Petition #20185119

Abstract

In 1816, in England, Sophia Liddiard married John Cole, a butcher. Some years later, Sophia discovered that Cole was having an affair with an "evil" woman named Hannah Catterell, and when she confronted him with the fact he left her, or so Sophia testified, and took up with the other woman. In 1832, Cole and Hannah Catterell immigrated to the United States, settling in Mobile. During the next decade Cole became a prosperous butcher. When he died in 1846, John Cole owned a house and lot between Dauphin and Government streets, a fifteen-acre tract with a residence, barn, and slaughter house, and six slaves, consisting of three adults and three children. He was worth fifteen thousand dollars. Learning that Cole left his estate to Hannah, Sophia moved to the United States, filed a suit, and claimed that she was entitled to one-half of his estate as his legal wife. The judge of the chancery court agreed, but the state Supreme Court reversed the decision and remanded the case back to the district court. The related court opinion reveals that Sophia had in fact abandoned John, taking all his belongings with her, eloped with another man with whom she lived several years and by she had two illegitimate children before his death in 1834 or 1835. She later married one Stephen Williams, from whom she eventually separated before.

Result: Granted; appealed; reversed; remanded.

10 people are documented within petition 20185119

Or you may view all people.

Citation information

Repository: Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama

Subjects