Elizabeth Honeycutt charges that Richard Hovendon illegally detains her in slavery. Elizabeth represents that she “verily believes” that she was born free in Virginia and that, “while very young,” she was carried by a man named Honeycutt into the “then Indiana Teritory,” where she lived with the “knowledge and consent of those who claimed her services.” She claims that, regardless of the status of her birth, she acquired freedom by virtue of residing in a “Teritory” whose laws forbade “involuntary servitude.” She alleges, however, that she was later “clandestinely & against her will & against the laws of the Indiana Teritory” transported to Louisiana and sold as a slave. She further alleges that she has “apprised” Richard Hovendon, her present owner, of her status as a free woman, but Hovendon persists in holding her as his slave. Elizabeth therefore prays that the court will decree her free, enjoin Hovendon from disposing of her during the “pendency” of the suit, and condemn him to pay her $200 in damages.
Result: Dismissed.
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Repository: New Orleans Public Library, New Orleans, Louisiana
