{"petition":[{"petition_analysis_number":"21184112","petition_url":"https:\/\/dlas.uncg.edu\/petitions\/petition\/21184112","state":"Missouri","county":"St. Louis","location_type":"County","file_day":12,"file_month":10,"file_year":1841,"filing_court":"Circuit","end_day":11,"end_month":9,"end_year":1841,"ending_court":"Circuit","result":"partially granted","enslaved_count":30,"fpoc_count":0,"total_people_count":56,"repository":"Civil Courts Building, St. Louis, Missouri","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.","subjects":[{"subject":"owner(s)\/citizens manumit\/free slave"},{"subject":"Sues for freedom (enslaved)"},{"subject":"Bequest (enslaved)"},{"subject":"Westward migration"},{"subject":"Hiring value (enslaved)"},{"subject":"Assessed Value (enslaved)"},{"subject":"Inventory (enslaved)"}]}]}