Fergus Mahier presents to the court that he is the owner by inheritance of an undivided half of a mulatto slave named Rosa and her children. In 1809, Fergus Mahier's father, Joseph Mahier, and his uncle, Anselm Mahier, inherited Rosa's mother, Agnès, from the estate of their father, Michel Mahier Senior. Fergus claims that Joseph and Anselm Mahier formed a partnership in 1809, which lasted until Joseph's death in 1824. According to Fergus, Agnès and her child Rosa were the property of this partnership. In 1819, however, Anselm Mahier emancipated Agnès and, in 1823, he sold four of the partnership's slaves, including Rosa, to Agnès for $1,000 cash. Fergus Mahier contends that both actions were taken without Joseph Mahier's consent and therefore are null and void. He further claims that Agnès emancipated her fifteen-year-old daughter Rosa in 1827. Agnès has since died. He alleges that he is now the sole surviving heir of the family's estate, his brother Peter having died and his mother having renounced her share in both her son's and husband's estate. He therefore prays that the court will decree Rosa and the children "born of her body" his property "for the undivided half."
Result: Judgment of non suit.
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Repository: West Baton Rouge Parish Courthouse, Port Allen, Louisiana
