Of course there’s more

I thought it was interesting when I discovered that my great grandfather Clyde Fisher was listed in the 1900 census as an inmate of the Ohio State Penitentiary. Further investigation revealed that he had been sentenced to three years in prison for perjury in another man’s trial.

But then, for really interesting, there’s my fourth-great grandfather Staats Springsteen. I was surprised, but not astonished, to learn of the legal charges brought against Staats, apparently by a close relative, for failure to pay obligations the relative had to cover as a guarantor of credit.

Ron Springsteen, a distant cousin in Colorado, informed me of the charges brought against Staats by Gerret Seeger. In follow-up correspondence, Ron had this to add:

I have attached to this email another court case in Ontario about Staats (it is the second one on the page). I do not have the reference at this point but I will do some digging to see if I can tell you more about it. It is very interesting – if you can read it. It is just the summary of what happened at the court which says that the “Prisoner” Staats Springsteen was indicted for Sedition and was found guilty. His sentence was to pay a fine to the King of 13 Shillings and 4 Pence. This is wild to me and I am sorry we don’t have more to share on this. It must not have been a huge deal since it was not a substantial amount. For Sedition, it could have been much worse.