Details:

Fontaine Beckham signed 7 x 5.75" legal summons and execution document from Jefferson County, Virginia, now West Virginia, concerning Philip Goodman and a debt claim brought by W. D. Copeland. The original summons is dated May 27, 1850, with subsequent court and constable docketing through July 1850. Beckham, acting in his capacity as a county magistrate and Justice of the Peace, has signed the document on both the front and reverse.

The reverse records Beckham's judgment for ten dollars and costs and bears additional docketing by constable George Koonce, who signs twice and records levying upon Goodman's property, including "13 pr spectacles" and "1 gold watch." The document is also signed by George B. Stephenson, a Harpers Ferry magistrate.

Koonce later became a prominent Unionist in Harpers Ferry. At the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861, he was among the local men who assisted the federal garrison as Virginia militia advanced upon the Harpers Ferry Armory. He later served in both the West Virginia House of Delegates and State Senate.

Fine condition with expected folds, toning, and handling wear.

Fontaine Beckham was mayor of Harpers Ferry, a Jefferson County magistrate, and an agent for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad at the time of John Brown's October 1859 raid. During the fighting, Beckham, unarmed, ventured near the railroad water station to observe the action and was shot and killed by one of Brown's men. His death, that of one of the town's most prominent officials, enraged local citizens, who seized captured raider William Thompson, shot him, and threw his body into the Potomac River. Beckham's death also had another significant consequence: his will provided for the emancipation of members of the Gilbert family whom he legally held, and his death during the raid resulted in their freedom. George Koonce, who delivered this summons and twice docketed and signed the reverse, later became a prominent Unionist in Harpers Ferry. On April 18, 1861, as approximately 2,000 Virginia militia approached the federal armory, Koonce led a small group of local men who confronted and temporarily halted the advancing force near Smallwood's Ridge, buying time as the federal garrison set fire to the armory and arsenal before withdrawing. Koonce subsequently lost his home and business, later returned to Harpers Ferry, and after the war served in both the West Virginia House of Delegates and State Senate. George B. Stephenson, who also signs the document, was a Harpers Ferry magistrate and a member of another locally prominent family.

Authentication:
Includes a full letter of authenticity from JG Autographs, Inc.

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Reference sku: 11701 1418810-1