It is well to have a written agreement signed by a witness, though the witness need not know the contents of the document.

While a signature, or mark, written with a pencil, if proven by witnesses, is good in law. it is always safest to execute the contract with pen and ink.

A discovery of fraud, or misrepresentation by one party to the agreement, or changing of the date, renders the contract void.

Every agreement should state most distinctly the time within which its conditions are to be complied with.

Copies of an agreement should always be prepared in duplicate, and eacli party to the agreement should retain a copy.

This Agreement, made the first day of August, 18—, between Iaiac E. Hill, of Turkio, county of Atchison, State of Missouri, of the first part, and Vardemon Blevins, of Fairfax, Mo., of the second part:

Witnessetb, that the said Isaac E. Hill, in consideration of the agreementof the party of the second part, hereinafter contained, con

tracts and agrees to and with the said Vardemon Blevins, that he wili deliver, in good and marketable condition, at the village of Corning. Mo., during the month of September, of this year, one hundred tons of prairie hay, in the following lots, and on the folloicing specified terms; namely, twenty-five tone by the seventh of September, twentyfive tons additional by the fourteenth of the month, twcnty-Jtve tons

109

more by the twenty-first', and the entire one hundred ton* to be all delivered by the thirtieth of September.

And the said Vardemon Blevins, in consideration of the prompt fulfillment of this contract, on the part of the party of the first part, contracts to and agreeB with the said Isaac E. Hill, to pay far said hay Six Dollars per ton, for each ton a* noon as delivered.

In case of failure of agreement by either of the parties hereto, it is hereby stipulated and agreed that the party so failing shall pay to tho other One Hundred Dollars us fixed and settled damages.

In witness whereof, we have herennto set our hands the day and year first above written.

ISAAC E. HILL,
VARDEMON BLEVINS.

Agreement to Convey Land By Deed.

Articles Of Agreement, made this seventh day of June in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, between Luther Henderson, of Sandy Hill, Washington county. State of New York, party of the first part, and William W. Stewart, of Jamaica, county of Windham, State of Vermont, party of the second part:

Witnesseth, that said party of the first part hereby covenants and agrees, that if the party of the second part shall first make the payment and perform the covenants hereinafter mentioned on his part to be made and performed, the said party of the flrBt part will convey and assure to the party of the second part, in fee simple, clear of all incumbrances whatever, by a good and sufficient warranty deed, the following lot, piece, or parcel of ground, viz. : The west fifty-five (55) feet of the north half of lot number six (6) in block number three (3) Whitford's addition to Chicago, as recorded at Chicago, Cook county, Illinois.

And the said party of the second part hereby covenants and agrees to pay to said party of the first part the sum of One Thousand Dollars, in the manner following: Three Hundred DoIlars,cash in hand paid, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, and the balance In three annual payments, as follows, viz. : Two Hundred Dollars, June 7, 1874; Two Hundred Dollars, June 7, 1875; and Three Hundred Dollars, June 7, 1876; with interest at the rate of ten per centum per annum, payable on the dates above specified, annually, on the whole sum remaining from time to time unpaid, and to pay all taxes, assessments, or impositions that may be legally levied or imposed upon said lands subsequent to the year 1873. And In case of the failure of the said party of the second part to make either of the payments, or perform any of the covenants on his part hereby made and entered into, this contract shall, at the option or the party of the first part, be forfeited and determined, and the party of the second part Bhall forfeit all payments made by him on this contract, and such payments shall be retained by the said party of the first part, in full satisfaction and in liquidation of all damages by him sustained, and he shall have the right to re-enter and take possession of the premises aforesaid, with all the improvements and appurtenances thereon, paying said Wm. W. Stewart the appraised value of said improvements and appurtenances; said appraisement to be made by three arbitrators, one being chosen by each of the said parties, the other being chosen by the first two.

It is mutually agreed that all the covenants and agreements herein contained shall extend to and be obligatory upon the heirs, executors, administrators and assigns of the respective parties.

In witness whereof, the parties to these presents have hereunto set their hands and seals, the day and year first above written. Signed, sealed and delivered 1 LUTHER HENDERSON, ?TT?

In presence of L O'

Habtlt D. Wells. J WM. W. STEWART. gTj^

Perley White, of Cleveland, county of Cuyahoga, State of Ohio, party of the second part:

WiTNEesETH, that said Perley White agrees faithfully and diligently to work as clerk and salesman for the said Thomas Babcock, for and during the space of one year from the date hereof, should both live such length of time, without absenting himself from his occupation; during which time, he, the said White, in the store of said Babcock, of Ohio City, will carefully and honestly attend, doing and performing all duties as clerk and salesman aforesaid, in accordance and In all respects as directed and desired by the said Babcock.

