Footnotes
The other bond was with Hotchkiss and his business partners, John Gillet and Smith Tuttle. (See Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A.)
JS et al., Promissory Note, Nauvoo, IL, to Horace Hotchkiss, 23 Oct. 1840, JS Collection, CHL. The 23 October 1840 promissory note was paid no later than October 1841 by James Ivins on behalf of JS. (Horace R. Hotchkiss, Fair Haven, CT, to JS, Nauvoo, IL, 11 Oct. 1841; Horace R. Hotchkiss, Fair Haven, CT, to JS, Nauvoo, IL, 9 Nov. 1841, JS Collection, CHL.)
When a promissory note was paid or canceled, the signatures on the note were removed to invalidate the note, ensuring it was no longer negotiable; the invalidated note could then serve as a receipt for payment. Signatures might also be removed to void a note that had been renegotiated. (“Cancellation,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 1:151; Chitty, Practical Treatise on Bills of Exchange, 303.)
Bouvier, John. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union; with References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. 2 vols. Philadelphia: T. and J. W. Johnson, 1839.
Chitty, Joseph. A Practical Treatise on Bills of Exchange, Checks on Bankers, Promissory Notes, Bankers’ Cash Notes, and Bank Notes. 6th American ed. Philadelphia: H. C. Carey and I. Lea, 1826.