| 1 | Author: | Smyth, Frederick, 1732-1815 | Add |
| Title: | Frederick Smyth papers, 1756-1816 | ||
| Dates: | 1756-1816 | ||
| Abstract: | Frederick Smyth was the Chief Justice of New Jersey before the American Revolution (appointed in 1764). Before that, he lived in England, Barbados, and Martinique. This collection of Smyth papers contains a range of official documents that relate to political and legal matters in New Jersey. The legal documents include petitions, reports to the grand jury, and official pronouncements and commissions. There are also several pieces of private correspondence. Some of the earliest documents contain information on Smyth's career before arriving in New Jersey. There is also a deposition relating to the firing on HMS St. John in Newport, Rhode Island in 1764 and a series of other documents relating to legal and political affairs in Rhode Island during the imperial crisis. Of particular note are two long speeches Smyth delivered before a grand jury in 1775 and 1776 in which he defends the Crown, a response to these speeches from the grand jury defending American rights, and a long letter from Edward Affleck in 1783 describing the British departure from New York City. Smyth stayed in Philadelphia after the war, although he never relinquished his British citizenship, and there are a few documents chronicling his post-war experience. View finding aid for a full description | ||
| Call #: | Mss.B.Sm95 | ||
| Extent: | 0.25 Linear Feet | ||
| Topics: | American Revolution | Colony and State Specific History | Law | ||
| Genre: | General Correspondence | Legal Records | Official Government Documents and Records | Political Correspondence | ||
| Subjects: | Judges -- New Jersey. | Legal instruments -- New Jersey. |
