John Brown, administrator of the estate of the late James Brown, seeks twelve hundred dollars in damages for the illegal detention of three slaves belonging to James Brown's estate. The petitioner alleges that Rufus W. Finley took possession of the said slaves on or about 3 November 1851, "without leave, wrongfully, unlawfully and clandestinely & in violation of the legal rights of plaintiff." In his answer, Rufus Finley, son-in-law of the late Brown, claims that the twenty-five-year-old enslaved woman and her two young sons were a gift to his wife from her father.
Result: Nonsuit.
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Repository: Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City, Missouri
