Some time before 1800, Samuel Ferguson Jr., then a child, received from his father, a native of Culpeper County, Virginia, the gift of a slave named Jonas. In 1800, the elder Ferguson moved to Kentucky, taking Jonas with him because young Samuel was still "an Infant under the age of 21 years." The understanding was that, when Samuel came of age, he would be induced to travel to Kentucky to visit his parents and, at the same time, retrieve his slave. Some time in 1804 or 1805, one Jesse Baskett, a neighbor of young Samuel traveling to Kentucky, was charged with bringing Jonas back to Virginia. However, the plan was scrapped because Baskett was supposed to travel by another route. Instead, three years passed before Samuel, who had by then reached the age of majority, was able to go to Kentucky, in December 1808, and bring his slave back to Virginia. Six months later, Samuel Ferguson Jr. was informed by the Clerk of Fluvanna County Court that Jonas had been brought into the state "Contrary to Law" and he therefore had to turn him over to the authorities. He asks the legislative body to pass a law authorizing him "to retain the right in said Boy unmolested."
Result: Referred to slave committee, reasonable.
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Repository: Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
