At her death in 1823, Elizabeth Brewer of Limestone County bequeathed to her daughter Mary Horton, wife of John B. Horton, two female slaves, Winney and Harriet. The slaves were to be given to Mary in the form of a life estate. According to the terms of the will, at Mary's death the slaves would go to Brewer's grandchildren. In time, the slave Winney gave birth to three children: Lina, Alick, and John, and in 1844 the slave Harriet died in childbirth, leaving a daughter named Mary (frequently called Molly). The baby slave Mary was entrusted to the care of Mary Horton's daughter, Maranda who, "by great care and attention personally bestowed by her in nurturing said child, succeeded in raising it, and ... she was assured by her father, and sisters, that she should have said girl Molly, in addition to her distributive share of the balance of said slaves." Mary Horton died in 1836. Maranda has recently married John P. Willis, and her father has taken the young slave Mary from her possession. Now, Maranda and her new husband seek to regain possession of Mary as well as acquire a distributive share of the other slaves--Linda, now about twenty-one, Alick about nineteen, and John about sixteen.
Result: Dismissed.
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Repository: Madison County Public Library Archives, Huntsville, Alabama
