Our Counterfeiting Ancestors

                                            William Braswell - Son of Richard Braswell (d. 1725 IOW Co., VA) 

North Carolina Archives, CCR 149, Folder 1719, "Colonial Court Papers. Civil & Criminal Papers,1711-1719" :

"The information of Esther Kirby taken this 23d Jan.ry 1718/9

This inform:t Smith that on the 16th of this ins.t W.m Braswell Came to her house & Delivered two Publicke Bills of ye Province one for ffifteen Pounds & the other for Eight Pound and Desired she would Carry them down to Court to Colo.l Moseley & gett them changed for Smaler Biles {if they were good} but if not to return them to him again. And the s.d Brasswell Said he receive:d them from one Joseph Durden.

Esther Kirby

The Information of Richard Washington taken this 23.d Janry 1718/9---

This informat. Saith that on the 16th of this Ins.t Wm Brasswell Came to the House of Esther Kirby & Delivd to her two Publick bills of this Province one for fifteen Pounds and the other for Eight Pounds and Desired she would Carry them down to Court to Colo.l Moseley & gett them Changed for Samler Biles {if they were good} but if not to return them to him again, and the sd Brasswell said he receivd' them from one Joseph Durden

Richard Washington

By the Hon.ble the Governor

North Carolina ss.

Whereas Informats have been made to Me that Wm Brassel and Joseph Durden have lately utered Several forged Biles of Credit of this Province.

THESSE are therefore in his Magestys Name on Sight hereof to Comand you to apprehend the sd Wm Brassil and Joseph Durden and them to bring before me or the Cheif Justice to answer the sd Information and for so doeing this shall be your Cov.nant Given under my hand this 29th day of Jan.ry 1718

To the Deputy Marshal Charles Eden or Constable for the Westerne Shore of Chowan - - -"

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Braswell and Darden posted 200 pound bail bonds for the passing counterfeit rap (30 July 1719) and Darden was judged innocent. Evidently William was too. He was released "by Recognizance" for the Constable Washington assault by the General Court of Oyer and Terminer on 28 July 1719 {"The Colonial Records of North Carolina", pp. 407-498}...WILLIAM was true billed for assaulting Constable WASHINGTON by the Bertie grand jury at the November, 1720 session but wasn't fined and placed on probation until the following March...there are no more surviving records concerning WILLIAM after the March 1721 date...

Carey

Contributed by Carey Bracewell

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                                                   Richard Braswell - Brother of the above William Braswell 

                                                            Son of Richard Braswell (d 1725 IOW Co., VA) 

Edgecombe County Court Minutes, 1744-46 (C. R. 037.301.1, Archives)

p. 38...

22 May 1745 - Ordd that the late Sheriff Capt Jas Speir pay to HARDY CANE L4 procl Money for the great Trouble & Expence he Hath been at in Executing his office of Constable in Detecting some Money Coiners.

Mr. Haywood one of the Members of this Court acquaintd the Bench that he had issued a Search Warrt agt one RICHd BRASWELL for passing and uttering false Coine and had accordingly ordered HARDY CANE a Sworn Constable to apprehend the said BRASWELL and to search his house for Counterfeit money & the materials for making it, & that the Constable HARDY CANE had Exed the Warrt and had also brought the sd BRASWELL here to be Examd, thereon and that the Constable had also found some Counterfeit money and he believed some materials for making of it in the sd BRASWELLs House therefore desired the matter may be Examined into by the Court.

Accordingly the sd RICHARD BRASWELL was ordered before this Court & appeared and HARDY CANE the Constable who Executed the Warrt also appeared and brought with him a small Cagg or Barrel which contained several little Wooden Moulds with some Brass & Pewter Mettle, some Chalk & Borax, the sd CANE was theron Sworn & his Deposition taken as also the Examination and Confession of the said RICHARD BRASWELL.

It is thereupon Considered and Ordered by the Court on hearing the sd CANEs Deposition as also on hearing the Deposition of JHON CHAMBERS taken before Mr Haywood that the sd RICHd BRASWELL stand Committed and Sheriff is hereby Ordd forthwith to convey the said RICHd BRASWELL to the Publick Goal (sic) at Edenton and deliver the sd RICHd BRASWELL to the Keeper thereof to be kept unitll he shall be thence discharged by due Course of Law.

Ordd that the sd HARDY CANE Give Secuty as an Evidence &c in the Sum of L20 Proc &c And accordingly the sd HARDY CANE as principal in L20 Proc & JAMES CANE as Secuty in the Sum of L20 like money &c Ackd

Ordd that the sd Cane carry with him the Barrel with the materials found in it money &cc.

