On 26 January 1741, Edward Harding gave his daughter Jane and her husband, George Prouse, a slave named Hagar and title to any children Hagar might bear. In 1758, George Prouse died, leaving his wife and six children: George, Mary, Rachael, Thomas, Phillip, and Elizabeth Prouse. Jane Prouse died in November 1776. The petitioners claim that while they were supposed to receive an equal share of the slaves, they only received the use of one named Daff, whom Mary received during her first marriage while George Prouse was still alive. They report that the slaves have been dispersed "by sundry Devises Sales and Gifts" since the death of her father. The petitioners ask the court to subpoena as defendants all those who have possession of one or more of the twenty-three slaves once owned by George and Jane Prouse and to issue a decree ordering a fair and equitable division of the slaves to the Harding-Prouse heirs.
Result: Partially granted.
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Repository: Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, Maryland
