A.B., Brief Representation = A.B., A brief representation of the case depending between the Rev. Dr. Mc’Sparran, plaintiff, and the Rev. Mr. Torrey, defendant, relating to the ministerial land in Narraganset in a letter from a gentleman at Newport to his friend in Boston  (Newport: n.p., Aug. 29, 1739) (Early American Imprints, Series 1: Evans no. 40156, by subscription) (11_1725_00, Additional Sources; 11_1733_00, Additional Sources; 11_1736_00, Additional Sources).

AALT = [O’Quinn Law Library of the University of Houston Law Center], Anglo-American Legal Tradition: Documents from Medieval and Early Modern England from the National Archives in London, ed. Robert C. Palmer, et al. website (last visited 3/1/2014).

Account of Col. Bayard = An Account of the illegal prosecution and tryal of Coll. Nicholas Bayard, in the province of New-York, for supposed high-treason, in the year 1702/3. Collected from several memorials taken by divers persons privately, the commissioners having strictly prohibited the taking the tryal in open court (n.l. [New York]: William Bradford, 1702) (Early American Imprints, Series 1: Evans no. 1038, by subscription) (08_1702_02, Other Documents).

Andrews, Guide to Manuscript Materials = Charles M. Andrews and Frances G. Davenport, Guide to the Manuscript Materials for the History of the United States to 1783, in the British Museum, in Minor London Archives, and in the Libraries of Oxford and Cambridge (Washington, DC: Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1908) (Internet Archive) (Introduction; 10_1765_01, Notes; 10_1765_02, Notes; 08_1702_01, Additional Sources; 06_1759_01, Appellant’s Case; 06_1754_00, Other Documents; 06_1762_00, Other Documents).

Ames and Willard, “Phillips vs. Savage” = Ellis Ames and Joseph Willard, “The Case of Phillips vs. Savage,” Proceedings of Massachusetts Historical Society, 5 (1860–1861) 165–171  (05_1734_05, Notes).

APC = [Great Britain. Privy Council], Acts of the Privy Council of England: Colonial Series, ed. W. L. Grant and James Munro under the general supervision of Almeric W. Fitzroy, 6 vols. (Hereford: Printed for His Majesty’s Stationery Office by Anthony Brothers, 1908–12 (Acts of the Privy Council, Colonial Series) (LLMC Digital, by subscription).

Baker, Introduction = John Hamilton Baker, An Introduction to English Legal History, 4th ed. (London: Butterworths, 2002) (Research Opportunities).

Barton, Virginia Colonial Decisions = [Virginia. General Court], Virginia Colonial Decisions: The Reports by Sir John Randolph and by Edward Barradall, of Decisions of the General Court of Virginia, 1728–1741, ed. R. T. Barton, 2 vols. (Boston, MA: The Boston book company, 1909) (Open Library; LLMC Digital, by subscription) (13_1740_03, Additional Sources; 13_1724_00, Other Documents; 13_1736_00, Other Documents; 13_1740_01, Other Documents; 13_1753_01, Other Documents; 13_1753_03, Other Documents; 13_1760_00, Other Documents; 13_1762_02, Other Documents; Research Opportunities).

Bilder, Transatlantic Constitution = Mary Sarah Bilder, The Transatlantic Constitution: Colonial Legal Culture and the Empire (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004) (ACLS Humanities E-Book, by subscription) (Introduction; 11_1705_02, Notes; 11_1718_02, Notes; 11_1732_00, Notes). [One or the other of Bilder’s works is cited in the Description and/or Disposition section in many of the Rhode Island reports.]

Bilder, Salamanders and Sons of God = Mary Sarah Bilder, Salamanders and Sons of God: Transatlantic Legal Culture and Colonial Rhode Island (Ph.D. diss., Harvard University, 2000) (ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Full Text, by subscription) (Introduction; 11_1725_00, Notes; 11_1733_00, Notes; 11_1736_00, Notes). [One or the other of Bilder’s works is cited in the Description and/or Disposition section in many of the Rhode Island reports.]

