Rare 1655 Massachusetts Bay Colony Court Writ Ordering the Attachment and Arrest of Nathaniel Gallop – Cambridge & Charlestown – Early Middlesex County Manuscript
An exceptional original manuscript legal document from the early years of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, directed:
"To the Marshall at Cambridge or the Constable of Charlestowne."
The writ commands the officer to seize the property of Nathaniel Gallop, or, if insufficient goods can be found, to arrest his person and require security in the substantial sum of one hundred and fifty pounds, compelling his appearance before the next County Court at Cambridge.
The proceeding arises from a complaint brought by Roger Stevens in an Action of Review, involving the alleged taking away of:
- an English servant
- an Indian servant
- a Negro servant
The manuscript provides a remarkable glimpse into the operation of colonial justice and the complex labor systems of seventeenth-century New England. Documents explicitly referencing English, Native American, and African laborers within the same legal action are notably scarce and provide valuable evidence of the diverse forms of bound labor present in the colony.
The lower section contains the constable's original return, certifying service of the writ and the taking of security, while the reverse bears contemporary docketing identifying the matter against Nathaniel Gallop.
Details
- Original manuscript on laid paper
- Massachusetts Bay Colony
- Middlesex County (Cambridge)
- Directed to Charlestown constable
- Early to mid-17th century (likely 1650s–1660s)
- Original court return
- Original docketing on verso
- Entirely handwritten in iron-gall ink
Condition
Original folds, age toning, scattered ink corrosion, several fold separations, edge losses, and archival-worthy wear consistent with a seventeenth-century colonial court document. Fully legible and highly displayable.
Collector Appeal
This manuscript combines several collecting categories rarely encountered together:
- Early New England colonial law
- Massachusetts Bay manuscripts
- Cambridge and Charlestown history
- Nathaniel Gallop family research
- Colonial court procedure
- Indentured servitude
- Native American history
- Early African American history
- Seventeenth-century legal manuscripts
It is a significant and visually impressive survivor from the formative decades of English New England, documenting the administration of justice and labor disputes in one of America's earliest colonies.
An exceptional original manuscript legal document from the early years of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, directed:
"To the Marshall at Cambridge or the Constable of Charlestowne."
The writ commands the officer to seize the property of Nathaniel Gallop, or, if insufficient goods can be found, to arrest his person and require security in the substantial sum of one hundred and fifty pounds, compelling his appearance before the next County Court at Cambridge.
The proceeding arises from a complaint brought by Roger Stevens in an Action of Review, involving the alleged taking away of:
- an English servant
- an Indian servant
- a Negro servant
The manuscript provides a remarkable glimpse into the operation of colonial justice and the complex labor systems of seventeenth-century New England. Documents explicitly referencing English, Native American, and African laborers within the same legal action are notably scarce and provide valuable evidence of the diverse forms of bound labor present in the colony.
The lower section contains the constable's original return, certifying service of the writ and the taking of security, while the reverse bears contemporary docketing identifying the matter against Nathaniel Gallop.
Details
- Original manuscript on laid paper
- Massachusetts Bay Colony
- Middlesex County (Cambridge)
- Directed to Charlestown constable
- Early to mid-17th century (likely 1650s–1660s)
- Original court return
- Original docketing on verso
- Entirely handwritten in iron-gall ink
Condition
Original folds, age toning, scattered ink corrosion, several fold separations, edge losses, and archival-worthy wear consistent with a seventeenth-century colonial court document. Fully legible and highly displayable.
Collector Appeal
This manuscript combines several collecting categories rarely encountered together:
- Early New England colonial law
- Massachusetts Bay manuscripts
- Cambridge and Charlestown history
- Nathaniel Gallop family research
- Colonial court procedure
- Indentured servitude
- Native American history
- Early African American history
- Seventeenth-century legal manuscripts
It is a significant and visually impressive survivor from the formative decades of English New England, documenting the administration of justice and labor disputes in one of America's earliest colonies.
