James Tench and others ask for a retrial of the case in which their former slaves, Hezekiah, Dolly, Mary, Arey and Mary Humphreys, received their freedom. The Humphreys testified that since "they were the descendents in the direct female line of a free white woman," they deserved their freedom. The petitioners state that at the time they "were not properly prepared to rebut or disprove" the Humphreys' claims, but now they have new witnesses. They also refer to a 1795 case in which a Harry Humphreys sued for, and was denied, his freedom based upon his descent from a former slave named Arey, who is the "mother and person from whom the said petitioners lineally descended." The petitioners claim that "they are the true and lawful owners" of the defendants, who "hitherto have been wandering up and down through various parts of the Land as of their own will under no restraint from Your Orators and Oratrixes." They ask that the Humphreys family answer their allegations, that the court serve them with subpoenas, and that the case be retried.
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Repository: National Archives, Washington, D. C.
