Margaret Garner has previously filed for a divorce and alimony from her husband Thomas Garner, a slave owner. In this bill, Garner states "that the said Thomas has become a bankrupt and has applied for the privilege of surrendering his property in discharge of his debts and he has thereby become unable to afford aid to your petitioner." Her own property "does not yield more than $12 per month." Citing abandonment and an adulterous affair on the part of her husband, Margaret prays for an allowance for her support during the divorce proceedings and for an allowance to pay the expenses of the court case. Two related petitions reveal that Thomas Garner, the owner of approximately sixteen slaves in 1841, was alleged to have taken a "mulattress to the bed" of his wife and to have "carnally Known" her.
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Repository: University of South Alabama Archives, Mobile, Alabama
