In 1857, Adam Hall died, leaving a will that, in one clause, stipulated that two groups of slaves should be taken to a state where "slavery is prohibited," freed, and given thirty dollars each. The first group of slaves, willed to him by his sister, included fourteen slaves and "their future increase;" the second group consisted of twenty slaves. Despite the late Hall's instructions, the administrators of his estate hired the slaves out in 1858 for $2,172.50; in 1859 for $2,698; in 1860 for $2,797; and in 1861 for $2,140. In other clauses of the will, the late Hall, a wealthy man, made legacies of land and cash to many individuals, as well as to the Methodist Church. All legacies were made with specific conditions attached and the stipulation that any violation of a condition should result in forfeiture of the legacy. The petitioners are the executors of his will. They contend that there are so many "doubts and difficulties as to the true intent and meaning of testator in many clauses" and "so many conflicting rights and claims of the several legatees under said will" that it is "unsafe for them to act without the sanction and direction of this court." And in particular, with the secession of Alabama from the Union and Abraham Lincoln's proclamation "forbidding intercourse of all kinds between the Inhabitants and citizens of the United States and the Confederate States," would it not be unlawful, the petitioners ask, to transport the slaves to a free state? The plaintiffs ask that the court "take Jurisdiction of, and make a final settlement of their administration on Hall's estate."
Result: Partially granted.
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Repository: Madison County Public Library Archives, Huntsville, Alabama
