Allen v. Sullivan Railroad
Supreme Court of New Hampshire
This is an action of debt upon two bonds, so called, of the defendants. The declaration is as follows: “ In a plea of debt, for that the defendants, at said Keene, on the first day of January, A. D. 1850, by their bond of that date, sealed with their seal, and here in court to be produced, for value received, acknowledged that there was due, and bound themselves to the holder thereof in the sum of three hundred dollars, to be paid to the said holder, at the office of the…
Read the full summary
This is an action of debt upon two bonds, so called, of the defendants. The declaration is as follows: “ In a plea of debt, for that the defendants, at said Keene, on the first day of January, A. D. 1850, by their bond of that date, sealed with their seal, and here in court to be produced, for value received, acknowledged that there was due, and bound themselves to the holder thereof in the sum of three hundred dollars, to be paid to the said holder, at the office of the treasurer of said company, in Boston, on the first day of January, A. D. 1855, with interest payable semi-annually, at the…
1Opinion of the CourtBell, J.
At common law it was originally held that a seal consisted of an impression upon wax, or wafer, or some other tenacious substance, capable of being impressed. Warren v. Lynch, 5 Johns. 239 ; 4 Kent’s Com. 452 ; 3 Co. Inst. 169.
In some of the States it has been held by the courts, or pro*450vided by statutes, that a scrawl made with a pen constitutes a sufficient seal. The question of the sufficiency of a scrawl as a seal arose here in Douglas v. Oldham, 6 N. H. 150, and it was held that a scrawl could not here be considered as a seal. So far as we are aware, no decision has occurred here in…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Warren v. LynchNew York Supreme Court · 1810
- Beardsley v. KnightSupreme Court of Vermont · 1832
- Bank of Manchester v. SlasonSupreme Court of Vermont · 1841