Primarily official legal forms, most of the documents in the collection hold little in the way of narrative about the suits cited, and were most likely kept for the value of their signatures. The Arbitration Records are forms that record the names of the plaintiffs, defendants, and arbitrators, location of the arbitration (often a tavern), and the settlement, but generally not a précis of the case. The Insolvency Petitions record the petitioner (and sometimes his occupation), a schedule of his property, his creditors and debt owed, and a statement of the means by which he became insolvent; most of the forms were printed and sold by Thomas S. Manning. The Miscellaneous Records are mostly simple docket transcripts for capias (arrest warrant) cases or certifications of appeals filed in the Court of Common Pleas, and contain little content about the parties involved or their suits. There are just a few folders with more extensive testimonial evidence, including one involving the officers of the Brotherly Union Society of the County of Philadelphia, a mutual aid organization that was formed in 1823 by group of free black men. Many of the folders hold printed forms titled bear the signature of Philadelphia alderman John Binns., John A. McAllister was an antiquarian collector living in Philadelphia.
Creator
McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector
