On 15 April 1837, Jane McCray, a mulatto woman, purchased her freedom for $600 from William H. Hopkins, paying $500 at that time. On 1 January 1838, she paid the balance, and Hopkins wrote a note authorizing her "to go and reside in any county in the State of Illinois, & there to do and act for herself." In the summer of 1838, Hopkins died intestate without executing a formal deed of emancipation. With the heirs' advice and consent, McCray went to Galena, Illinois, and lived as a free woman for a month in 1844. Admitting that said heirs have never "disturbed" her, the petitioner notes that they have not given her "the papers necessary to fully emancipate her under the laws of this State." Since she has acquired property in Missouri, McCray wishes to establish her right to freedom "according to law, beyond Controversy." She asks that she may be permitted to sue as a poor person to establish her right to freedom and that counsel be assigned to her.
Result: Petition granted; plea of trespass filed, dismissed, reinstated.
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Repository: Civil Courts Building, St. Louis, Missouri
