Declaration Of Independence Signer James Wilson Signs A 1774 Arrest Warrant

JAMES WILSON (1742-1798). James Wilson was twice elected to the Continental Congress and was one of only 6 men to sign the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. He was one of the first four Associate Justices of the Supreme Court appointed by George Washington.DS. 6 x 8. July 23, 1774. Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. A document signed Wilson on the verso serving as an arrest warrant for an unpaid debt. The front page is a partly-printed document signed John Agnew and completely engrossed by Agnew. The front states: GEORGE the Third, by the Grace of GOD, of Great-Britain, France and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, &c. To the Sheriff of the County of Cumberland, GREETING: WE command you, that you take Eneas McCallister late of your County Yeoman if he be found in your Bailiwick and him safely keep, so that you may have his Body before our Justices at Carlisle at our County Court of Common Pleas there to be held the Eighteenth Day of October next, to satisfy Paul Zantzinger as well of a certain Debt of twenty nine pounds thirteen shillings & four pence which the said Paul Zantzinger in our said Court before our Justices at Carlisle lately recovered against him as Fifty one shillings & six pence which to the said Paul in our said Court were adjudged for his Damages which he sustained by Occasion of the Detention of that Debt whereof the said Eneas is convict. And have you then there this Writ. WITNESS John Armstrong Equire, at Carlisle, the twenty third Day of July in the Fourteenth Year of our Reign. John Agnew. Paul Zantzinger successfully sued Eneas McCallister in the Court of Common Pleas, winning a judgment for a debt of 29, 13 shillings, and 4 pence, plus an additional 51 shillings and 6 pence in damages. Because McCallister hadnt paid up, this writ was issued in the name of King George III commanding Ephraim Blaine (the Sheriff) to physically arrest McCallister and safely keep him in custody until the next court session in October to satisfy the debt. John Agnew was serving as the Clerk of Courts for Cumberland County. It was his official duty to sign, seal, and issue writs and legal commands generated by the local court system. The back side of this document is framed to show Wilsons signature. This document is in very good condition.