This case is a fairly common example of a suit in debt founded upon a promissory note; it is remarkable only in that the plaintiff sued the widow of the debtor, who was the executrix of her husband's will, rather than the debtor himself.

Here, William Stagner sued Frances Bradford in debt, claiming that her husband William had executed a promissory note in his favor and had failed to pay it before he died and that she, as his executrix, had also failed to pay it out of William's estate. Stagner alleged that William Bradford, of Warren County, Kentucky had executed a promissory note to him on October 19, 1810 in Pulaski County for $930. There are two copies of the promissory note, also called a writing obligatory, in this file. The note was witnessed by David Stagner, but he apparently was not called as a witness in this case. Stagner's attorney, William Cummins, filed the declaration of suit in the Superior Court on October 22, 1827. On the same document, beneath the declaration, is a notation that Frances Bradford came to court to defend against the suit, arguing that her husband had paid the debt on October 20th, 1810 and that Stagner ought not to be able to maintain his action against her. Apparently the court either did not address her argument or ruled against her because a summons for Frances Bradford was issued by the Superior Court clerk D. E. McKinney (the summons indicates that it was issued on September 15, 1827, but this does not make sense because the declaration was not filed until almost a month later than that date.) Service of the summons on Frances Bradford was acknowledged by William Quarles, attorney and agent for Frances. In the acknowledgment, Quarles agreed that the pleadings should be made and the trial should go forward at the April Term of the Court. He also assured the Court and the plaintiff that if Frances decided to plead payment or offset, she would give forty days notice. The case was continued by consent of the parties to the April Term of 1828.

On April 26, 1828, Frances Bradford "craved oyer" of the writing obligatory sued upon – that is, she asked to have the writing read in court – and her request was granted by the plaintiff's filing of the promissory note. On April 28, Frances Bradford, via her attorney, William H. Parrott, filed a general demurrer to Stagner's declaration, contending that Stagner's declaration was not sufficient to permit him to maintain his suit against her. The demurrer was attested by Daniel Ringo, the deputy clerk of the Superior Court. Stagner filed a joinder and two days later, on April 30, the Court overruled the demurrer and ruled that William Stagner should recover his costs of the demurrer, to be levied of any assets which were William Bradford's at the time of his death and that were now in the hands of his executrix.

On May 3, 1828, Frances filed a plea, stating that her husband had paid the debt before he died. Stagner filed his replication to her plea, denying that William had paid the debt, to which Bradford filed a joinder. On Frances Bradford's motion, the Court ordered that the suit be continued until the next term of the court. At the same time, the court issued a subpoena for Henry Bradford, ordering him to come to court and testify on behalf of Stagner; the subpoena was executed by Samuel M. Rutherford, sheriff of Pulaski County. At the next term of the Court, on October 6, D. E. McKinney issued another subpoena for Henry Bradford, and also one for Gibson Stagner. These subpoenas were executed the next day, October 7, 1827, in Little Rock by Stephen L. Cotter, the deputy sheriff of Pulaski County.

On October 14, Francis Bradford's third attorney, Chester Ashley, filed her plea of payment, stating now that her husband had paid the debt on October 19, 1810, and Stagner filed an answer to her plea denying the payment. Since neither party had asked for a jury, the case was submitted to the court. The Superior Court docket records indicate that the Court ordered that Stagner recover of Frances Bradford $930 of the assets of William Bradford. The amount of Stagner's judgment was $986.40, including interest and costs. George Stagner, William Stagner's administrator, acknowledged that $477 was paid on the judgment in October of 1828, and that the estate of William Bradford was, therefore, discharged from that amount.

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