William Dauphin and R.V. Zulma Dauphin, the latter assisted by her husband, François Duteil, are the children and "legal heirs" of the late J.P.V. Dauphin, who seek to recover three slaves from a free woman of color named Mary Uriell. William and Zulma claim that, upon his death, their father owned two female slaves named Elizabeth and Martha. They allege that Elizabeth and Martha, as well as Martha’s infant daughter, are now in the possession of Mary Uriell, their father’s concubine and mother of his illegitimate children. According to William and Zulma, Uriell took possession of the slaves after their father’s death, claiming to have purchased them in 1833 for $1,800, by virtue of an act of sale under "private signature." William and Zulma contend that the sale was, in fact, a disguised donation intended to defraud them of their legitimate claim to their father's property. They therefore pray that Uriell be condemned to deliver the slaves to them and pay $300 annually for the slaves’ hires.
Result: Granted.
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Repository: St. James Parish Courthouse, Convent, Louisiana