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Colonial Court Papers, Criminal Papers, General & Assize Gourts, 1745-1749. (CCR 178, Archives, Raleigh)

Examination of JOHN CHAMBERS taken one oath before me JOHN HAYWOOD one of his Majestes Justices for the County of EdgeCombe assigned this Examinant Saith that Aboute Six Weake laste paste he Did see some spainish miled peices of Eight & half peices of Eight and some pistereans maid of putter and the moulds they where Caste In and Did verrely bleive that oald Mr RICHARD BRASWELL was the Coiner of them and that the sd BRASWELL had uttered and paste Some of the aforesd fals Money to Coll ANDREW MEADE in Virginia and that there was no Silver In the sd Coins by him Caste and Uttered & paste as aforesd and that there is at this presente time a Considerable quantity of the afresd fals Money now In the possestion of the aforesd BRASWELL - taken before Me this 20 Day of May 1745.

o

Jn Chambers (singned)

o

Jn Haywood (signed)

Whereas I am Credible Informed one oath of JOHN CAMBERS that RICHARD BRASWELL SENIOR has paste & Uttered false money Knowing it to be Such & has Considerabl quantity of fals quine Now In his House with the Molds the sd fals Money was maid InThese are therefore In his Majestes Name to Comand you one sight hereof to attach the body of him the (sic) BRASWELL & him In Your Costody to Keep till you Deliver him to the Generall Courte of Sessions for this County and You are Likewise to make Search for sd fals money & molds & them with you to bring to the sd Courte to be further Dealt with as law shall Derecte & this Shall be Your Warrent Given under my hand & Seale this 20 Day of May 1745.

o

Jn Haywood (signed)

To any lawfull officer

to Execute & Return

Edgecombe County - The Deposition of HARDY CANE Constable Sworn Saith that he received a Search Warrt from John Haywood Esqr one of His Majestys Justices in Commission of the Peace for Edgecombe County aforesd the Twentyeth of this Instant May against one RICHARD BRASWELL That his Dept Executed the sd Warrt the Next day on the sd RICHARD BRASWELL who told this sd Dept that the was right welcom to Search his house, and accordingly this Dept went into sd BRASWELLs house where sd BRASWELL took Keys out of his Pocket and told this Dept he might search every where & any Chest he had in the house, the sd BRASWELL accordingly opened his Chests & bid this Dept look into them, he did & found nothing in them concerning what he searched for, Then this Dept went to sd BRASWELLs storehouse but found nothing in the lower Room, the sd BRASWELL then ask'd this Dept whither he would not go up in the loft above and accordingly brought a Ladder, & the sd BRASWELLs Wife came into the Store & told the Dept She would go up first because there was some Honey and he might spil it, and accordingly she went up first and this Dept immediately followed her and as soon as Mrs. BRASWELL got up in the loft he the Dept saw the sd Mrs. BRASWELL put her foot against the little barrel (now produced on the Table) & Slide it away & put some old thing up & threw upon the barrel, and there was a Chest in the loft wch he felt in, being very dark but found nothing, but having a Mistrust this Dept went to the Barrel and asked Mrs BRASWELL what it was & felt in the barrel, & felt a parcell of wooden Moulds & other stuff in it, and then handed it down to one Thomas Price who was below in the Store, & he Immediately went down and Examined what was in the barrel wch the sd RICHd BRASWELL look'd strange at and admired how these things came there, & looking further into the barrel he, this Dept found Three Counterfeit pieces in likeness of Prtuguese money, one peice in likeness of a Sapnish peice of Eight & two small peices in likeness of Pistereens which he now produced. That the Depont went afterwards into said BRASWELLs dwelling house where there was a Desk wch sd BRASWELL opened and found nothing in it but a Paper in wch the Dept Say'd that the sd BRASWELL told him that what was in the Paper belong's to HUGHS & was the Truck they made use on for runing the peices of money aforesd. Then the sd BRASWELL took two baggs of money out of his Chest, & out of one of them he took Three peices wch this Dept took to be Counterfeit & now produced them. That this Dept coming along with the sd RICHd BRASWELL to this Court last Night he the sd BRASWELL told him that he had pass'd some money to Colo MEAD several years agoe which he thought was not Good, but That Colo MEAD Say'd, if that was not good money he did not know which was Good. The sd BRASWELL also told this Dept that he sometime agoe asked one HUGHS and one CLIFT whither they could make any money Genteely, That CLIFT answered he could and accordingly he made some which sd BRASWELL did not like, and that one of them (HUGHS or CLIFT) said they could make money as good as any if they had Ingredients, upon which the sd BRASWELL sent his Son to Williamsburgh and gave him forty shillings to buy Ingredients to run this Silver money seemingly by his discourse but that his Son could not get any.

