Petition #20882912

• St. Landry Parish, Louisiana. May 16, 1829. - January 28, 1831.
• Court: District
• Salutation: To his honor the judge of the fifth judicial District Western Circuit division holding Sessions in and for the Parish of Saint Landry

Abstract

Harriet Scott asserts that she is a free woman of color illegally detained by the sheriff, George Jackson. Scott asserts that she was born near Providence, Rhode Island, to free parents. At a young age, she moved to Marietta, Ohio. She further represents that "after various removals, alternately from the state of Ohio to Kentucky, she was taken up as a slave." Scott initiated a suit in Kentucky for her freedom, but while she was awaiting its outcome, two men named Tremball and Thomas Baker seized her and took her to New Orleans. She "fled to the steam boat Integrity secretly and arrived in the Parish of Saint Landry;" there, the boat's captain discovered her and committed her to the parish jail, where she still remains. Scott prays for a Writ of Habeas Corpus. In addition, she prays that her freedom be recognized and that Sheriff Jackson be condemned to pay her $350 for false imprisonment.

Result: Dismissed; revived; granted.

• Number of petition pages: 4
• Related documents: Court Record, 16 May 1829; Answer, Sheriff George Jackson, 16 May 1829; Judgment, 16 November 1830; Supplemental Petition, 27 January 1831; Writ of Habeas Corpus, ca. 28 January 1831; Sheriff's Return, 28 January 1831
• Pages of related documents: 7

2 people are documented within petition 20882912

• 1 Enslaved
• 1 Defendant
• 1 Petitioner

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Citation information

Repository: St. Landry Parish Courthouse, Opelousas, Louisiana

• Records of the Fifth Judicial District Court

Subjects

• Sues for freedom (enslaved)
• Ships
• Jails/Workhouses
• Freedom seekers
• Kidnapping (FPOC)
• Slave trade (domestic)