O Say Can You See

Thereupon the Defendant to support the issue on his part offered evidence to the Jury tending to prove — that the petitioner was a slave of Tho Turner Senr in his lifetime & at the time of his death; that after his death the Petitioner came to the possession of Trueman Tyler one of the executives of the Estate of said Turner, & was by him returned in the inventory of his Estate to the Orphans Court of Washington County in this District as the property said Turner; that the said Executor settled his first account of his said admr in the year 1817 (here insert it) & in the year 1821 his second account (here insert it) leaving the petitioner [illegible] of, & still a part of the property of his said Testators Estate; that Testator left five children two sons & three daughters who continued to occupy the dwelling of their deceased Father, the same being part of his real Estate & lived together as one family until the removal of one of the sons to Virginia & the marriage of one of the daughters. that the said Tho Turner Junr one of the said five children & two of his sisters continued occupied the same dwelling & lived together as one family   up to the year 1840 when they removed to Frederick. That in the year 1831 this Petitioner lived with them & served in their family up to the year 1831. & had in that year two twin female children respectively named Phebe & Rachel & in that year was at her own request permitted by the said Turner to leave his house & service that & to live with her husband a free negro man then living & keeping house in Georgetown aforesaid, on condition that she would maintain herself & children without charge to & for the use of the said Estate:.

That when the said Turner removed with his family to Frederick he took possession of the twin child Phebe & after wards while so living in Frederick in the year 1842 to took possession of the other twin child called Rachel & held them as slaves in his family in Frederick until the year 1848.

That the said Rachel about that time came to Georgetown with the permission of said Turner to visit her mother, & while there the Petitioner applied, through the witness, to Mr Turner to permit said Rachel to prolong her [strikethrough] visit, & to hire herself there for the profit of the said Turner, alleging that the climate of Frederick was injurious to her health. that the said Petitioner while   living with her said husband, when speaking of the said Turner recognized him as her Master & about the year 1848 & entered into, or proposed to enter into an agreement with him to purchase her self & her children born after she had left his house & while living with her husband & was about to solicit money to pay for her self & her said children

Whereupon the said Petitioner Deft by his counsel prayed the Court to instruct the Jury that — (here insert Defts 1st prayer 1st 2d & 3d prayer)