Any further this Dept Saith not

Hardy Cane (signed)

N. B. the foregoing deposition of HARDY CANE and statement of RICHd BRASWELL are all one document in these papers. The mark of RICHARD BRASWELL is the only example of his own mark that I know of and closely resembles clerks' copies of his mark on some of his deeds.

William C Fields (descendant and major contributor to Braswell genealogy)

28/VII/71

Colonial Court Papers, Criminal Papers, General & Assize Courts, 1745-1749 (CCR 178, Archives, Raleigh)

Bond of HARDY CANE as a witness in the case of RICHARD BRASWELL SENr

21 May 1745

Bond of RICHARD BRASWELL for his appearance at next General Court at Edenton to answer charge of uttering and passing false coin - L500. proclamation Money.

Peter Payne & Will Askill sureites each in L250.

20 July 1745

On reverse:

RICHd BRASWELL SENR L500

Do Jnr L250

ROWd WILLIAMS L250

Augt 5th 1745

N. B. The above bond represents a typical BRASWELL trick; there is not a signature on it and the marvel is that it was accepted as binding. Presumably Payne and Askill welshed out and the son (Ditto Junior) and Nephew (?) (son of JANE ( (BRASWELL)) WILLIAMS?) came to the rescue. (probably a statement of William C Fields)

Bond of JECHONIAS YANCEY as a witness to give "Evidence . . . against RICHARD BRASWELL of and Concerning his Making his Escape oute of his Costody being a prisoner for fellonias fourging of Coine"

Jno Haywood (signed)

25 July 1745

July General Sessions 1745 - To the Honble Enoch Hall Esq Chief Justice and the rest of the Justices of the Grand Sessions now sitting -

The Jurors of our Sovereign Lord the King upon their Oath present that RICHARD BRASWELL of Edgcomb County in the Province aforesaid (North Carolina) Planter not having God before his Eyes but being seduced by the instigation of the Devil on the eight Day of April in the Eighteeth Year of the Reign of Our Sovereign Lord King George the Second &c at Fishing Creek in the County of Edgcomb afsd did falsely and traiterously forge Counterffeit and Coin four pieces of Brass and Pewter and other mixed Metals to the resemblance and likeness of the good & lawful Silver Coin of the Kingdon of Portugal called Six hundred & forty Rais Pieces, and four Pieces of Brass and Pewter and other mixed Metals to the resemblance and likeness of the good & lawful Silver Coin of the Kingdom of Spain called pieces of eight and three Pieces of Brass and Pewter and other mixed Metals to the resemblance and likeness of the good and lawfull Silver Coin of the same Kingdom of Spain called Piastrins, which said Silver Coin of the Kindgoms of Portugal and Spain aforesaid was then and now is Current Money of the Dominions, Colonies and Plantations of Our said Lord the King to the great prejudice and deceit of the Subjects of Our said Lord the King and against the Peace of the said Lord the now King his Crown and dignity &c and also against the form of the Statute in that Case made and provided.

Jos: Anderson Atty Genl

General Court Papers - Dockets - 1737 - 1745 - 1746

(CCR 126, Archives, Raleigh)

July General Session, 1745 - References

Case No. 1 - Doms Rex vs RICHd BRASWELL

Recog for his appearance for uttering false coin

Hardy Cane, Jechoniah Yancy & Jno Chambers, King's Evidences Deft appd - Bill returned Ignoramus - cont'd

October General Sessions, 1745 (p. 15lb)

Case No. 33-Dom: Rex vs RICHd BRASWELL

Recgd for his appe for uttering false coyn-Virdit not Guilty

Cases No. 34 & 35 are the discharges of Jechoniah Yanc and Hardy Cane as Evidences against RICHd BRASWELL

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October General Sessions, 1745 (p. 180b)

Case No. 33-Dam vs RICHd BRASWELL

Recogd for his apprce for uttering false Coin

"Deft appd Arraigned &c - pleads Not Guilty & for Tryel put himself upon God his Country &c Jury Sworn &c Say we of the Jury do find the Deft Not Guilty neither that he fled &c

From the files of Carey Bracewell and Nona Williams