In consideration of which services, so to be rendered by the said White, the said Babcock agrees to pay to said White the annual sum of Twelve Hundred Dollars, payable in twelve equal monthly payments each upon the last day of each month; provided that all dues for days of absence from business by said White shall be deducted from the sum otherwise by this agreement due and payable by the said Babcock to the said White.

Witness our hands.

THOMAS BABCOCK,
PERLEY WHITE.

Agreement with Clerk for Services.

This Agreement, made this fourteenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, between Thomas Babcock, of Ohio City, county of Cuyahoga, State of Ohio, party of the first part, and

Agreement for Building a House.

Thib Agreement, made the tenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, between Jesse Perry, of Germantown, county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, of the first part, and Abljah Howe, of the same town, county and State, of the second part:

Witnesseth, that the said Jesse Perry, party of the first part, for considerations hereinafter named, contracts and agrees with the said Abljah Howe, party of the second part, his heirs, assigns and administrators, that he, the said Perry, will, within one hundred and twenty days, next following this date, in a good and workmanlike manner, and according to his best skill, well and substantially erect and finish a dwelling-house on lot number six, in block number nine, in Solomon's addition to Germantown, facing on Talpchocken street, which said house is to be of the following dimensions, with brick, stone, lumber and other materials, as are described in the plans and specification* hereto annexed. [Here describe the house, material for construction, and plans in full. ]

In consideration of which, the siiid Abijah Howe does, for himself and legal representatives, promise to the said Jesse Perry, his heirs, executors and assigns, to pay, or cause to be paid, to the said Perry, or his legal representatives, the sum of Seven Thousand Dollars, in manner as follows, to wit: One Thousand Dollars at the beginning of said work. One Thousand Dollars on the fifteenth day of May next. One Thousand Dollars on the first day of June next, Two Thousand Dollars on the first day of July next, and the remaining Two Thousand Dollars when the work shall be fully completed.

It Is also agreed that the said Jcsbc Perry, or his legal representatives, shall furnish, at his or their own expense, all doors, blinds, glazed sash and window frames, according to the Bald plan, that may be necessary for the building of said house.

It Is further agreed that in order to be entitled to said payments (the first one excepted, which is otherwise secured^, the said Jesse Perry, or his legal representatives, shall, according to the architect's appraisement, have expended, in labor and material, the value of said payments, on the house, at the time of payment.

For failure to accomplish the faithful performance of the agreement aforesaid, the party so failing, bis heirs, executors or assigns, agrees to forfeit and pay to the other party, or his legal representatives, the penal sum of Fifteen Hundred Dollars, as fixed and settled damages, within one month from the time of so failing.

In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our bands the year and day first above written.

JESSE PERRY,
ABIJAH HOWE.

200

Agreement lor Sale and Delivery of Personal Property.

Articles Of Agreement, made this eighteenth day of June, In the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, between Arthur Belden, or Salem, Washington county. New York, party of the first wart, and Lemuel Baldwin, of Jackson, Washington county, New York, party of the second part:

Witnesseth, that the said party of the first part hereby covenants and agrees, that if the party of the second part shall first make the payments and perform the covenants hereinafter mentioned on his part to be made and performed, the said party of the second part will, on or before the first day of August next, deliver, in a clean and marketable condition, twelve hundred pounds of wool, of his own production, at the wool-house of Barnard & Cline, in Albany, New York. And the Baid party of the second part hereby covenants and agrees to pay to said party of the first part the sum of fifty-five cents per pound, in the manner following: One Hundred Dollars cash In hand paid, the receipt whereof la hereby acknowledged, and the balance at the time

tO ACKNOWLEDGE anything is to admit of its existence, whether it be any known fact or circumstance, or the confession of any sentiment or act known only to ourselves.

In law, an acknowledgment is the assent of any individual, in writing, made before a competent legal authority, that any document to which it is appended is true in fact, or that it is a voluntary act on the part of a person in transferring property or any personal right to another.

The law makes it necessary that persons who execute deeds for lands, or mortgages covering

of delivery of said wool. And in case of the fuilure of the said party of the second part to make either of the payments, or perform »ny of the covenants on his part hereby made and entered into, this contract shall, at the option of the party of the first part, be forfeited and determined, and the party of the second part shall forfeit all payments made by hiin on this contract, and such payments shall be retained by the said party of the first part in full satisfaction and In liquidation of all damages by him sustained, and he shall have the right to take possession of said woo], remove, and sell the same elsewhere, as he may deem for his interest.

