Sarah, a slave born in Virginia and originally owned by John Prosser, seeks permission to sue as a poor person to establish her right to freedom. Sarah explains that after Prosser's death she was sold at administrative sale and eventually ended up in the possession of Prosser's widow, Margaret. When Margaret and her children moved to Illinois, they brought Sarah with them and hired out her services. Eventually one of Margaret's children, Mary Martin, took Sarah to the state of Kentucky, where she remained for a while before being returned to Margaret in Illinois. By 1841, the family relocated to St. Louis, and Margaret was hired out again to one William Waddingham. On 20 July 1845, a "person to your petitioner unknown" came to St. Louis with "an order in writing for the body of your petitioner stating that it was his intention to take [her] . . . away from this city." Sarah claims that "by depositions from the State of Illinois," she can establish the "material facts" entitling her to her freedom.
Result: Petition granted; plea of trespass filed.
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Repository: Civil Courts Building, St. Louis, Missouri
