One-hundred-fifty-three residents of Williamston ask that the petition of Ned Hyman "for an act of manumission ... be passed by your Honorable Body in his favor and for his benefit." They further state, "that altho they know of no extraordinary meritorious services performed by Ned in saving the life of his owners in imminent peril," they "believe from what they know of Ned that no slave or free man would scarcely go further to deserve the good opinion of the public in any act that he could do than your petitioner Ned." They strongly insist that "Ned has been, and still is, a very uncommon and extraordinary Negro," in addition to being "remarkably industrious, frugal and prudent."
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Repository: North Carolina Department of Archives and History, Raleigh, North Carolina
