Peter Swayzé, a free man of color, petitions for his freedom. Peter was born "sometime in the year 1805" in the state of New York, where, by virtue of an act of the state legislature passed on the 9th of April 1813, children born of slaves after July 4th 1799 were declared free. According to the same law, male children were to continue serving their mother’s owner or the owner’s estate administrator until the age of twenty-eight, and female children until the age of twenty-one. Peter therefore continued to serve his master, Captain Swayzé, until the latter’s death and Captain Swayzé’s son, Stephen, after that. However, when Peter was fourteen, Stephen Swayzé sold his services to one David Hoadley. Over the years, Peter passed through multiple owners, until he was brought to Louisiana where he is being held by the widow of Michel Mayer. Peter Swayzé contends that, being above the age of twenty-eight, he is entitled to his freedom “in conformity with the laws of the state of New York and Louisiana.” He therefore seeks an order directing Mrs. Mayer to emancipate him and pay him $100 per year for his services since he was twenty-eight. He also seeks an order of sequestration in the hands of the sheriff for the duration of the trial. Related documents reveal that Peter's suit triggered correspondence between several men professing feelings of abhorrence of slavery and expressing their desire to help a man free himself from its bonds.
Result: Dismissed on motion of plaintiff's counsel.
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Repository: St. Landry Parish Courthouse, Opelousas, Louisiana