Blackstone’s Commentaries = William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, 4 vols., first ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1765–1769) (Research Opportunities). [Many subsequent editions, online edtions, and reprints. The editions most commonly used for 18th-century English law are the 4th, 5th, and 6th (they are the same and the last to appear in Blackstone’s lifetime) published between 1771 and 1780.]

Bodleian Library, Rawlinson Catalogue = [Bodleian Library], Catalogi codicum manuscriptorum Bibliothecæ Bodleianæ partis quintæ fasciculus 1[–5] viri munificentissimi Ricardi Rawlinson, J.C.D., codicum classes [A–E] complectens, ed. Gulielmus D. Macray, 5 vols. (Oxonii: E Typographeo academico; Oxonii: E Typographeo Clarendoniano, 1862–1900) (Hathi Trust) (12_1700_00, Additional Sources).

Bond, Maryland Court of Appeals 1696–1729 = Proceedings of the Maryland Court of Appeals, 1696–1729, ed. Carroll T. Bond (Washington, DC: American Historical Association, 1933) (04_1720_00, Notes).

Cary, “Descendants of Rev. Rowland Jones” = Wilson Miles Cary, “Descendants of Rev. Rowland Jones, First Rector of Bruton Parish, VA,” William and Mary Quarterly, 5 (1897) 192–197 (JSTOR) (13_1762_02, Notes).

Chalmers, Opinions of Eminent Lawyers = George Chalmers, Opinions of Eminent Lawyers on Various Points of English Jurisprudence, Chiefly Concerning the Colonies, Fisheries, and Commerce of Great Britain: Collected and Digested from the Originals, in the Board of Trade, and Other Depositories, 2 vols. (London: T. Davison for Reed and Hunter, 1814) (11_1733_00, Notes; 11_1736_00, Notes).

Chiorazzi and Most, Prestatehood Legal Materials = Prestatehood Legal Materials: A Fifty-State Research Guide, including New York City and the District of Columbia, ed. Michael Chiorazzi and Marguerite Most (New York: Haworth Information Press, 2005) (Research Opportunities).

Clayton-Torrence, Trial Bibliography of Colonial Virginia = [Virginia State Library. Department of Bibliography] William Clayton-Torrence, A Trial Bibliography of Colonial Virginia: Special Report of the Department of Bibliography, 2 vols. (Richmond: D. Bottom, Superintendent of Public Printing, 1908–1910) (Google Books) (13_1736_00, Notes).

Crow, Johnston Stapp and Allied Families = Jennie F. Downing Crow, Johnston Stapp and Allied Families (Lincoln, NE: Word Services Publishing Co., c1980) (13_1743_00, Notes).

CSP = [Great Britain. Public Record Office], Calendar of State Papers, Colonial: North America and the West Indies, 1574-1739, ed. W. Noël Sainsbury, J. W. Fortescue, Cecil Headlam, et al., 45 vols. (London: Longman, Routledge, 1860–) (Calendar of State Papers, Colonial: America and the West Indies, 1680-1700; Calendar of State Papers, Colonial) (British History Online; ProQuest, by subscription). [The consolidation of the subseries America and West Indies of Colonial Series with the subseries devoted to the East Indies (with additions, in some volumes, from China, Japan, and Persia) results in volume numbers in the series as reprinted being five greater than those found in the APC.]

Dallas, Reports 1 = Reports of Cases Ruled and Adjudged in the Courts of Pennsylvania before and since the Revolution, ed. A[lexander] J. Dallas, vol. 1, 2d ed. (Philadelphia: printed for P. Byrne, 1806) (1 U.S. [1 Dall.]) (Internet Archive) (10_1765_01, Other Documents; 10_1766_01, Other Documents).

Dallas, Reports 4 = Reports of Cases Ruled and Adjudged in the Several Courts of the United States and of Pennsylvania, ed. A[lexander] J. Dallas (Philadelphia: Fry and Kammerer for P. Byrne, 1807) (4 U.S. [4 Dall.]) (Internet Archive) (06_1759_02, Other Documents).

