litigation, Herrman necessarily found himself involved in a number of lawsuits. Nicholas Verlett, his brother-in-law, acted for a while as Herrman’s attorney, but apparently not to the complete satisfaction of either party. In 1644 Herrman was dealing in European wines. He had supplied Philip Geraedy and Isaac Abrahamsen, landlords of the “Wooden Horse”, presumably a Dutch tavern. Geraedy and Abrahamsen claimed that they never received the wine, whereupon Herrman brought suit against them. He acts as his own lawyer and produces one Peter Hartgens and Abraham Jacobsen who testify that they had been told by the defendants themselves that they had received Herrman’s wine. On the strength of this assertion and other evidence the case was finally settled in Herrman’s favor. On another occasion Herrman was not so successful in massing his evidence and presenting his arguments. This was when he had brought suit against Adam Roelantsen for the passage money and the board for himself and his son on one of Herrman’s ships, “The St. Jacobs”. The defendant was able in this instance to prove that the skipper of the vessel, Haye Jansen, gave him his passage on the condition that he work as a seaman during the voyage, and allowed his son his passage for saying prayers, presumably, of course, for the entire crew. This argument Herrman was unable to answer and the case was dismissed.[1] Herrman, for that matter, was quite well versed in the law himself, and not infrequently acted as counsel for not only himself but for business associates. He could at times be quite eloquent when occasion demanded and in truth he can be said to have been one of the first of New York’s attorneys.[2] Oftentimes members of his own family consulted him in matters of the law, seemingly putting more
Page:Augustine Herrman, beginner of the Virginia tobacco trade, merchant of New Amsterdam and first lord of Bohemia manor in Maryland (1941).djvu/44
A NEW AMSTERDAM MERCHANT AND LANDOWNER
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