Daily AncestorSurety
A surety is a person who promises to answer for another person's debt or duty, such as the men who signed an administrator's or guardian's bond.
A surety becomes responsible for another person's performance. In a bond there are three parties: the principal who owes the duty, the one the bond protects, and the surety who pays if the principal fails.
Surety bonds are common for people acting for others, and courts required guardians and other estate officers to give them. The sureties' names show who was willing to stand behind the principal with their own money.
As seen in a recordAdministrator's bond, probate court, 1800s
Jno. Hart, administrator, with Wm. Bell and Saml. Ross his sureties, are held and firmly bound
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Surety." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/legal-land/surety. Last checked 2026-10-10.