Petition #21184112
- St. Louis County, Missouri. October 12, 1841. - September 11, 1841.
- Court: Circuit
- Salutation: To the Honorable Bryan Mullanphy Judge of the circuit court of St Louis county sitting as a court of Chancery
Abstract
Milton Duty brought twenty-seven slaves with him when he moved from Mississippi to St. Louis, Missouri, in March 1837. Duty died in August 1838, leaving behind a will that emancipated his slaves. Preston and the other slaves charge that the administrator of Duty's estate, George W. Coons, is colluding with his father, David Coons, to defraud the estate by destroying or concealing documents and presenting claims for debts that Duty paid before his death. The petitioners object to the validity of several other claims made against the estate by various parties. They maintain that Coons has made no attempt to collect debts owed to the estate or to hire out the slaves to pay the debts. Instead, he has obtained permission from the county and probate courts to sell the slaves. Among other requests, Preston and the other petitioners ask the court to permit them to sue as poor people; to appoint special commissioners to examine and validate the accounts and the various claims; to settle the estate properly; and to award them their promised freedom. In the meantime, they ask for an injunction to stop Coons from selling them until the estate is settled.
Result: Partially granted.
- Number of petition pages: 12
- Related documents: PARs #21184113, #21184401, #21184420, #21184429, #21184508, #21184512, #21184905 through #21184912; Order, 11 September 1841; Copy of Petition, George W. Coons, Probate Court, 18 September 1841; Copy of Order, Probate Court, 18 September 1841; Judge's Certification, 7 October 1841; Newspaper Notice, George W. Coons, 20 September 1841; Injunction, George W. Coons, 12 October 1841; Sheriff's Return, 15 October 1841; Sheriff's Returns, 15 and 26 October 1841, 3 and 12 November 1841; Notice of Taking Depositions, Preston, et al., to George W. Coons, et al., 30 October 1841; Sheriff's Return, 3 November 1841; Acknowledgment of Notice, James V. Prather, ca. November 1841; Deposition, James V. Prather, 11 November 1841; Deposition, Hugh Gallagher, 12 November 1841; Deposition, Augustus H. Evans, 15 November 1841; Deposition, James Adams, 2-3 December 1841; Justice's Certification, 11 November-3 December 1841; Copy of Inventory, Estate of Milton Duty, Probate Court, 10 August 1838; Copy of Administrator's Accounts, Estate of Milton Duty, Probate Court, September Term 1840--September Term 1841; Judge's Certification, 23 June 1842; Copy of Administrator's Settlement, Probate Court, December Term 1842; Judge's Certification, 4 May 1843; Supplemental Bill, 22 May 1845
- Pages of related documents: 46
56 people are documented within petition 21184112
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Citation information
Repository: Civil Courts Building, St. Louis, Missouri
- Records of the Circuit Court
Subjects
