O Say Can You See

Be if remembered that heretofore towit on the twenty third day of March in the year of our Lord Eighteen hundred and thirteen the petitioner in this cause by William Henry her father and a next friend by Francis S Key Esquire her attorney preferred to the Court here the following petition for freedom towit "To the Honble the Judges of the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia for the County of Washington. The petition of Negro Sally (an infant by William her father and next friend) humbly sheweth that your petitioner is entitled to her freedom & is unjustly held in bondage by a certain Henry W Ball who holds and claims your petitioner as a slave Wherefore your petitioner prays that a subpena may be issued directed to the said Henry Ball that he may appear and answer unto the premises and your Petitioner be   allowed to produce the proof of her said claim to freedom and be allowed all such other and further relief in the premises as may be agreeable to law and may seem right to your Honors

F S Key for Petr

Thereupon it is ordered by the Court here that a subpoena issue directed to the Marshal of the District aforesaid said Henry W Ball commanding him to appear andsoforth which subpeona is as follows towit

"District of Columbia towit The United States of America to Henry W Ball, You are hereby commanded, that all excuses and delays set aside, you be and appear before the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia to be held for the County of Washington on the first Monday of June next to answer the petition for freedom of Sally Henry by William Henry her father and next friend in the said Court exhibited against you Hereof you are not to fail as you will answer the contrary at your peril Witness William Cranch Esquire Chief Judge of the said Court the 30th day of January 1813.

Issued the 23rd day of March 1813.

Wm Brent clk

(F S Key)

At which mentioned first Monday of June being the seventh day of the same month in the year of our Lord Eighteen hundred and thirteen and the day of the return of the aforegoing subpeona comes into the Circuit Court here the said Sally Henry by her attorney aforesaid and the Marshal of the District aforesaid makes return of the aforegoing subpena to the Court here thus endorsed towit,

Summoned W Boyd Marshal

 

Thereupon further process of and upon the premises aforesaid between the parties aforesaid by order of the Court here is continued until the fourth Monday of December next.

At which mentioned fourth Monday of December Eighteen hundred and thirteen come again into the Circuit Court here the said Sally Henry by her attorney aforesaid, and the said Henry W Ball being called appears in Court here by John Law Esquire his attorney. Whereupon the Court here on motion of the said Sally Henry by her attorney aforesaid order the said Henry W. Ball to enter into recognizance in the sum of one hundred and fifty Dollars current money conditioned that the said Henry W Ball do not remove the said petitioner out of the District of Columbia nor obstruct her from attending this Court from time to time in support of her said petition. Thereupon the said Henry W Ball present here in Court and a certain John T Frost also present here in Court acknowledge themselves to owe and stand Justly indebted unto the United States in the sum of one hundred and fifty Dollars current money aforesaid to be levied of their and each of their bodies goods and Chattles lands and tenements to and for the use of the said United States on condition that he the said Henry W Ball do not remove the said Sally Henry out of the District of Columbia, nor obstruct her from attending this Court from time to time in support of her petition for freedom exhibited in the said Court against him the said Henry W Ball and in the meantime to feed cloath and use her well. And Thereupon on motion of the said petitioner by her attorney aforesaid it is ruled by the Court here that the said Henry W Ball answer to the petition aforesaid of the said petitioner Sally Henry in the plea aforesaid   or Judgment by the Court here will be rendered against him by default and the said Henry W Ball by his said attorney defends the force and injury when &c and prays leave of the Court here to imparle until the first Monday of June next, to answer to the petition of the said Sally Henry in the plea aforesaid, and he hath it the same day is given to the said Sally Henry then and there and soforth At which mentioned first

Memorandum It is agreed between the parties to this cause that depositions taken before a Justice of the peace of the District of Columbia or the State of Virginia on giving ten days notice to be read in evidence.

And now here at this day towit the first Monday of June Eighteen hundred and fourteen come again into the Circuit Court here as well the said Sally Henry by Francis S Key and James S Morsell Esquires her attorney as the said Henry W Ball by John Law and Walter Jones Junior Esquires his attornies And the said Henry W Ball by his said attornies as before defends the force and injury when and soforth and says that the said Sally Henry is the proper slave of him the said Henry W Ball without that, that the said Sally Henry is free and of free condition and this he is ready to verify. Wherefore he prays Judgment of the said Sally Henry her action aforesaid to have or maintain ought &c

And the said Sally Henry by her said attornies says that by any thing before by the said Henry W Ball in pleading alledged she ought not to be precluded from having and maintaining her action aforesaid against the said Henry W Ball because protesting that she is not a slave, but is entitled to her   freedom and this she prays may be enquired of by the Country and soforth and the said Henry W Ball in like manner and soforth

Therefore let a Jury thereon appear before the Court here immediately by whom and soforth and who neither &c to recognize &c because as well &c who being called come that is to say Thomas Dunn Thomas Reynolds James Wharton John L Naylor Clement Newton William Moore Robert G Gustine Bernard H Tomlinson John G McDonald George W B Blackwell Anthony Holmead and James Young who being empannelled and sworn to say the truth in the premises upon their oath do say that they said Sally Henry is not free, as the said Henry W Ball above in pleading has alledged; Therefore it is considered by the Court here that the said Henry W Ball go thereof without say and soforth

Test Wm Brent clk

Memorandum. Before the Jurors aforesaid retired from the bar of the Court here to consider of and upon their Verdict aforesaid the said parties by their attornies aforesaid tendered to the Court here the following Bill of exceptions towit

