Francis Shorrt - Draft affidavit concerning a dispute with Alexander Berry, 1823

MLMSS 5963

fonds

ca. 1823

88007

Microfilm : CY 3575, frames 18-25 (MLMSS 5963)

1 folder - 0.01 Meters
Textual Records - (manuscript)

Francis Shortt and his partner, Alexander Berry, were owners of the ship City of Edinburgh which left Cape of Good Hope for Sydney in 1807 with Berry as supercargo. The intended sale and resupply of cargo in Sydney did not go as planned, and on the return leg, the City of Edinburgh ran into storms and had to be abandoned. Shortt was left insolvent in South Africa and Berry returned to England where he entered into partnership with Edward Wollstonecraft. Subsequently they took up residence in Sydney where their businesses thrived, with stores in George Street and substantial landholdings in the Shoalhaven district. In 1823 in the NSW Equity Court, Shortt claimed a share of the Berry-Wollstonecraft partnership on the grounds that his partnership with Berry had never been dissolved. The case dragged on until 1828 when Berry was ordered to pay Shortt 6000 pounds to close the partnership.

Original draft of Shortt's affidavit setting out his claim in full. Apparently in his hand, with notes, corrections and alterations by another (probably his solicitor).