George Relf represents that he "was born a slave in the State of Virginia the property of one James Duff." When Duff's daughter married James Relfe, Duff gave George to the couple. Shortly thereafter Relfe moved to Missouri and then to Illinois, taking seventeen-year-old George with him. While in Illinois, James Relfe "recognized your petitioner to be free" and asked him to sign a labor contract stipulating that he would work for James Relfe until he reached the age of twenty-eight. Unfortunately, George could not read and "has since learned that said writing if valid would bind him to serve said Relfe ninety nine years." Now in Missouri, the petitioner cites that James Relfe admitted the contract was invalid and "accordingly about a year or more ago ... informed your petitioner that he was free and suffered him to go at large and act as a free man which your petitioner did for several months." However, George charges that Relfe, "contriving how to cheat your petitioner out of the right which he had acquired," asked his father-in-law "to reclaim your petitioner, and make sale of him." Duff did so, through an agent, selling George to Augustus Jones, who sold him to Thompson H. Ficklin. The petitioner "upon the facts aforesaid claims his freedom and prays that he may be permitted to sue as a poor person to establish his freedom."
Result: Petition granted; plea of trespass filed, granted.
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Repository: Civil Courts Building, St. Louis, Missouri
