A Famous Colonial Litigation the Case Between Richard Sherman and Capt. Robert Keayne, 1642.

The article discusses a lawsuit filed against tailor Robert Keayne by settler Richard Sherman over the ownership of a pig. In the case, documented by former Massachusetts governor John Winthrop, the jury decided in favor of Keayne regarding the ownership of the pig. The author comments that the trial is significant because it led to the division of the Massachusetts General Court into two branches due to a dispute regarding negative votes.