William Chace and William Davis vs. Tarin and Nanterne. Suit for non-payment of monies due
Nantes, (France): September 6, 1783. Eleven-page legal document (approx. 9" x 7½") of a judgment from a French court that involved Rhode Island traders. Providence mariners William Chace and William Davis traded in European goods and were also perhaps sea captains. These documents are entitled "Extract from the Registry of the Recorder of the Royal Seat and Council of Nantes, September 6, 1783. Nantes February 25, 1783. John Ballan senior judge. Appeared Sieur Tarin the younger merchant ... living as Braneas in the Parish of St. Nicholas who presented to us several pieces of which he required the enregistrement by the Recorder to have recours (sic) to in case of necessity and have signed Tarin, Jun., & Nanterne. The following is the tenor of the above pieces ... Debtor Messrs. William Chace & William Davis, Jun of Providence, State of Rhode Island to Tarin Jun. & Nantern for goods delivered for their account to Mr. William Davis Jun in a (?) as a margin." There follows a three-page list of goods which includes several varieties of cloth, gauze, feathers, muslin, mittens, hankerchiefs, stockings, etc. The amount in dispute appears to be at least 4,485 livres. Also transcribed within the document is a copy of a letter from William Chace to Messrs. Terrez and L'Jeune which states: "The present goes by my sons who will inform you that I have sent to Mr. Jonathan Williams Bills of Exchange by the Ship Donglavez (?) to pay my debt in France. I hope you have received yours before the arrival of the present - I was detained at L'Orient a long time after I left you - and it was near six months before I reached my home in America." (Signed:) "William Chace and William Chace Jun." Apparently, the mariners attempted to make good on their debts but had not made payment soon enough to avoid going into default. William Chace managed to continue in business after this legal trouble. An advertisement in the Providence Gazette in 1784 shows him selling "a neat assortment of European goods ... at his shop and store, two doors below the market house ... among which are a great assortment of lutestrings, modes and other silks, calicoes, Irish linens, gentlemen and ladies beaver hats ... likewise English and German steel." Item #56093
Price: $750.00
