Mary Ann, an "infant of colour," petitions by her next friend James Loper, representing that Robert Duncan illegally holds her as a slave. Mary Ann's mother was born free in Pennsylvania and indentured to one Mr. Page until she was twenty-eight years old. Page sold her indenture to John L. Sutton, now dead, and Mary Ann was born while her mother was under Sutton's control. Sutton and Robert Duncan have claimed Mary Ann as a slave since her birth. Sometime in 1820, Mary Ann's mother was sold as a slave in Louisiana. Mary Ann argues that Sutton was well aware that both she and her mother were entitled to their freedom. She asks to sue as a poor person for her freedom.
Result: Petition granted; plea of trespass filed, granted by default; judgment set aside; plea amended.
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Repository: Civil Courts Building, St. Louis, Missouri
