O Say Can You See

Memorandum upon the trials of these cases, the Petitioners offered evidence to prove the Jury to prove that they are lineally descended from a woman by the name of Mary Davis, and thereupon offered to read the Petition proceedings and judgements in the case of Rosamond Bently vs: Anthony Addison, as prima facie evidence that the said Mary Davis was a white woman & free born. having offered evidence to this that the said Mary Davis from whom the Petitioners & the said are descended is the same person   mentioned in the said petition & of positions in the said record out in and also gave evidence that the said Rosamond Bently in the said pitition in the said record mentioned, is linially descended from the said Mary Ann Davis Ø and prayed the opinion instruction of the court to the Jury that the said record is conclusive evidence of that the said Mary Davis was born free and was a white woman—which the court refused

Whereupon the Petitioner pray'd the Court to instruct Jury that the said Judgment was primâ facie Evidence to the said Mary [strikethrough] Davis was born free & was white woman — which the Court also refused, but suffer'd the depositions containd in the said record to be read as the declarations of deceased persons as to the condition of the ancestor of the Petitioner, the deponents being admitted to be dead.

To which refusals of the Court the Petitioner excepts   excepts — & this her bill of exceptions is signd seald and enrolled.

W. Cranch - seal
B: Thurston

Ø

The Defts counsel on their part [strikethrough] produced in evidence, for the purpose of reading therefrom the depositions of sundry persons since decd, the records of the proceedings & evidence in two Petitions, of Mary Bentley & her children vs Digges's heirs, & of Eleanor Bentley & her children vs Hawkins, which said Mary & Eleanor are the full sister of the said Rosamond Bentley; the said records being as follows, viz.