Edsall, Journal = Journal of the Courts of Common Right and Chancery of East New Jersey, 1683-1702, ed. Preston W. Edsall; Publications of the American Legal History Society, ser. 1 (Philadelphia: American Legal History Society, 1937) (Ejectment Research).

ESTC = [Great Britain. British Library], English Short Title Catalogue (website, last visited 3/1/2014) (Introduction; 07_1775_00, Additional Sources). [All references to ESTC numbers may be found by using one of the specific search engines.]

Fleming, Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers = Thomas Fleming, The Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers (New York: Smithsonian Books, 2009) (13_1755_02, Notes).

Fletcher, State of the Action = [William Fletcher], The State of the Action brought by William Fletcher against William Vassall for defaming him: tried in the Superiour Court at Boston, August Term, A.D. 1752 and now pending by appeal to his Majesty in Council. (Boston, n.p.: 1753) (Early American Imprints, Series 1: Evans no. 7001, by subscription) (05_1753_00, Other Documents).

Forsey v Cunningham = The Report of an action of assault, battery and wounding, tried in the Supreme Court of Judicature for the Province of New-York, In the term of October 1764, Between Thomas Forsey, plaintiff, and Waddel Cunningham, Defendant (New York: John Holt, 1764) (Early American Imprints, Series 1: Evans no. 9660, by subscription) (08_1765_02, Other Documents).

Fraas, Wrong Latitude = Arthur Mitchell Fraas, “They Have Travailed Into a Wrong Latitude:” The Laws of England, Indian Settlements, and the British Imperial Constitution 1726–1773 (Ph.D. diss., Duke University, 2011) (catalogued and abstracted here; ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Full Text, by subscription) (Introduction).

Franklin Papers = Benjamin Franklin, The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, ed. Leonard W. Labaree, et al., 40 vols. to date (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1959– ). (We have used the digital edition: Yale University Library, The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, last visited 3/1/2014.) (02_11774_00, Additional Sources)

Goebel and Naughton, Law Enforcement in Colonial New York = Julius Goebel, Jr. and T. Raymond Naughton, Law Enforcement in Colonial New York: A Study in Criminal Procedure (1664–1776) (New York, Commonwealth Fund, 1944; repr. Montclair, NJ: Patterson Smith, 1970) (08_1681_02, Notes).

Griffin, Guide to Manuscripts = [Library of Congress. Manuscript Division], Grace Gardner Griffin, A Guide to Manuscripts relating to American History in British Depositories reproduced for the Division of Manuscripts of the Library of Congress (Washington, DC: The Library of Congress, 1946) (Introduction; Introduction Notes).

Harris, Maryland Reports = Maryland Reports being a Series of the Most Important Law Cases, argued and determined in the Provincial Court and Court of Appeals of the then Province of Maryland, from the year 1700 down to the American Revolution selected from the records of the state and from the notes of some of the most eminent counsel who practiced law within that period, ed. Thomas Harris, Junior and John McHenry (New York: I. Riley, 1809) (Early American Imprints, Series 2, no. 17989, by subscription) (04_1730_01, Additional Sources; 04_1730_02, Additional Sources; 04_1776_00, Additional Sources; 04_1739_00, Other Documents; Research Opportunities).

Hazeltine, “Appeals from Colonial Courts” = Harold D. Hazeltine, “Appeals from Colonial Courts to the King in Council with Special Reference to Rhode Island,” in Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the year 1894 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1895), 299–350 (Google Books) (Introduction).

Hoadley, Connecticut Public Records 1726–1735 = The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, 1636–1776: [Volume 7] From May 1726 to May 1735, inclusive, ed. Charles J. Hoadley (Hartford: Press of the Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co. 1873) (Internet Archive) (01_1727_00, Other Documents).

Hoadley, Connecticut Public Records 1762–1767 = The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, 1636–1776: [Volume 12] From May, 1762 to October, 1767, inclusive, ed. Charles J. Hoadley (Hartford: Press of the Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co. 1881) (Internet Archive) (01_1765_00, Additional Sources).

