57 f. 6
C 9/40/57 f. 7

C 9/49/48 f. 1
C 9/49/48 f. 2

Litigation involving Henry Oxinden of Barham and Denne family

Henry Oxinden of Barham was Elizabeth Dallison's and Sir George Oxenden's cousin. His father, Richard Oxinden, was the younger brother of Sir James Oxenden, father to Elizabeth and George. Henry Oxinden acted as executor to his friend Vincent Denne, and became embroiled in an onrous law suit with the Denne family in the 1650s.

C22/969/42

The Loyal Merchant litigation

Sir George Oxenden was a part owner of the ship the Loyal Merchant in the 1660s. A suit at Chancery was brought by the part owners of the Loyal Merchant against XXXX.

C10/488/141

SVJS & KF litigation

The Smirna Venture Joint Stock was a substantial venture put together by five or six merchants who had worked together in Surat and around the Arabian sea in the 1640s and 1650s. George Oxenden was one of its instigators, and was one of two factors employed by the joint stock to be based in Surat, where they purchased goods for the joint stock. Christopher Oxenden, a younger brother of George Oxenden, was employed by a separate, but related venture, the King Fernandez, which sailed from London via Surat to Macao and back to London.

Thirty separately indexed Chancery documents have been identified in the National Archives which are related to Sir George Oxenden’s ventures in 1655-1659. A significant number are indexed under titles which are not obviously linked to Sir George Oxenden. The documents fall into four series, of which C9 and C10 are the dominant ones, with thirteen records in the C9 category and fifteen records in the C10 category. There is one record in C5 and one record in C22.

The subscriber list to the Smirna Venture Joint Stock and to the King Fernandez have been compiled by this author from several Chancery cases following the conclusion of the ventures.

See Smirna Venture Joint Stock subscriber list
See King Fernandez subscriber list

C5

C5/58/51

C9

C9/28/10
C9/29/37
C9/30/96
C9/47/10
C9/59/10
C9/232/127
C9/243/71
C9/243/130
C9/229/52
C9/236/131
C9/243/13X
C9/405/357
C9/409/92

C10

C10/60/30 f. 1
C10/60/30 f. 2
C10/60/30 f. 3
C10/60/30 f. 4
C10/65/99
C10/82/2
C10/87/49
C10/90/73
C10/106/142
C10/109/102
C10/158/94
C10/172/61
C10/173/72
C10/469/40
C10/470/103
C10/471/114
C10/477/19
C10/492/28

C22

C22/1036/34

Litigation involving merchant subscribers to the SVJS, but not directly related to the SVJS or to the Oxenden family

C6/573/2 is a suit brought by Robert Abdy as executor of his deceased brother Nicholas Abdy against John Fairfax and Fairfax' deceased partner Thomas Barnsley.

C9/228/51 is a suit brought by John Cocke and his wife Anne Cocke (née Pixley) against the London merchant Thomas Pearle, the executor of Anne's deceased brother, the Smyrna based merchant John Pixley. The suit was brought in ?1659 and concerns Pearle's alleged withholding of moneys due to Anne as portion money sent as goods to Pearle in 1648 or 1649, and also Pearle's alleged failure to distribute funds realised from his subsequent executorship of John Pixley's estate. These latter funds allegedly should have been payed first to John's brother, Samuell Pixley, subsequently deceased, and then, by Samuell's will, to Anne and her sister.

C20/803/34 ff. 1- 7 contains the interrogatories and depositions from a suit brought by the London merchant William Love Esquire as executor of John Young against the Searle family (Jacob Searle senior, deceased, Jacob Searle, nephew of the deceased Jacob Searle, also deceased, and Grace Searle, relict and administrix of the nephew.

C6/573/2 f. 1

C9/228/51 f. 1
C9/228/51 f. 2

C 10/74/1 Roger Andrewes, John Connis, William Pennoyer, Francis Dashwood and Edward Crispe v Frederick Skinner: money matters, Middx. 1664
C 10/19/66 Robert Levett v Jacob Searle, Nicholas Gould, Robert Abdy, William Williams, Andrew Rickards, Nathan Wright and others: money matters, Middlesex. Bill and answer. 1653

C20/803/34 f. 1
C20/803/34 f. 2
C20/803/34 f. 3
C20/803/34 f. 4
C20/803/34 f. 5
C20/803/34 f. 6
C20/803/34 f. 7

Chancery case listing by archival category

Fuller details of the documents are listed below, with links to images, transcriptions, and/or summaries of the documents

C 3/429/50 Short title: Stone v Dalison. 1640-1642

C 9/40/57 Oxenden v. Dallison and Stanley 1668
File(C 9_40_58 Oxenden v. Dallison, 1668)
C 9/49/48 Dalison v. Oxenden, 1667
C 9/240/194 Stanley v. Walsall 1650
C 9/242/63 Dallison v. Skepper 1658
C 9/243/66 Dallison v. Skipper and Smith 1666

C 10/14/38 William Cane v Barnabas Walsall and Thomas Stanley: Rochester, Kent 1651
C 10/19/66 Robert Levett v Jacob Searle, Nicholas Gould, Robert Abdy, William Williams, Andrew Rickards, Nathan Wright and others: money matters, Middlesex. Bill and answer 1653
C 10/57/109 Gore, Woodward and Meggs v. East India company, Governor & c. and others 1652
C 10/74/1 Roger Andrewes, John Connis, William Pennoyer, Francis Dashwood and Edward Crispe v Frederick Skinner: money matters, Middx. 1664

C 22/58/39 Dalyson v. Oxinden. Between 1558 and 1714
C 22/968/8 Cane v. Stanley Between 1558 and 1714

C 142/483/82 Dallyson, Maximilian, knight: Kent 8 Charles I
C 142/623/52 Dallyson, William: Kent 20 Charles I.

Chancery case listing by document date

Fuller details of the documents are listed below, with links to images, transcriptions, and/or summaries of the documents.

Legal issues by case

- Concealment of assets as a failed commercial man (C 10/14/38, C 22/968/8)
- Contesting a will as unnatural (C 9/243/66)
- Power and title over an estate (C 9/49/48, C 9/40/57)
- Unauthorised sale of goods and attempt to recover goods (C 10/19/66)
- Concealment and/or theft of deeds (C10/12/128)

Ships involved in cases

The Constantinople (XXXX) C10/99/65 f. 1
The Eagle
The East India Merchant (1661) C10/99/64 f. 1
The Loyal Merchant C10/488/141
The King Fernandez
The Leghorne Merchant C10/160/41 f. 1; C10/160/41 f. 2; C10/160/41 f. 3
The Royal James and Henry C10/99/70 f. 1
The Smyrna Merchant
The Thomas and William C 6/151Pt2/28 f. 1
The William C6/36/21 ff. 1; C6/36/21 ff. 2; C6/36/21 ff. 3; C6/36/21 ff. 4;