Elizabeth Contee, a free woman of color, states that she is the nearest legal relative of her brother, Basil Barnes, who is seven years of age. Contee states that Barnes is the illegitimate child of a free woman of color, Rachel Barnes, now deceased, and John Olliday, a slave, the property of Mrs. Lyell or Lyells of Georgetown. The petitioner complains that William Mulloy has forcibly taken the child Basil from her custody and carried him to a place unknown to her. She states that "these facts your petitioner is ready to prove by competent white testimony." Contee seeks a writ of habeas corpus.
Result: Granted.
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Repository: National Archives, Washington, D. C.
