In the County Records series of documents at the North Carolina State Archives is usually a series of documents called the Criminal Action Papers. These documents are the documents filed with the court when a criminal went to trial. Often you will find complaints, warrants, indictments, grand jury findings, and sometimes actual testimony from witnesses.
Today’s “Friday Find” document comes from the Beaufort County, North Carolina, Criminal Action Papers (CRX Box 111). While extensively damaged, enough remains to gain an understanding of what is taking place. The document is signed by Augustus Harley Jones (23 Jul 1826-8 May 1884), one of my ancestors. He was the father of Almira Ramon “Ann” Jones who married William Pitt Toler. He lived in the Blounts Creek area of Beaufort County.
The document filed at one of the court terms in 1850 is addressed to Jacob Vandeveer and Wilson [B.] Hodges, Justices of the Peace for Beaufort County. Jones states that “at Spring Term 1850 [at] the Supr. Court of Law for Said County he was convicted of A & B & fined 5 cents [&] to be imprisoned ten days. [This] will inform you that my term of imprisonment has expired and that I have [damaged] the Clk [torn] justice of this application. Your petitioner prays that you would [damaged] Shff. to [bri]ng me before you & [damaged] a list of the [processes?] under which I am imprisoned & that I may be allowed to take the oath of an insolvent debtor and be discharged…”
Unfortunately the result of the petition, which appears to have been written at the bottom of the petition is damaged so badly it cannot be read. Perhaps if the Superior Court minutes for 1850 survive the result may be known. Also, the court minutes may reveal more information about the Assault and Battery that Augustus H. Jones was found guilty of performing.
Still, using this document, we find that Augustus H. Jones was sentenced for committing an assault and battery at the Spring Term 1850 in Beaufort County. We also know he was fined 5 cents (probably the court costs) and sentenced to 10 days in jail. This petition appears to be his plea to the court to be released as he had served his time, but was probably still being confined as he had not paid his fine. He is petitioning the court to be released because he was “an insovent debtor”…in other words, he could not afford to pay the 5 cents fine and cost of imprisonment.
According to the Revised Code of North Carolina (Boston: Little Brown, 1855), page 333 and following: “IF any person…shall be committed for the fine and costs of any criminal prosecution, and shall have remained in prison twenty days, the court of pleas and quarter-sessions, or any two justices of the peace of the county wherein he may be confined, or any judge of the superior or supreme court, in or out of court, upon petition of such prisoner under his hand, (whereof ten days’ notice shall be given to the person, his executors, administrators, attorney, or agent, at whose suit such prisoner shall be imprisoned,) shall, by warrant, require the sheriff or keeper of the prisoner to bring him before such county court, justices, or judge, together with a list of the several writs, mesne processes, and executions with which he is charged; which warrant every such sheriff or keeper shall obey. And if such prisoner have no visible estate, and shall make oath before the said county court, justices or judge, that he hath not the worth of ten dollars in any worldly substance, either in debts owing to him or otherwise howsoever, over and above the articles exempted by law from sale of execution; and that he hath not at any time since his imprisonment or before, directly or indirectly, sold, assigned, or otherwise disposed of, or made over in trust for himself, or otherwise, any part of his real or personal estate, whereby to have or expect any benefit or profit.” Upon taking the oath, the prisoner could be released. The remainder of Chapter 59 of the Revised Code goes into further detail about Insolvent Debtors and includes the actual oath the debtor had to take. Google Books has a copy of the Revised Code available at this location: