Thadeus Alonzo, a ten-month-old boy, petitions by his next friend, Cheslsey Evans, who informs the court that the petitioner's mother Vica resided with her master, Felix Walker, in Illinois for several months before and after Thadeus's birth. He cites that Walker's son-in-law, Benjamin Dill, later brought them to St. Louis and left them with John Sparr. Evans recounts that Sparr, pretending to own Vica and Thadeus, sold them to Lyman B. Shaw, who in turn sold them to Samuel Hobart and George Charles. Noting that George Mellody now holds Thadeus, Evans contends that these multiple transactions are fraudulent and that the said infant is entitled to his freedom. He therefore prays that Thadeus Alonzo be permitted to sue as a poor person to establish his right to freedom. The petition reveals that "the said Vica, is the daughter of a mulatto woman by an Indian man, and that the father of your petitioner is a white man-- so that the proportion of African blood in your petitioner is about one eighth." A related petition also notes that Chesley Evans is “a relation of” Vica.
Result: Petition granted; plea of trespass filed, dismissed.
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Repository: Civil Courts Building, St. Louis, Missouri
