On 21 December 1854, Joseph Noble Stockett died intestate, leaving eight children as heirs to his large and valuable estate, which included thirty-six slaves. The petitioners, heirs of Joseph Noble Stockett, question the inventory of their late father's estate returned by his administrator, Charles W. Stockett. They claim that their father died "largely indebted unto various persons" and fear that Charles Stockett will sell their father's personal estate, rather than his considerable real estate, to discharge the estate's debts. The petitioners acknowledge that the slaves in Stockett's estate have "grown up with his children and they are very desirous to have them preserved in the family." They ask the court to allow the real estate to substitute for the personal estate in the management of their father's debts. One of the petitioners, Frank H. Stockett, also represents himself as one of his father's creditors, and asks the court to summon all the defendants so that a true accounting of the estate may be obtained.
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Repository: Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, Maryland
