LETTER OF
The GOSPEL TRUTH CHARLES G. FINNEY
1866
To Lauren Ford
14 February 1866
[MS in Finney Papers, Supplement #156.]
Finney received a further letter from Lauren Ford as follows (Finney Papers, Supplement #155):
New York. Feby 10. 1866
No 128 Broadway
Revnd C. G. Finney,
Dr Sir
Your letter of the 7th Inst in
answer to mine of the 2nd Inst is before me. I regret
to hear of your illness and hope that this note
will find you convalescent.
In compliance with your suggestion
I have prepared duplicate copies of our agreement
respecting the Judgment against Samuel Wise and
send them with this note - I have signed both
copies - If, upon examination, you find them
correct, please sign one of the papers and return
it to me. Sign above my name.
respectfully
yours &c
L. Ford
State of New York, Supreme Court
------------------
Charles G. Finney } Lauren Ford, Off Atty on the Record,
agt } Judgment, docketed in the office of the
Samuel Wise } Clerk of King's County, Novr. 19. 1863
-------------------
Damages . . . . . . $2106..63
Costs 156..58
Whole amount of Judgment . . . $2263.21
=====
Transcript of Judgment filed, & Judgment docketed in the office of the Clerk of the County of New York, Novr. 28. 1863 --
=================================
In consideration of the sum of one Dollar, paid to me by Lauren Ford, Counsellor of the City of Brooklyn, I, Charles G. Finney, of Oberlin, in the State of Ohio, the Plaintiff in the above described Judgment do hereby assign & transfer, to the said Lauren Ford, the said Judgment, and all my interest in the same, and I do hereby give to the said Assignee, full power & authority to adopt & pursue all such proceedings & measures, for the collection of the amount of said Judgment, as shall, from time to time, be considered proper by my said Assignee.
This assignment is made upon the following conditions - All proceedings hereafter to be taken by the said Assignee, for the collection of the money due upon said Judgment, these be taken at the expense & risk of said Assignee, & at such times as he may think proper, and I am not, in any case, to be subjected to any costs, incident to such proceedings, and the said Assignee, by the conditions of this assignment, hereby agrees to indemnify me, and save me harmless from all such costs.
The said Lauren Ford, in consideration of the aforesaid Assignment, hereby agrees that he will forever hereafter indemnify and save harmless, the said Charles G. Finney & his legal representatives, from & against all costs & charges that may hereafter be incurred in any
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proceedings to collect the amount of said Judgment. The said assignee hereby agrees that he will, at all times hereafter, upon the written request of the said Plaintiff or of his legal representatives give to him or them, a full statement of whatever proceedings he may have taken for the collection of said Judgment, and a full statement of whatever amount he may have received as the avails of said Judgment.
Should the said Assignee hereafter collect & receive the amount of said Judgment, or any part thereof, the said Assignee shall out of the money so collected, retain for his own use & benefit, the amount of the Costs in said Judgment, which costs are due to said Assignee at the Attorney on the Record for the Plaintiff in said Judgment, and also such other amounts as have heretofore been expended by said Attorney in obtaining said Judgment, and also such Costs and Charges as may have been expended or incurred by him in such further proceedings as said Assignee may have adopted in proceedings to collect the amount of said Judgment
Out of the residue of the amount that may have been collected & received by said Assignee he, the said Assignee hereby agrees to pay to said Plaintiff or to his legal Representatives, ten per cent of the amount of such residue, and ninety per cent of the amount of such residue shall be the property of said Assignee
The said Assignee is hereby authorized to compound with said Samuel Wise, upon such terms and conditions, as may appear proper to said Assignee, respecting said Judgment.
Dated February 12. 1866
Lauren Ford
The following reply from Finney in the handwriting of his wife, Rebecca, appears to be the draft copy dictated by Finney.
Oberlin Feb. 14th/66
Lauren Ford Esq. Dear Sir,
Your
letter of Feb 10th, with the accom-
panying papers is before me.
I am too ill to give my attention
to the subject. An attempt to do
so, has cost me a restless
night.
Before I sign any more
papers, I wish to know exactly
what you propose to do. If I un-
derstand the paperst that you have
now sent, you contemplate in-
stituting farther proceedings a-
gainst Wise in my name, in-
stead of your own. This would
leave me on the record responsible
to Wise, in case of your failure
at any point, to proceed, or finally
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to win. Now, my dear Sir,
you see that this will not do
for me. You are an old and
infirm man, and I am old
and cannot live long. The whole
amount that you propose to pay me
in case you should collect the whole
judgment, would be less than two
hundred dollars. Now, you can
see that I should not, on my
account, be made responsible on
the record, to Wise, for costs,
in case of your death, or
failure to pay. win.
My understanding
of your proposition, was, that I
should transfer the judgment
to you, and so transfer it, that
alfl future proceedings would be
in your own name, not in
mine.
Without ample security
against all liability to Wise, for
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costs, I ought not to consent to
having any farther proceedings
instituted against him, in my
name. This is not to question
your honesty nor honor, but
simply to secure me and my
heirs, in a case which is very
likely to occur, that of your
demise, or failure of ability
to pay win.
I am willing you should
have the judgment as your own
property, and proceed against
Wise in your own name
at your own discretion.
This is what I understood your
proposition to mean.
Time to will
to th But, I am too ill, to think
or act upon this subject. I will
write to day, to my son-in-law
Cox, to visit me immediately.
He is a lawyer, and I will
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make him my attorney to
act in these premises
I cannot sign these papers, in
their present form, without con-
sulting him.
I will commit all
the papers in my possession to
him. When he has examined them
he will write to you on the
subject.
In the mean time, if
you wish to write to him, please
address Gov. J. D. Cox, Columbus, Ohio,
Mrs. Rebecca Finney, for C. G. Finney.
[at the bottom of the page, reversed: filing reference in Rebecca Finney's handwriting]
To
Lauren Ford
Copy
Ford's reply is in the Finney Papers, Supplement #157:
New York Feby. 16. 1866
No 128 Broadway
Revnd Charles G. Finney
Dr Sir
Your letter of the 14th Inst
was recd this morning - In the papers that I sent
to you, it was not proposed that the farther proceedings
against Samuel Wise should be conducted in your
name, or that you could personally be made
responsible for any future Costs - If the papers should
be signed by you, it would follow of necessity that
all future proceedings should be in my own name as
assignee, and in such case you would not be held
responsible for the Costs of my proceedings hereafter -
Yours &c
L. Ford
The following letter is a copy in the handwriting of J. D. Cox [MS in Finney Papers]:
Oberlin, O. 20 Feb. 1866.
Dear Sir:
Being here for the purpose of visiting
my father-in-law Mr Finney, who is in feeble
health, he has shown me several communications
from you in regard to proceedings formerly had
against Mr Wise in N. York, including the as-
signment of the judgment, & your letter of the 16th
inst. in which you say it "was not proposed
"(by you) that the further proceedings
"against Samuel Wise should be conducted
"in your (Mr. Finney's) name, or that
"you (Mr. Finney) could personally
"be made responsible for any further
"costs." Under these circumstances,
& with this distinct agreement that all future
proceedings shall be in your own name as
assignee, so that he shall not be even
in form responsible for costs, I have
advised him to sign & forward the
assignment which he encloses herewith. His
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health is better than it was when
his last letter was written, & we are full
of hope that a short time will find him in his
usual vigor. He is however not yet equal
to the task of writing you himself, & I have
therefore written this at his request.
Very Respy
Your obedt srvt
J.D.Cox
L. Ford Esq,
128 Broadway. N.Y.