O Say Can You See

On the Petition of Negroes Dorcas and Julia and Fanny stating that they are illegally detained in slavery, the two first by James Smith and the last by Isaac Kell, and praying for leave to sue for the recovery of their freedom in forma puperum. The court doth assign R. I. Taylor as Counsel for the Petitioners to state the facts of the case on which they rest their claim and to report the same to this court. Whereupon the said R. I Taylor returned (the following) statement of facts with his opinion therein. *

It appears from the evidence of William Simms that some time in the year 1796 he entered into a contract with one Alexander Smith for the purchase of the Petitioner Dorcas for a Term of years [strikethrough] the said Alexander being then the owner of the said Slave. That the said William Simms paid to the said Alexr Smith the price stipulated in consideration whereof she and Alexander on his part sold the said slave to the said William for the Term agreed on and then voluntarily promised to execute the a Deed of emancipation for the residue of her life. The slave Dorcas was accordingly [illegible] in the possession of the said Simms but from in [illegible] rather than assign the deed of emancipation was not executed. after holding the said Dorcas for some years the said W. Simms sold his right to her for that portion of the Term then   [illegible] to one Timothy Carrington, with whom the said Dorcas served out her Term and was then discharged by him as a free woman.

During her servitude with Carrington she had two children one of whom named Fanny is now in the possession of the said Isaac Kell, after her Term had expired she had three other children one of whom is the slave Julia now in the possession of Rector Lowe, who however claims no right to her & is desirous of surrendering her the slave Fanny was purchased from the Executors of Carrington by Isaac Kell, the said purchase was made after the mother had been discharged as free, and the said Isaac had for a long time previously been intimate in the said Carrington, family and was married to one of his daughters, from which consideration a notice of the rights of the said Fanny may be fairly inferred to have been received[?] by the said Isaac the slaves negroes Dorcas and Julia are claimed by the said James Smith on behalf of the said Alexander Smith is as a volunteer under him From all which circumstances it is the opinion of the subscriber that the said Dorcas Fanny and Julia, have an equitable claim to their freedom such as would be decreed in [illegible] by a Court of Chancery and that they ought to be permitted to sue for the same agt the said James Smith & Isaac Kell.

R. I. Taylor
17 May 1817

* which being seen & explained by the Court it is thereupon ordered that the said Dorcas and Julia be permitted to bring suit for their freedom in forma pauperum against James Smith in the report mentioned, and that they remain be taken into the custody of the marshall and there kept at the expense of the [torn page] until the [torn page] into bond with security to be approved by one of the Judges of this court in the penalty of $1000, with condition as the law directs.

And it is further ordered that the said Fanny be permitted to bring suit for her freedom in forma puperis agt the said Isaac Kell and that she be taken by the marshal[?] into his Custody & by him retained at his the expence of [strikethrough] until the said Isaac Kell until he enter into bond in the penalty of $600, with security to be approved of as aforesaid and with the condition above mentioned