Elizabeth Pickens asks that certain slaves be delivered up to her, along with an account of a past slave sale. She describes herself as an old woman, who is "infirm, decrepid, and illiterate" and unable to live alone. Pickens therefore moved into the home of her nephew, Andrew M. C. Smith, and presented him with "a negro girl as compensation;" he also received a slave named Maria, with the expectation that the girls would be sold together since the "said slaves were sisters, and should not be separated." Smith sold said slaves to James Britton, but he "has hitherto refused to account to your oratrix for the slaves." In 1846, Pickens executed a deed of conveyance that gave five slaves to her nephew. She asserts that, as part of the transaction, “the defendant, executed to your oratrix a bond in a certain penalty, conditioned for the proper support and maintenance of your oratrix during her natural life.” Pickens charges, however, that Smith and his family have treated her with "the utmost indifference and neglect," restricting her allowance of food and clothing. She therefore prays that Smith deliver up the five slaves so conveyed and that he account for the sale of Maria and her sister. Pickens also asks that her nephew be enjoined from selling any other slaves.
Result: Partially granted; appealed.
Or you may view all people.
Repository: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, South Carolina