Hough, New York Vice-Admiralty 1715–1788 = Reports of Cases in the Vice Admiralty of the Province of New York and in the Court of Admiralty of the State of New York, 1715–1788, ed. Charles Merrill Hough (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1925) (08_1717_01, Notes; 08_1735_00, Notes; 08_1765_01, Additional Sources).

Hulsebosch, Constituting Empire = Daniel Joseph Hulsebosch, Constituting Empire: New York and the Transformation of Constitutionalism in the Atlantic World, 1664–1830 (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2005) (Introduction).

Journals of the Board of Trade = [Great Britain. Public Record Office], Journal of the Commissioners for Trade and Plantations Preserved in the Public Record Office; Issued by Authority of the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury under the Direction of the Master of the Rolls: April, 1704 to May 1782, 14 vols. (London, HMSO, 1920–1938) (Journals of the Board of Trade and Plantations, 1704–1782) (LLMC Digital, by subscription; British History Online) (Introduction).

Kammen, “Virginia at the Close of the 17th Century” = Michael G. Kammen, “Virginia at the Close of the Seventeenth Century: An Appraisal by James Blair and John Locke,” Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 74 (1966) 141–169 (JSTOR) (13_1696_00, Notes).

Labaree, Royal Instructions 1670–1776 = Royal Instructions to the British Colonial Governors, 1670–1776, ed. Leonard Woods Labaree (New York: D. Appleton-Century Co., 1935; repr. New York: Octagon Books, 1967) (04_1694_00, Notes).

Lambeth Palace Library, Fulham Papers = [London, Lambeth Palace Library], The Fulham Papers at Lambeth Palace Library, 20 microfilm reels (distributed by World Microfilms, c1970–1978) (11_1725_00, Other Documents; 11_1733_00, Other Documents; 11_1736_00, Other Documents; 13_1751_00, Other Documents).

Lambeth Palace Library, Miscellaneous American Material = [London, Lambeth Palace Library], Miscellaneous American Material 17th–18th Centuries, 5 microfilm reels (distributed by World Microfilms, c1978) (13_1762_01, Other Documents).

Library of Congress, Handbook of Manuscripts = [Library of Congress. Manuscript Division], Handbook of Manuscripts in the Library of Congress (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1918) (Internet Archive) (Introduction).

Manross, Fulham Papers = William Wilson Manross, The Fulham Papers in the Lambeth Palace Library; American Colonial Section Calendar and Indexes (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965) (11_1733_00, Additional Sources; 11_1725_00, Additional Sources; 11_1736_00, Additional Sources; 13_1751_00, Other Documents; 13_1762_01, Other Documents; 13_1765_01, Other Documents).

Morris, New York City Mayor’s Court 1674–1784 = Select Cases of the Mayor’s Court of New York City, 1674–1784, ed. Richard B. Morris (Washington, DC: American Historical Association, 1935) (08_1685_00, Notes).

Nanfan, Proclamation = A Proclamation [by] John Nanfan, Esq; His Majesties lieut. governour and commander in [chief] in and over the province of New-York [New York: William Bradford, 1701] (Early American Imprints, Series 1: Evans no. 1002, by subscription) (08_1702_02, Other Documents).

Narrative of Col. Bayard = A narative [sic] of the treatment Coll. Bayard received from the time that sentence was passed against him to the time of his giving that petition which the lieut. governour & Council caused to be printed and published in justification of their proceedings against him [New York: William Bradford, 1702] (Early American Imprints, Series 1: Evans no. 1079, by subscription) (08_1702_02, Other Documents).

New Hampshire, Laws 1718 = [New Hampshire. Laws, etc.], Acts and laws, passed by the General Court or Assembly of the Province of New-Hampshire in New-England begun and held at Portsmouth, the 13th. day of May, 1718 (Boston: B. Green, 1718) (Early American Imprints, series 1, Evans no. 1985, by subscription) (06_1759_01, Other Documents).

