On 23 July 1859, Samuel Pratt, a free person of color, bound his daughter, Rebecca Pratt, as an indentured apprentice to Joseph Swinney. In August 1859, Swinney sold the indenture to a Mr. Klinefelter for one hundred dollars. Rebecca has been in the "custody and charge" of Klinefelter ever since. Samuel Pratt claims that the sale was a violation of their contract because he and Swinney "entered into various covenants in reference to said Rebecca," and characterizes their contract as a "personal trust." He argues that the sale "committed a breach of the trust reposed in him by your petitioner." On behalf of his daughter, he asks the court to subpoena Swinney and to cancel the indenture.
Result: Dismissed.
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Repository: Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, Maryland
