On 16 April 1862, Congress passed an act abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia. Owners were required to file a schedule of slaves with the court, which issued certificates of freedom. On 12 July 1862, another act permitted minor or absentee owners and slaves themselves to file for certificates of freedom. Evelina Wedge, a "brown" female, between twenty-one and twenty-two years of age, who is the wife of a free man of color, George Wedge, states that she and her children, Martha A. E. Wedge and George Washington Wedge, are owned by Alexander McCormick. She seeks her freedom and the freedom of her children.
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Repository: National Archives, Washington, D. C.
