John Cooke asks the legislature for an exemption from the law prohibiting the transportation of slaves into Virginia. He informs the court that he was formerly a resident of the state of Maryland where he and his wife were married, but that he has lived in the state of Virginia for twenty-two years. He explains that his wife's father recently departed this life and that his wife has inherited from him "certain Negroes" to whom she is "much attached" and does "not wish" sold "if she can enjoy them otherwise." Cooke asks the legislature to pass a law authorizing him to bring the "negroes bequeathed to his Wife into this State."
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Repository: Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
