Carmélite Constant seeks to be separated in property from her husband, Benjamin Winchester. Carmélite represents that, when she married Winchester in 1820, she brought a dowry of $26,447 in cash and a female slave named Louise. The money came from the estates of her late parents, Auguste Constant and Jeannette Landry Constant of Ascension parish, and of her grandfather, Joseph Landry, also of Ascension parish. The property was turned over to Benjamin Winchester in 1821, and he has enjoyed its benefits uninterruptedly since that time. Carmélite contends that her husband is now heavily in debt and that his property is not sufficient to meet his liabilities. She believes that she is in danger of losing her separate property. Already, the slaves Jim and Martin, sons of her deceased slave Louise, have been mortgaged. They have been seized by the sheriff in a suit initiated by the Consolidated Bank and they are about to be sold. Carmélite therefore seeks a separation in property from her husband. She wants to recover her $26,747 plus $2,000, the estimated value of her two slaves. Finally, she asks for a mortgage on all her husband’s property to secure her claims.
Result: Granted.
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Repository: St. James Parish Courthouse, Convent, Louisiana
