William Provines informs the court that he purchased a slave named Lewis in 1840 from Cyrus Lusk, who was acting under a court order to sell the slaves in the estate of Samuel Crockett. Provines purports that he paid "a full and fair price," believing Lewis to be sound and healthy; however, Lewis died from "an incurable hereditary disease called negro consumption" five months after the purchase. The petitioners note that Lusk has filed suit against Provines and his security, John Vanhorn, for the balance of the purchase price. Alleging that Lusk knew of Lewis's condition at point of sale and fraudulently concealed it from Provines, the petitioners insist that the only way they can prove Lusk's knowledge is by "a discovery on oath of the plaintiff himself." Provines and Vanhorn ask the court to compel Lusk to "discover and set forth" his knowledge of the situation "to the end that the said petitioners may have a fair trial at law."
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Repository: Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City, Missouri
