Pierre and Louis, free men of color, seek an injunction against a writ of possession executed against them by Rosalie and Jean François Masse, also free people of color. The petitioners claim that they are two of the legatees of the late Magdelaine Masse, a woman of color. By the terms of a judgment rendered in 1827, the Masses recovered "only two undivided third parts of the tracts of land and cattle given" to them "by the testament of Magdelaine Masse." The land remains undivided and the petitioners have been living on it for some time. The petitioners explain that "writ of possession has lately been issued" against them, "in & by which the sheriff of the parish of St. Landry has been ordered to put the said Rosalie and Jean François in possession of the property." The petitioners claim that they "run the danger of being compelled to depart from a tract of land of which a third part belongs to them." They pray that the writ be deemed "illegal and void" and that the defendants pay them $500 in damages. In addition, they pray that the defendants be enjoined from bringing further proceedings against them. A related document reveals that the late Magdelaine Masse was married to a man named Etienne Sem Fuselier, and that the couple had adopted Fuselier's "natural" son named Pierre Esope Sem. Pierre Esope Sem intervenes into the case, claiming to be the only legitimate heir.
Result: Intervention denied.
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Repository: St. Landry Parish Courthouse, Opelousas, Louisiana
