Josephine Jardelas, a free woman of color and a minor "above the age of puberty," petitions with the assistance of Louis Seré, her "curator ad lites." She presents to the court that the administration of the late Joseph Jardelas's estate is planning to sell three slaves that belong to her. The three slaves are Elina, also known as Nina, and Elina's two children, four-year-old Maria and eighteen-month-old Charles. Josephine asks the court to order that the register of wills be "enjoined, restrained & prohibited from selling" the slaves and to cite the persons claiming title. She further asks to be recognized "as the sole and lawful mistress" of the three slaves and want them to be sequestered by the sheriff until the case has been decided. Related documents reveal that Josephine was the daughter of the late Joseph Jardelas and Carmelite Boisseau, a free woman of color, and that Joseph Jardelas had lived for many years with Carmelite in the house owned by Carmelite's mother, Manon Boisseau.
Result: Granted; appealed; reversed.
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Repository: University of New Orleans
