O Say Can You See

Know all men by these presents that we Susan Tucker of Washington County, District of Columbia, and Enoch Lincoln of Paris in the State of Maine & Albert H. Tracy of Buffalo New York are held & firmly bound unto George Mason of Charles County, in the State of Maryland, in the full & just sum of six hundred dollars current money of the United States to be paid to the said George Mason, his certain Attorney, his executors, administrators, or assigns; to which payment well & truly to be made & done, we find ourselves & each of us our & each of our heirs executors, & administrators, jointly & severally, firmly by these presents. Sealed with our seals & dated this eight day of January in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred & twenty three.

Whereas a certain negro woman named Matilda has instituted, for herself & three children, a writ by petition in the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia, for Washington County, for her freedom, at the present sitting of the said Court, against the aforesaid George Mason, Defendant & which is now pending & will be for trial at the next sitting of the Court, or the season Monday in April next coming the date hereof.

Now the condition of the above obligation is such, that if the said Matilda do & shall be present & appear in Court on the said second Monday in April next ensuring the date hereof & there continue to appear from day to day until the termination or decision of her said suit of petition as aforesaid then the above obligation to be void & of none effect otherwise to remain in full force & virtue in [illegible], provided the said Matilda be living at said time.

Susan M Tucker (Seal)

Enoch Lincoln (Seal)

Albert H Tracy (Seal)

Witness
David Chambers