Prior to her marriage to John P. Booth, in 1833, Martha R. W. Hodges signed an agreement that she thought stipulated that the real estate and slaves devised to her in trust by her father, Richard Hodges, would remain her separate property. The property included, among other items, plantation land and a number of slaves. There are now twenty-three slaves now in Martha's possession. They include the slaves originally given by her father, their children, one of them unnamed, and two slaves, Handy and Bob, purchased since that time. One slave descended from the slaves who had belonged to Richard Hodges, Jesse, was sold, and the profits expended in the purchase of Bob and Handy. Now Martha is suing her husband, claiming that he tricked her in 1833, telling her that the agreement promised the property would be "for the benefit of Martha" when it read "for the benefit of the parties." Had she known the actual wording she would never have signed; she asks that the wording be "reformed."
Result: Granted.
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Repository: Circuit Court Clerk's Office, Clayton, Alabama
