Ellen Wooten, a free woman of color, prays for payment on a promissory note. In 1846, John C. Morris promised to pay Wooten $2,000 plus 8% interest until the note was paid. Wooten complains that, considering that she "can neither read nor write," she thought and believed that "said note expressed the rate of conventional interest allowed by law." She now contends that Morris "practiced a fraud upon her by inserting the interest of 10 per cent," which is not allowed by law. Morris died before Wooten could collect on the note. By his will, Morris named Rebecca Harrison as his universal legatee. Rebecca has also died leaving her husband, George Harrison, as administrator to her estate. George is charged with distributing Rebecca's estate to the minor heirs. Wooten prays that the court will order George Harrison to pay her $2,000 with interest before he partitions Rebecca Harrison's estate. Related documents reveal that Ellen Wooten was an industrious woman, who kept a tavern, a boarding house, and a hotel; and she owned sixteen slaves.
Result: Granted; appealed; affirmed.
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Repository: University of New Orleans
