Jessee H. Cartwright of Texas petitions to be compensated for the loss of a slave’s services over the course of almost five years. Cartwright represents that, in 1841, a district court judgment was rendered in his favor in a suit brought by a slave named Lewis suing for his freedom. Lewis appealed the case to the Supreme Court, and Duncan McMillen and Nathan Nichols gave security on a $1,200 appeal bond. In 1844, the Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s judgment and declared Lewis a slave. However, Lewis did not surrender himself in execution of the judgment and could not be found until 1846, when he was arrested and delivered to Cartwright. Cartwright claims that, as a result of Lewis’s absence, he has sustained damages in the amount of $1,200. He therefore seeks the court’s assistance in making McMillen and Nichols, as “sureties” on the bond, liable for his loss. He prays that the court will order the two men to pay him $1,200.
Result: Denied; appealed; affirmed.
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Repository: University of New Orleans
