Absalom Rutherford bequeathed all of his slaves to his wife Mary "during her life or widowhood," except for a slave named Mary whom he gave to one of his daughter. Upon the widow's remarriage or death, the other slaves were to be divided between his other four daughters. Rutherford later gave one slave each to his daughters, Mary Peterson and Ceny Ledgerwood, and "they acknowledged said negroes to be their part of said negro property." When Mary Rutherford died about 6 July 1859, she still had two of the slaves named in her husband's will, "namely Sallie aged about thirty five years and Welborn aged about twenty-two." Upon the widow's death, Sarah Rutherford Clapp immediately "took into her exclusive possession the said two negroes in violation and disregard of the rights of your Orator and Oratrix." Anne Graves and her husband George ask the court to issue an injunction restraining Clapp from selling or removing the slaves from the court's jurisdiction and to require an accounting from her of their hire while in her possession. The Graveses also ask the court to award them a one-half interest in the two slaves, to sell the slaves, and to divide the proceeds between Clapp and the Graveses. They ask that the two slaves be hired out until the case is settled. We learn from related depositions that one of the slaves in Absalom Rutherford's estate, a woman named Sally, was sold by the widow for insubordination and another young woman, named Lile, died from an overdose of laudanum; Lile was at the time of her death the mother of an infant.
Result: Granted.
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Repository: Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee
