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Dated Orange, New Jersey, September 17, 1838, the document records Day’s lawsuit to recover on a dishonored $55 promissory note originally made by David Burnet in favor of Smith Burnwell / Burnet and subsequently endorsed over to Day.
The note was dated Livingston, New Jersey, August 11, 1837 and made payable at the Orange Bank. When the note came due and was not paid, it was formally protested. Day then sued the endorser for the principal, protest costs, and accrued interest.
The claim totaled:
- Principal: $55.00
- Protest costs: $1.30
- Interest: $2.54
- Total demand: $58.84
The document is signed at the bottom by:
Stephen D. Day
Plaintiff
The reverse bears the case docket identifying the parties and the amount demanded.
Stephen D. Day
Stephen D. Day (1771/72–1856) was one of the leading early citizens of Orange, New Jersey.
Born in Camptown, now Irvington, Day descended from the early Newark Day family and settled in Orange around 1798. He entered business there with John Lindsley, becoming one of the town’s early merchants.
Day later became closely associated with the development of Orange’s financial and civic institutions. He helped organize the Orange Bank, chartered in 1828, and served as its president. This connection is especially significant because the promissory note involved in this lawsuit was specifically made payable at the Orange Bank.
Day was also involved in organizing the Morris & Essex Railroad, served on Orange’s early town committee, became a judge of the Essex County Court of Common Pleas, and served in the New Jersey State Senate.
He died in Orange on February 14, 1856.
This document therefore captures Day not merely as a private creditor, but as a major local merchant and banking figure using the legal system to enforce a piece of commercial paper payable through a bank with which he was closely associated.
Smith Burnwell / Burnet
The defendant’s surname appears in differing forms on the document and may read Burnwell, Burnet, or a closely related spelling.
He was the original payee of David Burnet’s note. He then endorsed the note to Stephen D. Day, transferring the financial obligation to him.
When the note was dishonored, Day sued the endorser rather than the original maker.
No definitive published biography has yet been located for this individual, and he was likely a local trader, farmer, merchant, or other participant in Essex County’s commercial economy.
David Burnet
David Burnet was the original maker of the note.
The declaration states that his note was dated at Livingston, New Jersey, August 11, 1837, for $55, payable at the Orange Bank.
Burnet/Burnett was a well-established surname in Essex and neighboring Morris County, though this particular David Burnet has not yet been conclusively identified.
Daniel Babbitt, Esq.
The case was heard before Daniel Babbitt, Esq., identified in the document as a Justice of the Peace.
New Jersey Justices of the Peace presided over what were formally called Courts for the Trial of Small Causes, handling relatively modest civil debts, contracts, and commercial disputes.
Historical Significance
This is a strong example of early 19th-century American commercial law.
The chain of the transaction was:
David Burnet → Smith Burnwell/Burnet → Stephen D. Day → Orange Bank protest → lawsuit
Promissory notes routinely circulated as negotiable instruments. A note could be endorsed from one party to another, effectively functioning as a transferable financial asset. When the maker failed to pay, the holder could pursue prior endorsers through the courts.
Because Stephen D. Day was himself closely connected with the Orange Bank, the document has additional interest for collectors of:
- New Jersey history
- Essex County history
- Orange, New Jersey
- early American banking
- promissory notes
- legal manuscripts
- commercial history
- railroad history
- New Jersey political history
- early American finance
Condition: Original 1838 manuscript on period paper with folds, toning, staining, edge wear, minor losses, and handling wear consistent with age. Please review photographs carefully for condition.
A very interesting signed legal document connecting one of Orange, New Jersey’s most prominent early citizens with the everyday banking and credit system of the 1830s.
