O Say Can You See

Be it remembered, that heretofore towit, on the Twenty Seventh day of May in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and eighty eight; Letty Butler by Jeremiah Townley Chase her attorney, preferred and filed in the General Court here, her Petition for Freedom against Ann Digges, which is in form following towit. To the Honorable Judges of the General Court for the Western Shore of Maryland. The humble Petition of Letty Butler, sheweth that your Petitioner is a Descendant of a Free white woman and as such is entitled to Liberty and all the rights of a Free woman; that your Petitioner has been most unjustly and wrongfully deprived of his liberty and is now held in slavery by Anne Digges of Charles County: Your Petitioner therefore most humbly prays your honors will take her case into consideration and grant her such relief as she is by Law & Justice entitled to and that your honors will direct a Summons to issue to the said Ann Digges, to be and appear before this honorable Court by a certain day to be therein mentioned to answer the premises. and your Petitioner as in duty will pray & soforth.

J. Toy Chase for Petitioner.

Thereupon, on motion of the said Letty Butler by her attorney aforesaid, it is ruled and ordered by the Court here, that the said Ann Digges   do not remove the said Letty Butler out of this State, nor obstruct her from attending this Court from time to time in support of her Petition for Freedom, preferred to the Court here; and in the mean time to feed cloath and use the said Letty Butler well: It is further ruled and ordered by the Court here, that the writ of the State of Maryland of Summons issue forth out of the General Court here against the said Ann Digges to answer unto the said Petition of the said Letty Butler which issued accordingly, directed to the Sheriff of Charles County, in form following towit. The State of Maryland Sct To the Sheriff of Charles County Greeting: We command you that you Summon Ann Digges, that all excuses and delays set aside she be and appear before the Judges of our General Court to be held at the City of Annapolis on the second Tuesday of October next, to answer unto the Petition of Letty Butler preferred against her for Freedom Hereof she is not to fail on pain of five pounds Sterling, fail not at your peril and have you then and there this writ: Witness Robert Hanson Harrison Esquire, Chief Judge of our said Court the 13th day of May Anno domini 1788.

Issued the 27th day of May 1788. (J T Chase) Thos B. Hodgkin Clk

At which said second Tuesday of October, being the fourteenth day of the said month in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and eighty eight, and the day of the return of the aforegoing Summons, comes into the General Court here, the said Letty Butler by her attorney aforesaid; and the sheriff of Charles County aforesaid, to whom the said summons was in form aforesaid directed, makes return thereof to the Court here thus endorsed towit: "Summoned. Francis Ware, Sheriff." And the said Ann Digges being so forewarned, comes into the General Court here by Luther Martin and Philip Barton Key her attornies: Thereupon, further process of and upon the premises aforesaid, between the parties aforesaid by order of the Court here, is continued until the second Tuesday of May next; the same day is given to the parties aforesaid, then, andsoforth.

At which said second Tuesday of May being the Twelfth day of the said month in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and eighty nine, come again into the General Court here, as well the said Letty Butler by her attorney aforesaid, as the said Ann Digges by her attornies aforesaid: Thereupon, further process   process of and upon the premises aforesaid, between the parties aforesaid by order of the Court here, is further continued until the second Tuesday of October next; the same day is given to the parties aforesaid, then, andsoforth.

At which said second Tuesday of October, being the thirteenth day of the said month in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and eighty nine, come again into the General Court here, as well the said Letty Butler by Samuel Chase her attorney, as the said Ann Digges by her attornies aforesaid: Thereupon, further process of and upon the premises aforesaid, between the parties aforesaid, by order of the Court here, is further continued until the second Tuesday of May next; the same day is given to the parties aforesaid, then, andsoforth.

At which said second Tuesday of May, being the Eleventh day of the said month, in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and ninety, come again into the General Court here, as well the said Letty Butler by her attorney aforesaid, as the said Ann Digges by her attornies aforesaid: Thereupon, further process of and upon the premises aforesaid, between the parties aforesaid, by order of the Court here, is further continued until the second Tuesday of October next; the same day is given to the parties aforesaid, then andsoforth.

At which said second Tuesday of October, being the Twelfth day of the said month in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and ninety, come again into the General Court here as well the said Letty Butler by her attorney aforesaid, as the said Ann Digges by her attornies aforesaid: Thereupon, further process of and upon the premises aforesaid, between the parties aforesaid by order of the Court here, is further continued until the second Tuesday of May next, the same day is given to the parties aforesaid, then, andsoforth.

At which said second Tuesday of May, being the Tenth day of the said month, in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and ninety one, come again into the General Court here, as well the said Letty Butler by her attorney aforesaid, as the said Ann Digges by her attornies aforesaid: Thereupon, further process of and upon the premises aforesaid, between the parties aforesaid, by order of the Court here, is further continued until the second Tuesday of October next; the same day is given to the parties aforesaid, then, andsoforth.

At which said Second Tuesday of October, being the Eleventh day of the said month in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and ninety one, come again into the General Court here, as well the said Letty Butler by her attorney aforesaid, as the said Ann Digges by her attornies aforesaid: Thereupon, further process of and upon the premises aforesaid, between the parties aforesaid, by order of the Court here, is further continued until the Second Tuesday of May next; the same day is given to the parties aforesaid, then, andsoforth.

And now at this day towit, the said Second Tuesday of May, being the Eighth day of the said month in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and ninety two, come again into the General Court here, as well the said Letty Butler by Gabriel Duvall her attorney, as the said Ann Digges by her attornies aforesaid: And the said Letty Butler by her said attorney, files in Court here the Deposition of Joseph Butler, which is in form following towit:

Letty Butler
vs
Ann Digges

Joseph Butler aged about 52 being sworn, saith, that he knows the Petitioner, and that she is the Daughter of Sarah Butler who belonged to old George Sly and Sister of Milly who belonged to, and Petitioned against Henry Neale.

Sworn Before Bullen.

Whereupon, the said Ann Digges by her attornies aforesaid, saith, that she cannot deny the complaint aforesaid of the said Letty Butler, the petitioner aforesaid, so as aforesaid made, nor but that the said Letty Butler, the Petitioner aforesaid, is entitled to her Freedom, being descended from a Free white woman, in manner and form as the said Letty Butler by her said Petition to the Court here, preferred against her the said Ann Digges, above hath alleged; and thereupon, the said Letty Butler by her attorney aforesaid, prays that she may be dismissed and discharged from the service of the said Ann Digges, together with her costs and charges by her about the prosecution of her said Petition, to her to be adjudged, andsoforth: Therefore it is considered by the Court here, that the said Letty Butler, the Petitioner aforesaid, recover of and against the said Ann Digges, her Freedom, and that she be hence freed and discharged of and from the service of the said Ann Digges, and that she the said Letty Butler, the petitioner aforesaid, go freed and discharged thereof without day, andsoforth: And it is further considered by the Court here, that the said Letty Butler, the Petitioner aforesaid, recover against the said Ann Digges the quantity of Six hundred and five pounds   pounds of tobacco, by the Court here, unto the said Letty Butler, on her assent adjudged, for her costs and charges by her about the prosecution of her said Petition in this behalf laid out and expended, and that she have thereof her Execution, and soforth.

Test. John Gwinn Clerk.