The court lists Joshua Sweet’s debtors by name and the amount he owed to each of them. The total debt amounts to 168 pounds, 8 shillings, 3 pence. The explanation for such a large debt to a man who was only 29 years old is described as “by reason of sundry misfortune.” We know little about Joshua Sweet except that he served in the Continental Army for 3 years beginning in 1781. He owned 35 acres of land in Wisdom, a section of Deerfield, Massachusetts, 20 of which was considered improved. He owned ahouse valued at 160 pounds, 10 shillings. The house was still standing 100 years later when George Sheldon mentioned it in his A History of Deerfield. Joshua Sweet later removed to Madison, Ohio.
Sweet, Joshua. Legal document of Debtor Joshua Sweet. January 17, 1792. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l04-036/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
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