In July 1797, Jacob Handy wrote a deed of manumission for his six slaves, "being fully persuaded and satisfied in my consience that all mankind are by nature entitled to freedom ... and being desirous as a christian to comply with that excellent precept, to do by all men as I would choose they should do to me." Among the slaves listed was a seventeen-year-old slave woman named Ebby, who was slated to be liberated in 1805 at age twenty-five. Ebby Faris and her husband, Stephen Faris, maintain that the Ebby Faris mentioned in the deed of manumission and Ebby Faris, the petitioner, are one and the same. Currently, however, Solomon Lowe claims Ebby as his slave and holds Asbury in bondage and is about to sell him out of the state. The plaintiffs ask the court to subpoena Solomon Lowe, to issue an injunction prohibiting Lowe from selling Asbury, and to uphold Ebby's and Asbury's freedom.
Result: Partially denied.
Or you may view all people.
Repository: Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, Maryland
