Conviction for Rioting, Queens County, New York, January 11, 1828

1828. Joseph Lyons, George Stephens and Robert Cock. Joseph Lyons, George Stephens and Robert Cock. Three "Colored People" Convicted for Rioting [Manuscript]. [New York]. [Conviction for Rioting]. Queens County, New York, January 11, 1828. 2 pp. 12-1/2" x 8" leaf, docket to verso. Moderate toning, light foxing, three horizontal fold lines with short tears at ends affecting text without loss. Content in neat hand with autograph signatures and former seals of three justices of the peace (John Rhodes Jr., Luke Covert and Edward Parker). $1,500. * This document records the conviction of Joseph Lyons, George Stephens and Robert Cock, "colored people," for "the offence of a riot" in Jamaica, New York on the night of January 7th, 1828. Each man was sentenced to pay a fine of five dollars or face thirty days in jail. The complainants, General Van Wyck Wicks [1779-1865] and Obadiah Leech [1792-1881], were both prominent locals. Wicks served as a captain in the War of 1812 and was a major-general of the local militia. His older brother had served as district attorney for Queens County from 1818-1821. Leech was an auctioneer and fellow veteran of the War of 1812. Peter Ross, A History of Long Island (1905) 574.