The Sewalls then took Foster to court.

Henry Sewall's diary entries for April 26 and May 1, 1788 show that Henry's cousin Thomas Sewall, who'd rented a house to the Fosters, sued Isaac Foster for back rent. He won the case and collected three shillings plus costs.

Again, the situation escalated. Take a look at Henry Sewall's diary eight days after Thomas Sewall won his case. You can see that Isaac Foster turned around and sued Henry and Thomas Sewall for defamation -- for a second time. This time, Henry paid a Mr. Blake three dollars and two thousand wooden shingles "to procure evidence against Mr. Foster.". Several weeks later, Mr. Blake returned with depositions