In 1805, Jemima Hunt, a free woman of color, contracted with Benjamin Barrett to purchase her husband Stephen, promising to pay ten pounds each year for ten years. She has now paid the full amount and holds the title to her husband; she wishes to emancipate him. However, if she attempts to set Stephen free, she faces the prospect of being separated from him by the law that requires that all slaves freed after a certain date leave the state. She explains to the legislature that she and Stephen have a large number of children that they must support by their joint labor, and "without the assistance of her husband" the children will "suffer or become burdensome." She asks the legislature to take her case into consideration and grant Stephen permission to reside in the state after emancipation "& to enjoy all the priviledges that other free people of colour are entitled to."
Result: Reasonable.
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Repository: Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
