Mary, a woman of color, represents that her late master, John Marshall of Columbia County in the state of Georgia, directed in his 1809 last will and testament that she be freed in 1815. After Marshall’s death, however, his heir, Marian Morris, and her husband, Gerard Morris, never informed Mary of her rights and kept her in slavery. After Gerard Morris's death, Mary and her two children, Judy and William, were sold to one Jerry Morris. Maria claims that, at that point, six or seven years had elapsed since the time when she should have been freed, during which years she was “illegally held in slavery.” Since that time, Mary has lost her first two children, but has given birth to five more after the date set for her emancipation. Jerry Morris has now died, but Leroy C. Morris, curator for the absent heirs to his estate, continues to hold the family in bondage, and Mary fears that he intends to “carry her & her five children out the Jurisdiction” of the court. She therefore prays for an order of sequestration in the hands of the sheriff for the duration of the case. She asks the court to declare her and her children free. She also asks for $2,000 in damages to be paid from the estate of the late Jerry Morris. A related testimony reveals that Jerry Morris "made Mary his wife & had a good many children by her." In 1830, another woman named Mary had also sued Leroy Morris for her freedom under the clause of John Marshall's will. Since the story of what happened after Marshall's death is different in each of these two cases, it is reasonable to assume that these are two different women. Also the Mary in the 1830 case is not identified as a mulatto as she is in this case.
Result: Granted; appealed; reversed.
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Repository: East Baton Rouge Parish, Clerk of Court Archives, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
