John Humphries, acting as the guardian of Jinny, Milly, Sucky and Sally, instituted a suit against one John McKenzie "for the recovery of the freedom of the said Negroes." McKenzie was required by the court to execute a $4,500 bond to ensure that the four appeared in court; he did so, they appeared, and the court concurred that they were free. However, they were subsequently enticed or taken away from the sheriff's custody by one Jeremiah McKenzie, John McKenzie's son. Humphries sued for penalty, claiming violation of the bond. Now John McKenzie has died and his guarantors on the bond are insolvent. Aaron McKenzie has become entirely responsible for payment of the penalty. He sues for a dismissal of the penalty on several grounds. First, he claims that Humphries's wards disappeared after the verdict on their freedom not during the trial. Second, two of them have been recovered from Jeremiah McKenzie. Third, he claims that the deed of emancipation, which was the basis for the freedom verdict, was "condemned" in the state of Virginia. McKenzie asks for an injunction to hold proceedings on the payment of the penalty until the chancery court has met.
Result: Dismissed.
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Repository: Jones County Courthouse, Gray, Georgia