It is mutually agreed that all the covenants and agreements herein contained shall extend to and be obligatory upon the heirs, executors, administrators and assigns of the respective parties.

In witness whereof, the parties to these presents have hereunto set their hands the day and year first above written.

ARTHUR BELDEN,
LEMUEL BALDWIN.

any property, should acknowledge the execution of the paper in order that it may be recorded.

An unmarried person's acknowledgment alone is sufficient on any legal document; but. if married, both husband and wife must sign the acknowledgment jointly, and the wife must also. in some States, make her voluntary and separate acknowledgment apart from her husband, wherever the sale or mortgaging of land is effected.

The forms of acknowledgments closely resemble each other, and but a few of them are here introduced as examples.

Examining Witnesses to a Deed, on Oath.

UPON THE BIBLE:

Yon do solemnly swear that you will true answers make to such questions as shall be put to you In regard to the parties to the deed here shown to you, and the execution thereof: so help you God.

HOLDINO IV THE RIGHT HAND:

You do swear, In the presence of the everliving God, that you will true answers make to such questions as shall be put to you touching the parties to the deed here shown to you, and the execution thereof.

A Single Grantor's Acknowledgment.

State or Illinois, t

County of Cook, f I, Martin Stone, a notary

public for and within said county, in the State aforesaid, do hereby certify that Lewis Nott, personally known to me as the real person whose name is subscribed to the foregoing deVd as having executed the same, appeared before me in person and acknowledged that he signed, sealed and delivered the said instrument of writing as his free and voluntary act, for the uses and purposes therein set forth.

Given under my hand and seal of office, this tenth day of December, A.D. 1882.

MARTIN STONE,

Notary Public.

Joint and Separate Acknowledgment of a Deed by Husband and Wife.

State Of Illinois, I

County of Cook, [ **' Before me. Martin Stone,

a notary public for and within said county, in the State aforesaid. appeared the above-named Ellas Robinson and Rhoda E., his wife, both personally known to me as the real persons whose names are subscribed to the annexed deed, as having executed the same, and acknowledged that they signed, sealed and delivered the said instrument of writing as their free and voluntary act, for the use and purposes therein set forth.

And the said Rhoda E., wife of the said Elias Robinson, having been by me examined, separate and apart, and out of the hearing of her husband, and the contents and meaning of the said Instrument or writing having been by me fully made known and explained to her; and she also by me being fully Informed of her rights under the homestead laws of this State, acknowledged that she had freely and voluntarily executed the same, and relinquished her dower to the lands and tenements therein mentioned, and also all the rights and advantages under and by virtue of all laws of this State relating to the exemption of homesteads, without compulsion of her husband: and that she does not wish to retract the same.

Given under my hand and seal of office, this twelfth dav of November, A.D. 1882.

H^ARTAL^Tf MARTIN STONE.

J3**"- "«« Notary Public.

Form of Affidavit of Publication of a Legal Notice.

State or Illinois, I

County of Cook, j

Fritz Meter 1 In the superior Court of the City of Chicago, Georgetm. Lowe. ( I1Ilnolg- of November term, 1882.

Frank Smith, being duly sworn (or affirmed) according to law, says that he is the publisher of a weekly newspaper in the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook, and State of Illinois, called the Chicago Clarion, and that the above notice was published in his said newspaper for six consecutive weeks, the last publication of it being upon Saturday, November 18, A. D. 1882.

Sworn to (or affirmed) and subscribed before me, this twentieth day of November, A.D. 1882.

MOSES WILLETT, Justice of the Peace.

has reasonable cause to believe that the said Robert Grimes is about to depart beyond the jurisdiction of the court to which said writ is returnable, and not to return until after judgment may probably be recovered in said suit, so that he cannot be arrested on the first execution (if any) which may issue in said suit.

EDWARD PLACE. Subscribed and sworn to this twenty-second day of November, A. D. 1882. Before me,

JOHN BROWN, Justice of the Peace.

Affidavit of a Creditor's Attorney, Requiring a Debtor lo be Held to Bail.

