National Archives file C 6/360/45
[Partial transcript]
28th January 1709
Humbly complaining showeth unto your Lordships your orator Robert BATEMAN of Biggin in the County of Derby Gent that your Orator for many years had an intimidate familiarity and long acquaintance with one Hugh SHELDON late of // Monyosh in the county of Derby Gent deceased. And the said Hugh SHELDON having sometimes occasion for money and other things made use of the particular friendship there was between your Orator and himself to have his occasion answered by your // Orator and frequently applied himself to your Orator to lend him money and other things that he had occasion for and your Orator believing the said Hugh SHELDON to be a very honest man and relying very much upon his credit and integrity advanced and lent to the said Hugh // SHELDON several sums of money and sold him diverse goods and commodities upon his credit. As particularly your Orator advanced and lent to the said Hugh SHELDON on or about the thirtieth day of August 1702 the sum of twelve pounds at another time your Orator // lent and sent him by the said Hugh SHELDON’s servant five pounds at another time lent him five pounds now and another time your Orator lent him two pounds three shillings, at another time the said Hugh SHELDON did borrow and service of your Orator eight pounds and another // time your Orator lent and sent the said Hugh SHELDON by his servant two pounds and ten shillings and another time advanced and lent the said Hugh SHELDON three pounds at another time your Orator lent him two pounds thirteen shillings and nine pence and at another time // four pounds your Orator also sold and delivered to the said Hugh SHELDON on his orders upon ? or credit for four bushel of Oates and at several other times as much malt as amounted in quantity to nine loads and an half and one quarter of oates more which in the whole was // worth ten pounds four shillings six pence and about the year 1698 your Orator sold and delivered to the said Hugh SHELDON or order two pigs and a key house which together were sold to the said SHELDON for eight pounds three shillings and four pence and your // Orator further showeth unto your Lordships that the said SHELDON and your Orator were part owners or shares in several Groves or Lead Mines within the [Wapentake?] of Wirksworth and hundred of High Peak in the said County of Derby and that the said Hugh SHELDON having // much greater knowledge and understanding in the mines and mineral customs than your Orator, your Orator left and entrusted the management of those affairs entirely to him which he undertook in behalf of himself and your Orator and constantly paid their share of the things in // working the said mines and received their share in the profits and produce thereof which over ? the charge considerably and for which he promised to state and settle the amounts with your Orator and give him his share and proportion of the profits thereof which he told your Orator // amounted to about five pounds which the said sum together with said several other sums of money so as aforesaid due unto your Orator amounting in the whole to above sixty eight pounds your Orators doubts not but had been paid unto him by the said Hugh SHELDON if it // had pleased God to have prolonged his life and which in all equity and good conscience ought to be satisfied and by Lenox SHELDON his administrator BUT now so it is may please your Lordships that the said Lenox combining and confederating with Hugh SHELDON son and // heir to the said Hugh SHELDON with an intent to defraud your Orator of his said just debt sometimes pretends that her said husband died insolvent and that he left several other debts upon judgements, recognizances and bonds which ought to be satisfied before your Orator and which she hath not // effects sufficient to pay. At other times she pretends that if any thing was due and owning from her late deceased husband to your Orator that the same was satisfied and discharged by him in his life time and that she hath your Orator’s acquitances for the same which she refuses to produce // and show unto your Orator though she hath often in a friendly manner been by him requested thereunto at other times she pretends there was a ? account between your Orator and her late husband and that the balance of the said account between your Orator and her late husband // some short time before his death your Orator was indebted to her said late husband in twelve pounds eighteen shillings and accordingly has answered your Orator in an action for the same and ? to prosecute the same to judgement against your Orator though she very well knows and is // satisfied in her own conscience that her late husband stood indebted to your Orator in a much Greater sum and that if any such sum was received by your Orator of the said Hugh SHELDON the same was by the said SHELDON in satisfaction of part and towards the discharge // of such debts as the said SHELDON owed to your Orator and upon no other account whatsoever. All which acting and doings of the said Lenox SHELDON and High SHELDON her son with an intent to draw some unreasonable composition from your Orator and force a release from your Orator // for all or some part of the said debt whereas in truth the said Lenox SHELDON or High SHELDON the son having in their or one of their hands custody or power or in the hands or power of some other person or persons by and with their ? consent knowledge or // delivery to your Orator unknown the books of account and papers of the said Hugh SHELDON wherein the truth of the fact as in herein charged appeareth and they or one of them have or hath often seen read and possessed the same. In tender consideration whereof // and for as much as your Orator is ? in the premises by the ? rules of Common Law by reason of your Orators witnesses who should prove the same are dead or in places remote beyond the seas as also for that matter of amount are properly examinable before your // Lordships in this High Court. And that the defendants upon their respective corporal oaths may make a true perfect and plain discovery of all and singular the premises and particularly whether they or any one of them do not know, have not heard or believe the several and // respective sums of money so advanced and lent by the said Robert BATEMAN as aforesaid or what sum or sums of money has been advanced and lent by your Orator to the said intestate and whether several parcels of oats and malt has not been sold by your Orator // to the said Hugh SHELDON and what quantities the same were and at what prices delivered and whether the two pigs and hay house were not sold and delivered to the said intestate SHELDON by your Orator and at what prices and what the same really and bonafide were worth and whether // to their or one of their knowledge or belief your Orator hath received any or what satisfaction for all or any part of the said several sums of money so as aforesaid by him advanced and lent or for the goods so sold as aforesaid and whether your Orator ever received any sum or sums // of the said intestate and particularly any such sum of twelve pounds eighteen shillings and if so upon what account the same was paid and whether they or one of them have not seen heard or believe there is some or memorandum in the book of Accounts or papers of the // said Hugh SHELDON taking notice of the payment of twelve pounds eighteen shillings unto your Orator and whether it is not therein or thereby expressed or declared upon what account the was paid to your Orator or whether they have not seen a ? a quittance from your // Orator to the said ? expressing the receipt of any such some as twelve pounds eighteen shillings and for what account the said sum is therein expressed or mentioned to have been received by your Orator or whether they have not heard and do believe in their consciences // that if any such sum was paid by the said intestate unto your Orator that the same was paid in part of a greater sum of money that was owning by the said intestate to your Orator or upon what account the same was paid. And that your Orator may be relieved in all // and singular the premises according to equity and good conscience that the proceedings in the said action at law may be stayed by the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court. May it please your Lordships to grant unto your Orator her Majesty’s most gracious writ of subpoena to be // directed to the said Lenox SELDON and High SHELDON the son commending them at a certain day and under a certain pain therein to be limited personally to appear before your Lordships in this Honourable Court to answer to all and singular the premises. And to stand // to and abide such order and decree as to your Lordships shall seem meet. And the Orator shall ever pray.//
[Answer – not transcribed]