| Appeals to the Privy Council |
Report No. 06_1754_00 |
Merrill v Proprietors of Bow |
New Hampshire |
| Case Name Short |
Merrill v Proprietors of the township of Bow |
| Case Name Long |
John Merrill v Proprietors of the township of Bow |
Acts of the Privy Council, Colonial Series |
| APC Citation | v.4 [231] p.239 – 28 March 1754 – entry 1 |
| PC Register Citation | George II v.15 (1 January 1754 – 31 December 1755) p.86–87, 101–102: PC 2/104/86–87, 101–102 |
| APC Citation | v.4 [231] p.239–243 – 24 June 1755 – entry 2 |
| PC Register Citation | George II v.15 (1 January 1754 – 31 December 1755) p.102, 111, 315, 415, 419–423, 454–455: PC 2/104/102, 111, 315, 415, 419–423, 454–455 |
Colonial Courts |
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Inferior Court of Common Pleas – Portsmouth – 7 March 1750/51 Superior Court of Judicature – second Tuesday in December 1752 Superior Court of Judicature – first Tuesday in August 1753 |
Participants |
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Kilby, Christopher, esquire, of St. Martins in the Fields Merrill, John Proprietors of the township of Bow Stephens, Benjamin Walker, Rev. Timothy Wentworth, John, Lieutenant Governor of New Hampshire (1727) |
Description |
Land (“upon an Ejectment,” according to the Privy Council register). The conflict arises from the settling of the boundary of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. |
Disposition |
Reversed |
Notes |
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Related to another Privy Council appeal: Rolfe v Proprietors of Bow – Report No. 06_1762_00 (APC, v.4 [427] p.527) See also the petition of the Rev. Timothy Walker, Report No. 06_1753_00 (APC, v.4 [202] p.197), requesting that an appeal to the Privy Council be allowed though the value of the land in question is less than the required minimum since the lands of many others, collectively meeting the minimum, depend upon the outcome. On the ejectment action involved here, see Additional Research. |
References in Smith, Appeals to the Privy Council from the American Plantations |
Table of Cases (Merrill v Proprietors of Bow) |
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DOCUMENTATION |
Printed Cases |
| Appellant’s case |
Case of the appellant (Merrill) |
| Counsel | [Signed] W. Murray; R. Henley |
| Library | Law Library of Congress: Sir George Lee collection |
| Library | Massachusetts Historical Society: 1796 Lib – XLg 7.29f (Manuscript notes limited to “N.B. Judgment for the Appellant”) |
| Library | New Hampshire Historical Society: 977.8b B784me (Photocopy only) |
| Respondent’s case |
Case of the respondent (Proprietors of the township of Bow) |
ESTC: N473543 |
| Counsel | [Signed] A. Hume-Campbell; Al. Forrester |
| Library | Law Library of Congress: Sir George Lee collection (Noted in ESTC? No.) |
| Library | New York Public Library. Schwarzman Building: Rare Book Collection *KF+++ 1755 (Great Britain. Trade and Plantations Commissioners. John Merrill, appellant) (Includes manuscript notes) (Noted in ESTC? Yes.) |
Privy Council Documents in PC 1 at The National Archives at Kew |
Not found |
Other Documents |
| Other Documents | The appellant’s printed case at the Massachusetts Historical Society is found in a folder entitled ‘Briefs respecting the Controversy between Massachusetts and New Hampshire’. The folder also includes the respondents’ case in Rolfe v Proprietors of Bow, documents from the earlier royal commission to settle the boundary, and related maps. The maps at the British Library and in the Massachusetts Historical Society have not been compared. |
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| Other Documents | Andrews, Guide to Manuscript Materials, references: |
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(1) British Library Additional Manuscripts 15487 f.96–103, Plans and Explanations of plans of Massachusetts and New Hampshire touching the boundary question and the bounds of certain towns as Rumford, Suncook, and Bow; and |
(2) Additional Manuscripts 15489 f.5, which is the deposition in manuscript of B. Rolfe of Rumford regarding extracts from the “Proprietors Book of Rumford”. |