Falconer & Comegys v. Edward Hempstead
Item
Falconer & Comegys V. Edward Hempstead. 1810, St. Louis Circuit Court Historical Records Project, accessed October 2, 2026, https://digitalexhibits.library.washu.edu/s/ccr/item/60549
- Case Title
- Falconer & Comegys v. Edward Hempstead
- Series
- Lewis and Clark
- Plaintiff
- Falconer
- Comegys
- Falconer, Peregrine
- Comegys, John G.
- Defendant
- Hempstead, Edward (Executor)
- Lewis, Meriwether (Estate of)
- Date Filed
- 1811
- Filing Date
- 1811
- Plaintiff’s Attorney
- Carr
- Defendant’s Attorney
- Hempstead, Edward
- Court Name
- District of St. Louis
- Court Term
- 1811-03
- Clerk
- Riddick, Thomas F.
- Cause of Action
- Trespass on the Case
- Case Notes
- Estate of Meriwether Lewis; action for debt; plaintiffs were partners as merchants doing business as Falconer & Comegys
- Case Number
- 27
- Identifier
- ccr1811.01067.004
- Source
- Missouri State Archives - St. Louis
- Rights
- Public Domain
- PDF Download
- Download PDF of all images
- Transcription
-
**Falconer & Comegys vs. Edward Hempstead**
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**Page 1** (1067_001.jpg)
> *Legal Function: Certificate of Filing*
Hempstead, admr
ads. } lien
Falconer & Comegys
filed March 5th 1811
Thos. Riddick
Clk.
---
**Page 2** (1067_002.jpg)
> *Legal Function: Plaintiff's Complaint*
District of St. Louis, ss:
Peregrine Falconer & John G. Comegys,
late merchants trading under the style of their said partnership,
to wit, Falconer & Comegys, by Carr their attorney,
complain of Edward Hempstead, administrator of all
and singular the goods & chattels, rights & credits of Meriwether
Lewis, deceased, in a plea of trespass on the case, for that
whereas the said Meriwether Lewis on the twenty second
day of August, eighteen hundred & nine, at the district
aforesaid made & delivered the following promissory note:
"$331.45 1/2 Saint Louis, August 22, 1809. Three months
"after date I promise to pay to Falconer & Comegys, or
"order, the sum of three hundred & thirty one dollars,
"forty five & a half cents, for value received. Meriwether
"Lewis" and also this other promissory note to wit: "Due
" Falconer & Comegys twenty three dollars, thirty seven & a half
" cents. Meriwether Lewis "August 24. 1809." By reason of
the making & delivering of which said notes, the said
Meriwether Lewis in his lifetime, after the expiration
of the aforesaid term of three months, became liable to pay
to the plaintiffs the aforesaid several sums of money agreeably
to the tenor of said notes. Nevertheless the said
Meriwether in his life, and the said Edward Hempstead,
his administrator as aforesaid, since his decease,
hath not paid the aforesaid several sums of money,
nor any part thereof, altho thereto the said Meriwether
in his lifetime & the said Edward Hempstead administrator
as aforesaid since his decease have been frequently
requested, but the same to pay hath hitherto
wholy & still doth refuse to the damage of the
plaintiffs the sum of five hundred dollars,
therefore they sue &c.
By
*Carr, atty pff.*
---
**Page 3** (1067_003.jpg)
> *Legal Function: Defendant's Plea*
Edward Hempstead, Administrator
of Meriwether Lewis, deceased
ads
Falconer & Comegys
The Defendant in
proper person pleads: — That at the time of exhibiting
the plaintiffs’ writ, to wit, on the ____ day of ____
in the year one thousand eight hundred eleven, at the
town & district of St. Louis, then had come into his
hands and possession, goods, chattels, notes, and
property of the said intestate, to the amount as appraised
according to law, of one thousand, one dollars,
seventy cents: — that on the twenty second day
of August last past, a part of the said estate was by
him exposed to public sale, on a credit of six months,
and sold to the amount of four hundred & thirty
eight dollars; and there remains in his hands unsold,
to the amount of the appraised value of five hundred
thirty two dollars, seventy cents, in notes & territorial
certificates, uncollected and unpaid (out of
which is to be deducted the charges & fees of administering
on the said estate, & the amount of compensation to this
defendant not yet allowed & ascertained): — that
the following demands have been presented to him
as administrator of the said estate, to wit: — Jacob Philipson
on a mortgage, the premises decreed to be sold,
and sold, leaving a balance due of $361.11 —
Charles Sanguinett’s note of hand against the said Lewis,
for the sum of one hundred & twenty five dollars —
James McFarlane’s note against said Lewis,
for the sum of seven hundred & eighteen dollars forty five
cents — a protested bill of exchange, drawn by
said Lewis in favor of Peter Provenchère on James
Madison, Esquire, Secretary of State, for the sum of eighteen
dollars seventy five cents —
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**Page 4** (1067_004.jpg)
said Lewis's note to Antoine Saugrain for thirty [torn]
and seventy five cents — said Lewis's note to Auguste
Chouteau for ten dollars — a judgment against this
defendant as administrator as aforesaid in favor of
Shered G. Swaine, rendered by Fergus Moorhead, Esquire,
a justice of the peace for the township of St. Louis,
for the sum of forty eight dollars — which said judgment
this defendant has caused to be removed to the
Court of Common Pleas for the District of St. Louis —
and an account of John Colter against said Lewis
to the amount of five hundred and fifty nine dollars —
a note in favor of Alexander Stuart for seven hundred
& fifty dollars under seal — a protested bill
of exchange drawn by said Lewis in favor of
William H Thomas for the sum of two hundred
& twenty dollars — Gilbert C. Russell note against
said Lewis for the sum of three hundred and seventy
nine dollars & fifty eight cents, which, with the plaintiffs'
demand in this suit, amount to the sum of three
thousand, four hundred & fifty two dollars fifty nine
and one half cents, which leaves the said estate
insolvent, not calculating the fees, charges and
expenses of the administration, not yet ascertained,
to the amount of two thousand, four hundred &
nineteen dollars eighty nine and one half cents; and
that no other goods or chattels or property of the
said intestate have since come to his hands
to be administered — all which he is
ready to verify, &c.
Hempstead for Def
Falconer & Comegys V. Edward Hempstead. 1810, St. Louis Circuit Court Historical Records Project, accessed October 2, 2026, https://digitalexhibits.library.washu.edu/s/ccr/item/60549