Case Name: Squire Davis & wife vs. William Sanford
Court: Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Jurisdiction: Massachusetts
Decision Date: 1864-10
Citations: 9 Allen 216
Docket Number: 
Parties: Squire Davis & wife vs. William Sanford.
Judges: 
Reporter: Massachusetts Reports
Volume: 91
Pages: 216–217

Head Matter:
Squire Davis & wife vs. William Sanford.
A.n administrator cannot be allowed to introduce in evidence, with his suppletory oath, * book of accounts of his intestate, in which the charges on inspection do not appear to have been daily minutes, made at or near the time of the transactions to be proved.
Such book is incompetent to prove cash payments of over forty shillings.
Contract against the administrator of the estate of Sylvanua T. Sanford.
At the trial in the superior court, before Morton, J., the defendant offered to introduce, with his suppletory oath, a certain account book of his intestate, which is sufficiently described in the opinion. The book was excluded, and a verdict returned for the plaintiffs. The defendant alleged exceptions.
T. Weston, Jr., for the defendant.
J. C. Blaisdell, for the plaintiffs.

Opinion:
Chapman, J.
The book of accounts which was rejected, has been submitted to our inspection. The charges which it contains against the plaintiff Davis are for goods sold, and for cash. A few of the entries for goods sold contain the dates of the sales, and appear to be original charges made at or near the time of the transactions to be proved. But most of the entries are without any date ; and on some of the pages the handwriting and ink are so much alike as to indicate that the entries were all made at one time, though they relate to separate sales which were probably made on different days. The book does not, on inspection, sufficiently appear to be the daily minutes of the party, made at or near the time of the transactions to be proved so as to be admissible in evidence, within the rule stated in Cogswell v. Dolliver, 2 Mass. 221, and Prince v. Smith, 4 Mass. 455 But the principal charges are for cash, and the items exceed forty shillings in amount. The book is inadmissible in proof of these charges. Burns v. Fay, 14 Pick. 8. The court are of opinion that the whole book was properly excluded.
Exceptions overruled.