Nathaniel Holcomb Died 1814

 ©  Kathy Duncan, 2020

I have been able to determine that Thomas Maddin of Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri did file a lawsuit against Nathaniel Holcomb and his wife Hannah in 1814. That suit, however, was not about land as I had previously guessed.

Thomas Maddin charged Nathaniel and Hannah Holcomb with trespassing onto his land on 13 January 1814 and destroying his sugar camp. He claimed that they destroyed two kettles and one pot, and then set fire to his trees. He requested that Enoch Holcomb and Robert Jameson testify on his behalf. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a record of their depositions. It is still impossible to be sure if Enoch Holcomb was Nathaniel's son Enoch or another Enoch Holcomb.

A quick google search reveals that early settlers were engaged in making sugar from sugar trees in the Ste. Genevieve, Missouri area.

 During the course of the suit, Nathaniel Holcomb died, so Maddin filed against Hannah, holding her responsible for the damages to the tune of about $30. Titus Strickland acted as attorney on her behalf. At one point Hannah claimed that she should not be held solely responsible for Nathaniel's actions and refused to participate in the process. She possibly lost the suit by default.

Later in the year, Thomas Maddin brought suit against Robert Jameson for trespassing, destroying his sugar trees, and stealing lumber earlier in the year. The suit against Robert Jameson reveals that Maddin's land was on the Saline River. 

All of these records can be found on Family Search in the Justice of the Peace Loose Papers, 1810 - 1820.

This is one of the key documents from this lawsuit:

In executing a subpoena on the Holcombs, it was found that Nathaniel Holcomb was found to be dead on 31 March 1814. 

This document indicates that Nathaniel Holcomb had died shortly before 31 March 1814 if not on 31 March and that Hannah was his wife.