Mem. on the Trial of this cause the Petitioner offered in evidence the deposition of Mrs Rankin in these words (here insert it) and thereupon prayed the Court to instruct the Jury that if they believe from the evidence that the defendant knew of the intended importation of the petitioner by Mrs Rankin and did not object to it, then such importation by Mrs Rankin entitled the petitioner to her freedom and further it is competent for the Jury to infer from his knowing of the importation and not objecting to it that such importation   was made with his consent, which instruction the Court refused to give but instructed the Jury that if they should be of opinion from the evidence that Mrs Rankin whose deposition has been read in evidence as aforesaid was at the time she brought the petitioner into the City of Washington as aforesaid a citizen of the United States coming into the City of Washington aforesaid with a bonafide intention of selling therein, then her said importation of the said slave was lawful and did not entitle the petitioner to her freedom, whether the said importation were or were not made with the consent of the defendant

But that if the Jury should be of opinion that the said Mrs Rankin was not a citizen of the United States coming into the City of Washington with the intention of settling therein then such importation of the said slave was unlawful and entitles the petitioner to her freedom whether such importation were or were not with the consent of the defendant.

To the first branch of which instruction and the refusal of the prayer made by petitioners counsel the petitioner excepts and to the second branch thereof the defendant excepts, and this their joint and several bill of exceptions is signed sealed and enrolled

W Cranch (seal)
B. Thurston (seal)

 

the deposition mentioned in the aforegoing Bill of exceptions is as follows towit

Washington County District of Columbia Sct.

On this 3rd day of June before me the subscriber a Justice of the Peace for the County and District aforesaid personally appeared Elizabeth K Rankin & being sworn in due form of Law deposed & said that a negro girl named Sally then quite a child was a short time before the month of May 1810 put to live as a matter of favor with the deponent then on a visit to Virginia where this deponent lived on said visit for two years with the mother, by Mr. Henry W Ball who also resided at that time in Fairfax County Virginia where the said negro girl was about nine miles from Washington That in consideration of the services of the girl this deponent was to furnish the girl with victual and cloaths & that this deponent was to keep the girl for a year but no particular bargain was made between Mr Ball & the deponent about the girl. That some time in the month of May in the year 1810, this deponent removed to the City of Washington from Virginia & brought the said girl Sally with her Mr. Henry W Ball being as this deponent thinks in Northumberland County in Virginia at the time of this deponents removal to Washington.

Quest. Did you ever ask or obtain permission of Mr Ball to remove Sally to Washington?

Ans. I cannot recollect but Mr Ball was frequently in the habit of coming to our house & probably heard of our intention to remove to Washington. But I do not know whether he was ever asked or gave permission for the removal of Sally.

At the time of our removal Mr Ball was to the best of my recollection in Northumberland County Virginia & had gone there sometime before our removal.

 

Quest. Did you not after your removal to Washington frequently pass backwards & forwards to & from Virginia & generally carry Sally with you.

Ans. I did in several instances pass to & from Virginia to Washington & generally carried Sally with me, & on these visits to Virginia sometimes stayed a week or ten days.

Sally once ran away from me while here & went over to Virginia where the deponent sent after her.

Quest. How long did Sally remain with you in Washington & who took her away.

Ans. Sally remained with me until after Mr Ball married which was in October 1810. (having remained with me seven or eight months, short time after his marriage Mr Ball took her away & carried her to Virginia, the deponent conceiving herself bound to give her up to Mr Ball whenever he called for her.

Questions on the part of the petitioner–

1st Did or did not Mr Henry W Ball to the best of your knowledge and belief know of your intention to return to the City of Washington and to bring Sally with you?

Answers she cannot say positively but she rather imagines he did.

2nd Did or did not Mr Ball shortly after you had brought Sally to the City see you and her there? and did he make any objection to her having been brought here or remaining here?

Answers he did & made no objection.

3rd How far did Mr Ball live from your mothers in Virginia?

Answers a mile or two.

4 Did you or did you not know of Mr H W Ball's ever residing in Washington till after his marriage?

 

Answers He did not reside here till after his marriage though he was frequently here.

5 Where was your husband during the period of your aforesaid stay in Fairfax?

Answer This deponent's husband was an Officer in the Marine Corps stationed in Washington where he was the greater portion of his time and which he only left on obtaining leaves of absence keeping no house in Washington but living when in Washington in the marine barracks, nearly all his cloathes being in Virginia and he contributing to the expences of the family in Fairfax & visiting in Fairfax sometimes every week sometimes not so often and sometimes staying 5 or 6 weeks together. Until the period of this visit the deponent & Mr Rankin had lived in Washington. This deponent always contemplated returning to Washington but did not suppose it would take place till late in the year, but Mr Rankin having obtained an Appointment they were induced to return earlier.

This deposition is agreed to be read in Evidence as far as admissible in the Case Sally vs Ball

F S Key for Pet.
J Law for Defendt.

 

District of Columbia
Washington County Sct.

I William Brent Clerk of the Circuit Court of the United States for the District of Columbia and County of Washington hereby certify that the aforegoing is truly taken and Copied from the record of proceedings of the County aforesaid in the above mentioned suit wherein Negro Sally Henry is Petitioner and Henry W Ball is defendant.

In Testimony whereof I have hereto set my hand and affixed the public seal of the County Court aforesaid this fourth day July 1814.

Wm Brent clk.