Peter, "a colored man" represents that, "in the spring of 1833," John Richardson took him "to Dubuque in the Territory of Iowa and there [he] worked for his master in the business of mining," for eight years, "by and with the consent and direction" of Richardson. Peter cites that the Iowa Territory "is a portion of the United States in which Slavery is not allowed by the laws of the United States, and therefore your petitioner believes he is fully entitled to his freedom." Peter "prays the Honorable Court, that an order may be granted, allowing the petitioner to sue ... as a poor person, to establish his right to freedom; that counsel may be assigned him; that he have reasonable liberty to attend his Counsel and the Court" and that he receive protection from harsh treatment "on account of his application for freedom" and protection against removal from the court's jurisdiction.
Result: Petition granted; plea of trespass filed, abates.
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Repository: Civil Courts Building, St. Louis, Missouri
