The Huyck Bain Crandell Collection, Document BH108
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1819-01-02 Execution of Judgement, Reuben Van Allen and Timothy Oakley against James Huyck
To seize property and sell it to satisfy the judgement.
Image: BH108 obv.jpg
Image: BH108 rev.jpg
Transcription
Obverse
Columbia County, ss. The people of the State of New York, By the Grace of God, Free and Independent: To any Constable of the city or town where the defendant dwells or can be found in said county, GREETING.
Whereas Judgment has been obtained before me, at the suit of Reuben Van Allen & Timothy Oakley against James Huyck for seventeen Dollars and 8 Cents for their damages and costs; THESE are therefore in the name of the People of the said State, to command you forthwith to levy on the goods and chattels of the James Huyck (except such articles and stock as are by law excepted) and make sale thereof agreeable to the law in such case made and provided, and have the money before me, on the second day of February next, to satisfy the debt and costs of the said Reuben & Timothy And for want of sufficient goods and chattels whereon to levy, you are hereby commanded to take the bod y of the said James Huyck and commit him to the custody of the keeper of the common Goal of the county aforsaid, there to remain until duly discharged according to law. Hereof fail not at your peril. Given under my hand and seal{strikethrough} at Chatham this second day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and nineteen
Damages 16 Dollars 8 Cents collect Interest from 14th August 1818 Costs 1 Dollars - Cents Judgement 17 Dollars 8 Cents David W Patterson{sig} Justice of the Peace
In a Box, Vertically in the Left Margin
EXECUTION W. E. Norman's Print, Hudson
Reverse
R. Van Allen & T Oakley vs James Huyck Execution Entered on Books {In a different hand}
Commentary
Notes:
- James Huyck being sued by Reuben Van Allen and Timothy Oakley for $16.08 — a modest sum in 1819, but serious enough to warrant a court judgment and execution order.
- January 2, 1819 — James is now 20 years old, ten years after the warm family letters from Great Barrington. Something has clearly gone wrong in his circumstances.
- “Levy on goods and chattels” — the constable was ordered to seize James’s property to satisfy the debt. If insufficient property was found, the constable was ordered to arrest James and commit him to the common jail — debtors’ prison was still a legal remedy in New York in 1819.
- “Collect interest from 14th August 1818” — the original debt predates the judgment by several months, suggesting James had been avoiding or unable to pay since at least August 1818.
- Reuben Van Allen — likely a member of the prominent Van Allen family of Columbia County — James V. Alen was the Justice of the Peace who ruled in Arent’s favor in 1786.
- Timothy Oakley — a new name, co-plaintiff with Van Allen.
- “W. E. Norman’s Print, Hudson” — a pre-printed legal form from a Hudson, New York printer, reflecting the more formal legal infrastructure of the early 19th century compared to the handwritten documents of the colonial period.
- David W. Patterson, Justice of the Peace at Chatham — James apparently living or doing business in Chatham, Columbia County, rather than Kinderhook by 1819.
- The contrast with the 1810-1812 letters is striking — the proud, hardworking boy who beat all records at currying leather is now a 20-year-old being sued for a small debt. His death at 30 in 1829 comes only ten years after this document, suggesting a difficult decade.
Why this document is in the archive — as a court execution it would have been served on James or held by the constable. Its presence in the family archive suggests either it was never executed — James paid the debt — or it was returned to the family after resolution.
— Notes by Claude.ai 4.6 2026-05-10 - jhc
Metadata
Document: BH108
Date: 1819-01-02
Language: English
Type: Legal Document
Subject: Law and legal proceedings
Principals: James Huyck, Reuben Van Allen, Timothy Oakley
Other Persons Mentioned: David W Patterson, J. P.
Places Mentioned: Chatham
— page revised 2026-06-15 - jhc
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Huyck Bain Crandell Collection © 2026 by John H. Coxon is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