New York, Laws 1703 = An Act declaring the Illegality of the Proceedings against Coll. Nicholas Bayard and Alder-man John Hutchins for pretended High-Treason, and for Reversing and making Null and Void the said Judgments, and all Proceedings thereon, in Acts passed the 2d sessions of the General Assembly, beginning the 13 day of April, 1703: Anno regni Reginae Annae, Angliae, Scotiae, Franciae & Hiberniae, secondo [NewYork: William Bradford, 1703], 210–211 recte 212–213 (Early American Imprints, Series 1: Evans no. 1137, by subscription) (08_1702_02, Other Documents).

O’Connor and Bilder, “Appeals” = Sharon Hamby O’Connor and Mary Sarah Bilder, “Appeals to the Privy Council before American Independence: An Annotated Digital Catalogue,” Law Library Journal, 104 (2012) 83–97 (pdf) (Introduction).

Owen and Tolley, Courts of Admiralty = David R. Owen and Michael C. Tolley, Courts of Admiralty in Colonial America: The Maryland Experience, 1634–1776 (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, c1995) (Introduction).

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography = Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: In Association with the British Academy: From the Earliest Times to the Year 2000, 60 vols. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004) (online edition, by subscription) (Introduction).

Page, Judicial Beginnings in New Hampshire 1640–1700 = Elwin L. Page, Judicial Beginnings in New Hampshire, 1640–1700 (Concord: New Hampshire Historical Society, 1959) (06_1684_00, Notes).

Parker, North Carolina Higher-Court 1724–1730 = North Carolina Higher-Court Minutes, 1724–1730, ed. Mattie Erma Edwards Parker, William S. Price, Robert J. Cain, North Carolina Higher-Court Records, 5; Colonial Records of North Carolina, Second Series, 6 (Raleigh, NC: Department of Cultural Resources, Division of Archives and History, 1981) (09_1729_00, Notes).

Philips v Philips = Gillam Philips, Esq.; Appellant. Hannah Philips, Widow, and Others, Respondents (n.l.: n.p., n.d. [1737]) (Gale The Making of Modern Law: Trials No. Q4201229410, by subscription) (05_1734_05, Notes).

“Phillips vs. Savage” = “The Case of Phillips vs. Savage [the printed cases],” Proceedings of Massachusetts Historical Society, 5 (1860–1861) 64–80 (05_1734_05, Notes).

Prince, Brief Representation = [Thomas Prince], An answer to a printed letter said to be wrote from a gentleman in Newport to his friend in Boston Aug. 27; pretending to find fault with a brief representation of the case between Dr. McSparran plaintiff and Mr. Torrey defendant, relating to the ministry land in South Kingstown, Narragansett, which was dated July 1739 (n.l.: n.p., n.d. [1739]) (Early American Imprints, Series 1: Evans no. 4379, by subscription) (11_1725_00, Additional Sources; 11_1733_00, Additional Sources; 11_1736_00, Additional Sources).

Privy Council Papers = Privy Council Papers Online, 1792 – 1998 (website, last visited 3/1/2014) (Introduction).

Quincy, Massachusetts Reports 1761–1772 = Josiah Quincy, Junior, Reports of Cases argued and adjudged in the Superior Court of Judicature of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, between 1761 and 1772, ed. Samuel M. Quincy (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1865) (Quincy’s Reports) (Google Books; LLMC Digital, by subscription) (05_1755_00, Other Documents; 05_1764_00, Other Documents; 05_1768_00, Other Documents). [We have used the reprint, accompanied by extensive notes and commentary, that constitutes Portrait of a Patriot: The Major Political and Legal Papers of Josiah Quincy Junior: Volume 4: The Law Reports, Part One (1761–1765) and Volume 5: The Law Reports, Part Two (1765–1772), ed. Daniel R. Coquillette and Neil Longley York (Boston: The Colonial Society of Massachusetts, 2009).]

Raimo, Guide to Manuscripts = A Guide to Manuscripts Relating to America in Great Britain and Ireland : A Revision of the Guide Edited in 1961 by B. R. Crick and Miriam Alman, ed. John W. Raimo, Dennis Welland (Westport, CN: Meckler Books for the British Association for American Studies, c1979) (Introduction).

