Mary Waltham Ares, widow of Charlton Waltham Ares, informs the court that her late husband manumitted some slaves in his will, including "three infants, to wit, Clara Griffin, Robert Griffin and Shadrack Smith." He also bequeathed fifty dollars to each slave. Mary states that the three young slaves are unable to provide for themselves and were not manumitted "for the purpose of being sent to Liberia." She argues that "by the laws of this State, said manumission cannot take effect and that said slaves and the sum bequeathed to them" belong to her as the sole heir. She asks the court to order Frederick Richter to deliver the three slaves and their legacies to her. In his answer, Richter submits that the validity of the slaves' manumission is "purely a question [of] Law" and wonders "whether the said negroes named in said petition should not be made parties thereto in as much as their rights are involved and may be materially affected by the decision of your Honors in the premises."
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Repository: Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, Maryland
