Delphine Ricard, a free woman of color and a minor “above the age of twenty years,” seeks to be “emancipated,” i.e., given the legal rights of an adult. Delphine Ricard represents that her mother, Geneviève Belly Ricard, was appointed her “Curatrix ad hoc,” i.e., her guardian, upon the death of her father, the late Cyprien Ricard, in 1826. Delphine claims that her affairs now require “that she should see to them” herself, but that she is “incapacitated by law from acting” as administrator of her own property. Delphine further explains that she is desirous to release her mother from the “general mortgage” that exists on the plantation and slaves she acquired from the estate held in community with her late husband. Delphine therefore prays for an order directing that a meeting be convened among relatives and friends of the family to deliberate on the “propriety” of granting her request for emancipation. She prays that both her mother and St. Luc Ricard, her “Curator ad litem,” be served a copy of her petition and directed to show cause, “if any,” why her prayer for emancipation should not be granted.
Result: Granted.
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Repository: Iberville Parish Courthouse, Plaquemine, Louisiana
