Some twelve to fifteen years prior to the filing of his petition, Fontaine Wells of Albemarle County purchased a female slave named Yarico from his father's debt-ridden estate. He explains to the legislature that, after his mother's death, Yarico "had supplied as far as was practicable her loss to her children by a constant watchful and affectionate care." From her "long and faithful services to the family," Yarico had become, "as was natural, an object of interest & affection with those who had witnessed & profited from her." For some time Wells explains, he has permitted Yarico to "receive, principally, if not entirely, the earnings of her own labor." She is "an honest and harmless and unoffending creature," Wells and others argue. He is desirous of setting her free and asks that she be allowed to remain in Virginia. Fifty-four citizens of the county join him in support of his request on behalf of Yarico.
Result: Rejected.
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Repository: Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