State or Ohio, I

Cuyahoga County, f' Edward Place j Jn tQ(, C()urt ()f Common Pleas of Cleveland, Robert Grimes. ) of November term, A. D. 1882. No. 282

George Phillips, of Cleveland, in said county, a lawyer and attorney of Edward Place, of said city, county and State, butcher, on oath declares that the said Edward Place has a demand against the within-named Robert Grimes, upon the cause of action stated in the within writ, which this deponent believes to be justly due, and upon which he expects that the said Edward Place will recover Twelve Dollars and fifty-three cents, or upwards; and that this deponent has reasonable cause to believe that the said Robert Grimes is about to depart beyond the jurisdiction of Ihe court to which said writ is returnable, that is to say, into the Province of Ontario, Canada, and not to return till after judgment may probably be recovered in said suit, so that he cannot be arrested on the first execution (If any) which may issue In said suit.

GEORGE PHILLIPS.

Subscribed and sworn to this twenty-third day of November, A. D. 1882. Before me,

£Q QUARTUS K. RICE, Notary Public.

Binding an Apprentice—A General Form.

This Agreement, made thi* twenty-second day of November. A. D. 1882, between Parker Ellis, the father, and Allen Ellis, his »on, aged fourteen years, both of Pittsburgh, in Allegheny county, and State of Pennsylvania, of the one part, and Marcus Moran, blacksmith, of the same place, of the other part, witnesseth:

That the said Allen Ellis, with the consent of his father, Parker Ellis, does by these presents hind himself out as an apprentice to the said Marcus Moran, to be taught and exercise and employ himself in the trade of a blacksmith. In which the said Marcus Moran is now engaged, and to live with and serve as an apprentice nntil the expiration of six years, ten months and four days from the date hereof. That during said time said Allen Ellis shall and will, to his best and utmost ability, skill and knowledge, intelligently and faithfully serve, and be just and true to his said master, keep his secrets and counsel, and everywhere, and at all times, shall obey his lawful commands. That he shall do and attempt no hurt to his said master, in person, goods, estate, or otherwise, nor willingly suffer injury to the same to be done by others, but forthwith give his said master notice when he shall have any knowledge of such injury done or about to be done. That he shall not convert to his own nse or waste bis said master's goods or money, nor suffer the same to be done by others. That he will not lend his master's goods or effects to any person or persons whomsoever, nor allow any one else to do so without his master's consent That he will not buy or sell any merchandise of his own or of others, during bis term of apprenticeship, without bis master's permission. That he shall not play with cards or dice, nor take part In any unlawful games of skill or chance, whereby his master shall suffer loss or damage. That he shall not loiter about or in playhouses, theaters, saloons, or other disreputable resorts, nor visit them, except the business of his master shall require him to do so. That he shall not, at any time, willfully absent himself from his master's premises or service without leave. That in all things he will behave as a faithful apprentice ought to do throughout his term of service.

And the said Marcus Moran, in consideration of these premises and the sum of Twenty Dollars, the receipt whereof It hereby

acknowledged, does hereby promise, covenant and agree: That he will comfortably clotbe and provide for the said Allen Ellis, his apprentice, and in sickness and in health supply him with sufficient and suitable food, lodging and medicine: and will instruct and teach his said apprentice, either by himself or others, whatever may be learned of the trade and mystery of blacksmithing during his said term of service. That he shall cause his said apprentice to be taught to read and write, and the elementary and compound rules of arithmetic and the rule of three. That he will, when the said term of apprenticeship shall legally expire, give the said Allen Ellis, over and above the clothing he shall then possess, the following articles of apparel (name them here particularly), of quality. It, and suitable for bis condition in life.

And for the true performance of all and singular the covenants and agreements aforesaid, the said parties bind themselves each to the other llrmly by these present*.

In witness whereof the parties aforesaid have hereunto Interchangeably set their hands the day and year first above written.

(Apprentice) ALLEN ELLIS.
(Master; MARCUS MORAN,

Witnesses i sabah ell'»> (Parent) PARKER ELLIS.

''joseph Moran.

Consent of a Parent, Indorsed on Indentures of Apprenticeship.

I do hereby consent to. and approve of, the binding of my son, William Blair, as in the within indenture mentioned. Dated the twenty-second day of November, A. D. 1882.

LOIS BLAIR.

Certificate of a Justice as to Death of the Father of an Apprentice. I, Matthew Marr, a justice of the peace within and for the county of Cook and State of Illinois, residing in the town of Lake, in said county, do hereby certify that Thomas Blair, the father of the infant named in the within indenture, is dead (or has abandoned, and neg* lects to provide for, his family). Dated this twenty-second day of November, A. D. 1882.

MATTHEW MARR, Justice of the Peace.