Reed v Reid = Joseph Reed defendant, ad. John Reid. Argument for the Defendant in Error [Philadelphia: ?1774] (Early American Imprints. Series 1: Evans no. 11053) (07_1775_00, Additional Sources). [The ESTC suggests the date of publication by internal evidence as 1774, indicating that Evans erroneously dates the item as 1768.]

Rogers v Spalding = Sarah Rogers, Spinster, Administratrix of William Whetstone Rogers, Esq., Appellant and Alexander Spalding, Merchant, Respondent – The Appellant’s [and the Respondent’s] Case, (n.l.: n.p., 1740) (Gale’s Making of Modern Law: Trials No. Q4201229216,  by subscription) (13_1740_01, Other Documents).

Schlesinger, “Colonial Appeals” = Arthur Meier Schlesinger [Sr.], “Colonial Appeals to the Privy Council. I [and] II”, Political Science Quarterly, 28 (1913) 279–297, 433–450 (Introduction).

Short Narrative = A short narrative of the claim, title and right of the heirs of the Honourable Samuel Allen, Esq., deceased, to the province of New-Hampshire in New-England: transmitted from a gentlewoman in London, to her friend in New England ([?Boston], n.p.: [?1728]) (Early American Imprints, Series 1: Evans no. 3106, by subscription) (06_1701_00, Other Documents).

Skinner, Maryland Testamentary Abstracts 1736–1739 = Vernon L. Skinner, Jr., Abstracts of the Testamentary Proceedings of the Prerogative Court of Maryland Volume XXI: 1736–1739 (n.l.: Clearfield, 2009) (04_1738_01, Notes).

Smith = Joseph Henry Smith, Appeals to the Privy Council from the American Plantations (New York: Columbia University Press, 1950; repr. New York: Octagon Books, 1965). [Included on this site.]

Torrey, Brief Representation = Joseph Torrey, A brief representation of the case depending between the Rev. Dr. Mc’Sparran, plaintiff, and the Rev. Mr. Torrey, defendant, relating to the ministry land at Narraganset (n.l.: n.p., July 1739) (Early American Imprints, Series 1: Evans no. 40177, by subscription) (11_1725_00, Additional Sources; 11_1733_00, Additional Sources; 11_1736_00, Additional Sources).

Wainwright, “Tale of a Runaway Cape” = Nicholas B. Wainwright, “Tale of a Runaway Cape: The Penn-Baltimore Agreement of 1732,” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 87 (1963) 251–293 (JSTOR) (10_1765_01, Notes).

Washburne, Imperial Control = George Adrian Washburne, Imperial Control of the Administration of Justice in the Thirteen American Colonies, 1684–1776 (New York: Columbia University, 1923; repr. Clark, NJ: Lawbook Exchange, 2006). (Introduction; 04_1723_00, Disposition; 01_1727_00, Notes; 04_1739_00, Notes; 08_1700_00, Notes).

Winthrop, “Brief” = “Brief in the Appeal of John Winthrop,” in Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 6th ser., vol. 5 (Boston: The Society, 1892), 440–511 (Google Books) (01_1727_00, Other Documents).

Wood, Institute = Thomas Wood, An Institute of the Laws of England; or, The Laws of England in their Natural Order, According to Common Use, first ed. ([London]: E. and R. Nutt and R. Gosling, 1720) (Research Opportunities). [Between 1720 and 1772, the work saw ten editions, all of which are available online by subscription in Eighteenth Century Collections Online. A reprint of the 1772 edition was published in 2006 by The Lawbook Exchange.]

Wroth,“Maine Connection” = Kinvin Wroth, “The Maine Connection: Massachusetts Justice Downeast, 1620-1820,” in The History of the Law in Massachusetts: The Supreme Judicial Court 1692-1992, ed. Russell K. Osgood (Boston: Supreme Judicial Court Historical Society, 1992), p.171–206 (05_1735_02, Notes).

Yirush, “Claiming the New World” = Craig B. Yirush, “Claiming the New World: Empire, Law, and Indigenous Rights in the Mohegan Case, 1704–1743,” Law and History Review, 29 (2011) 333–373 (Introduction).