Eighty-eight Northampton County residents seek to exempt James Langford from the North Carolina law requiring emancipated slaves to leave the state. They aver that Langford "has a good moral character, is exceedingly industrious and demeans himself [well]." They further note that "by his industry and economy he has been enabled to purchase his freedom, but he is unwilling to leave the home of his childhood and sever the ties of husband and father" as "his wife and children are slaves and cannot go with him." The petitioners therefore pray that a law be passed "allowing him to remain in the State." They believe that "by doing so you will have the gratitude of a deserving but humble man, and the thanks of the community in which he resides."
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Repository: North Carolina Department of Archives and History, Raleigh, North Carolina
