Margarett A. Campbell informs the court that her second husband, John C. Campbell, is a man of intemperant habit who had no "estate" and many debts at the time of their 1848 marriage, whereas she owned substantial property. In 1853, in order to prevent him or his creditors from seizing her holdings, Margarett deeded most of her estate, including a number of slaves, to her only son who lived in Texas, reserving to herself the right of use during her lifetime. She asserts that the deed was executed with her husband's consent, for which the latter received $1,500. She then describes how her husband, a physician unable to practice his trade on account of his intemperant habits, took her from town to town as he engaged in various business ventures. In Columbiana, for example, he rented a tavern at the head of the Alabama and Tennessee River Rail Road, which proved to be quite profitable, although she did not reap any of its benefits. Her husband also hired out several of her slaves, and rented a house she owned in Selma. She charges that her husband's goal is "to convert as much of complainants said separate estate to his own use" as possible. Through her next friend and son John C. Tomlinson, Margarett Campbell seeks a divorce. She also asks that her husband be forced to account for the rents and profits he made using her property, and that he be enjoined from further intermeddling with her separate estate "in any way."
Result: Partially granted; appealed; reversed; remanded.
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Repository: Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama
