Marquis W. Withers claims that the Steamboat El Paso illegally and without his permission carried his slave Ann from Lexington, Missouri, to St. Louis, Missouri, on 8 November 1853. Ann is now "lost to plaintiff," and Withers asserts that the Steamboat El Paso is liable. He seeks compensation in the amount of nine hundred dollars, the value of the slave. Depositions reveal that Ann, also known as Adeline, Angeline, and sometimes by the surname Tilford, ran away from Withers's home and boarded the boat for St. Louis. When she was apprehended in St. Louis, she told authorities that her name was Adeline Tilford and that she belonged to a man named Tilford, who lived in Kentucky. The ship's captain, Henry Thornburg[h], offers the following opinion on the inherent difficulty in discovering stowaway fugitive slaves: "Where there is a negro crew on board a boat, I think it possible that a negro might be concealed without the knowledge of the officers, but it is not probable." The captain assures the court that he took pains to track down Withers once Ann was lodged in jail, where she delivered a child, who died shortly thereafter.
Result: Granted; appealed; reversed; remanded.
Or you may view all people.
Repository: Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City, Missouri
