In her last will and testament, the late Polly Jackson bequeathed her slave, Jesse Woodson whom she had owned since the time of his birth, to one Tarlton Woodson, directing the latter to free him when he reached the age of twenty five. After Polly Jackson's death, Tarlton apprenticed Jesse to a cabinet maker and freed him in 1847 when the latter reached the age of twenty-five. As a free man, Jesse is now "honestly supporting himself in the exercise of" his trade" and is in the employment of the man who trained him in his craft, George W. Claiborne. He has a slave wife and several children. As a freed slave, he now must seek permission to remain in the state or face expulsion. However, "because of the difficulty and impracticability of convening the justices of is county" to whom he would submit his application, he would not be able to receive permission to remain in the state until the following May, that is after the time period allowed him by law. He therefore must submit his request to the legislature and prays they will allow him "the privilege of remaining the state."
Result: Referred to committee for courts of justice.
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Repository: Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
