John Mathews, a free man of color, presents to the court that he is the owner of his "wife," a slave named Kitty, who is upwards of thirty years of age and by whom he has several children. Mathews further presents that he is "desirous" of emancipating Kitty in order to "sanction" their union by a "legal marriage" and to make his children "legitimate." He vouches that Kitty is "honest sober industrious, submissive and respectful in her deportment towards white persons." He further vouches that Kitty is free from "any of the crimes and blemishes contemplated by law" in cases of emancipation, and that she is healthy and able to provide for her subsistence. He asks the court to allow him to "grant freedom" to Kitty and to direct the sheriff to make the publications "required by law."
Result: Granted.
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Repository: New Orleans Public Library, New Orleans, Louisiana
