British New York Vice-Admiralty Court. Captured ship: Hansford (master Nathaniel...

British New York Vice-Admiralty Court.

Captured ship: Hansford (master Nathaniel Boush).

Capture history: an American merchant ship (schooner, 50 tons, 8 guns, 15 men) bound from James River, Virginia to St Eustatius, laden with tobacco; taken on 13 July 1780 in latitude 36°40'N, longitude 74°50'W by the loyalist privateers Resolution (John Pindar commanding), and Venus (Joseph Forshear commanding), and brought into New York.

Intended voyage: from the United States to the Caribbean Islands.

Court papers numbered CP 1-4:-

• [CP 1]: affidavit of papers brought in by the prize master Benjamin Stokes, of the Resolution, 24 July 1780;
• [CP 2]: libel in Pindar and Forshear v The schooner Hansford and her cargo, 24 July 1780;
• [CP 3]: monition, 24 July 1780;
• [CP 4]: list of three libels, Miller v The sloop Nicoll; Pindar v The sloop Hunter; and Pindar and Forshear v The schooner Hansford, 14 August 1780.

Ship's Papers numbered SP 1-9 (Virginia papers):-

• SP 1: clearance from Norfolk, Elizabeth River, for St Eustatius, 13 June 1780;
• SP 2: clearance bond, 13 June 1780;
• SP 3: bill of health, 13 June 1780;
• SP 4: ship's register, owners Robert Taylor, Thomas Pierce, Lewis Hansford and Godrick Willson, 13 June 1780;
• SP 5: crew list and agreement, 17 June [1780];
• SP 6: owners instructions to pay the mate John Bookhurst half the proceeds of a particular hogshead of tobacco on arrival in St Eustatius, 20 June 1780;
• SP 7: memorandum of items for John Bookhurst to buy;
• SP 8: Boush's account for payments to the Naval Office, for the register, passport, clearance, bill of health etc (giving payments for 10 formal documents, total £13 1s);
• SP 9: personal commission for goods from the West Indies for Mrs Willson (lace, gauze, castor oil etc).

[Papers previously wrongly identified as Court papers: 1-3; Ship's papers: 4-13 (large pencil numbers): sorted and renumbered in 2025].