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Folio, 16" x 10" 292 pages bound in worn half leather [front board detached]. Some pages contain notes on smaller paper, affixed with straight pins, relating to cases. The disposition of each case is detailed, with names of hundreds of inhabitants. An excellent primary resource for law and commercial activity in the first third of the 19th century in western Pennsylvania. Very Good. William Campbell [1772-1828, born in Franklin County PA, moved to Butler County in 1803. He established himself as a carpenter. A local leader in the Democratic Party, he was elected county sheriff in 1809, treasurer in 1813; Justice of the Peace / Prothonotary of the 3rd District in 1813 and of the 4th District in 1822; county clerk in 1815 and 1830; and served as County Auditor for a time. His notebook begins in 1820 and ends in 1828, the year of his death. The entries are primarily for the disposition of cases, most of which deal in some way with debt. An entry from March 1825 [page 114] notes the case of Commonwealth vs. Pittsburgh and Butler Turnpike Managers (Case 464): "Warrant on Complaint of Alexander Hagerty and Abraham Neyman [?] for the Examination of the road from the gate kept by Thomas Lyon to the gate kept by Nathan Sheer to see if finished agreeable to the act of assembly report made on oath of John Welsh Robert Carswell and John Sullivan. Case dismissed March 10, 1825. Copy of Judgment handed to Mr. Sheer March 12, 1825. Copy of D[ismissal?] handed by Mr. Lerman to Thos. Lyon [March] 14, 1825." A list of costs indicates "entry 6.00, oath 12.00, warrant 18.00 etc." Some local names include: Jacob Binker, an Assistant County Burgess in 1826, 1839, 1840; and County District Attorney in 1830. John Galbreath, lawyer who went on to establish the Butler Palladium, the first newspaper in the county; later served as a judge in Erie County, PA. Norbert Foltz was a wealthy man and one of the largest land owners in the county; worked as a cabinet maker and then became a tavern keeper; was an Assistant County Burgess in 1821, 1824, 1826 and 1827; and in 1822 was on committee to build the German Catholic Church. Dr. George Miller, Assistant County Burgess 1817, 1818, 1838; County Commissioner in 1840; and County Treasurer for a time. Adam Funk was a local merchant who served as an Assistant County Burgess in 1828. Other names mentioned in its pages are Alexander Hagerty, Abraham Meyman, Thomas Lyon, Nathan Sheer, Robert Carswell, John Sullivan, David Scott, George Scott, William Stewart, Thomas McLeary, Patrick Brieland, A.L. Purvience, John Higley, Alexander Marten, William Dickey, Thomas Wolfson, Malachi Richardson, William Barren, Richard Miller, and many more.
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