John Augustus Fraser asks that William Danielle "be enjoined from prosecuting his action against ... your Orator" for the value of four slaves, who were mistakenly included in the deed of conveyance to said Danielle. He avows that he and Danielle negotiated "for the purchase by Daniell from your Orator of his plantation called 'Drakies' ... and of your Orators negroes there upon the said plantation." Citing that Danielle consummated the contract "upon the terms proposed in the said offer," he avers that "a list of the negroes proposed to be sold was then & there exhibited to the said defendant, containing the names thereof," amounting to 154 in number. Fraser states that he "purchased Drakies and the negroes attached thereto" in 1838 from Thomas F. Purse and that his counsel "to guard against any error arising from slaves attached to Drakies ... inserted in the Deed by way of further description (besides the names) that they were all the negroes purchased by your Orator" from said Purse. Fraser reveals however, that prior to his contract with Danielle, he had sold four of the said slaves and that "the Draftsman of the Deed" by "mere mistake" included their names in "the additional description" inserted in said deed. Citing that he is now being sued for $5000 in damages "for the alledged breach of Covenant," he insists that said four slaves "were not his property at the time of his said contract with the Defendant." He prays that said deed "may be reformed & the mistake therein corrected" so that it will contain "a true description of the slaves intended to be conveyed;" that the said four slaves "may be altogether excluded from the said Deed;" and that Danielle be compelled to desist with the prosecution of his suit.
Result: Dismissed without prejudice.
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Repository: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, South Carolina
