1707 Heir of Mayflower Passengers in Plymouth, Massachusetts Order to Arrest

In this 1707 writ of execution, the clerk of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas for Bristol County, Massachusetts Bay, orders the sheriff of Plymouth County to seize the goods or the body of Thomas Howland to satisfy a judgment against him in favor of William Tew of Tiverton.

Howland was the grandson of Mayflower passenger and Mayflower Compact signer John Howland and Mayflower passenger Elizabeth (Tilley) Howland. John Howland was also an ancestor of Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush.

[MAYFLOWER.] John Cary, Autograph Document Signed, Writ of Execution in case of Tew v. Howland, July 25, 1707, Bristol County, Massachusetts. Includes endorsements of William Ton and Sheriff Isaac Lothrop on the verso. 2 pp., 7.75" x 12". Expected folds; a few small holes on folds with minimal effect on a few words; wax seal still present; quite good.

Excerpts
"Whereas William Tew of Tiverton in Our County of Bristol Cloathier By the consideration of our Justices of our Inferior Court of Common pleas holden at Bristoll for and within our County of Bristoll aforesd: on ye second Tuesday of this Instant July Rendered Judgement against Thomas Howland of Plimouth in the County of Plimouth for the sum of three pounds twelve shillings & six pence Debt and three pounds six shillings & two pence Cost of suit as to us appears of Record whereof Execution Remaines to be done.
"We command you therefore of the goods Chattels or lands of [y?] sd Thomas Howland within your precinct you cause to be pay'd & sattisfyed unto the said William Tew at the value thereof in money the aforesaid sums...."
"And for want of Goods Chattells or lands of the said Thomas Howland to be by him shown unto you, or found within your precinct to the acceptance of the said William Tew to satisfy the sums aforesd We command you to take the body of the said Thomas Howland and him commit unto Our Goal in Plimouth in the County of Plimouth aforesd and Detain in your Custodie within our said Goal untill he pay the full sums above mentioned with your fees, or that he be discharged by the said William Tew the Creditor or otherwise by order of law."

Historical Background
Bristol County was established in 1685, and the colony of Massachusetts Bay incorporated it with the dissolution of the Plymouth Colony in 1691. A portion of the county that included Tiverton became part of Rhode Island when the boundaries were redrawn in 1746. Colonial Massachusetts Bay counties had two trial courts, the Inferior Court of Common Pleas and the Court of General Sessions of the Peace. Both met quarterly, though the Common Pleas consisted of four justices of the peace and had jurisdiction over all civil suits in which damages exceeded forty shillings. The General Sessions included all justices sitting collectively, and it heard criminal cases and had extensive administrative functions over bridges, roads, tavern licenses, and other matters.

Tiverton, Massachusetts Bay (now Rhode Island) was incorporated within Bristol County in 1694. Fifty-two years later, it and several neighboring towns were annexed to Rhode Island by royal decree.

John Cary (1645-1721) was born in the Plymouth Colony, the oldest child of John Cary and Elizabeth Godfrey. In 1670, he married Abigail Penniman, with whom he had twelve children. He was a brewer and served in a variety of local appointed and elected positions, including one of the first two deacons of the first church in Bristol, a rater of the town, clerk of the writs from approximately 1698 to 1712, a selectman, register of probate, and representative to the General Court in 1694, after Plymouth had joined Massachusetts Bay.

Thomas Howland (1665-1739) was born in Plymouth in the Plymouth Colony as the son of Joseph Howland and Elizabeth Southworth. In 1699, he married Joan Cole, with whom he had eight children. He died at Plymouth, by then part of Massachusetts Bay.

William Tew (1683-1718) was born the son of Major Henry Tew, who served as lieutenant governor of Rhode Island from 1714 to 1715, and his first wife Dorcas Tew. William Tew married Abigail Sisson in 1707, and they had at least three children. He was a tailor or "clothier" in Tiverton, Massachusetts Bay/Rhode Island.

Isaac Lothrop (1673-1743) served as sheriff of Plymouth County, Massachusetts Bay, from 1706 to 1721, judge of the Court of Common Pleas from 1721 to 1731, and as chief justice from 1739 to 1743.

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