Daniel A. and William B. Shell petition the court for a division and distribution of four slaves. The petitioners explain that their grandfather, John Epps, divided a group of seven slaves in 1817 by the drawing of lots among his children and grandchildren. A slave named Suckey fell to Daniel Epps, while a slave named Margaret fell to the children of Martha Shell, including the petitioners. At the time of the conveyance, James Shell was the only child of Martha Shell, who was over the age of twenty-one, and he took Margaret into his possession. After the "division and drawing," James Shell "without any authority whatever" traded Margaret, "then young and likely" to Daniel Epps for Suckey, "then old and in all probability would be of little value to ... the younger children of the said Martha Shell." Since that time, James Shell has left the state, and Margaret has had three children. The petitioners ask the court to divide Margaret and her three children between Daniel Epps and the heirs of Martha Shell. They also ask the court to order Epps to pay hire for the time that he has possessed Margaret.
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Repository: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, South Carolina
