Giles Prince, a free man of color, claims that Henry Cole and David W. Thomas, executors of the estate of the late Presley W. Ross, owe him $608, plus interest. Prince explains that he boarded Richard, a slave belonging to Ross's estate, from May 1849 until September 1855 at the rate of eight dollars per month, arguing that he "did board, lodge, wash, and clothe" Richard during this period, but has not been compensated as "promised." He seeks "judgment against defendants for said sum of six hundred & eight dollars." Documents in the court record reveal that Richard is Prince's son and that Prince purchased his own freedom, as well as the freedom of his wife and daughter, from Alexander C. Baker, who purchased the family from Ross's executors in 1849. A deposition from Ross's son-in-law, Thomas J. Gosti, describes negotiations for Prince's purchase of another son, Harry, in which Gosti claims Prince argued that Gosti "ought to let me have Harry cheap because I have raised Richard without his costing you anything, or the estate anything."
Result: Partially granted; appealed; reversed; remanded.
Or you may view all people.
Repository: Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City, Missouri
