Hansford Woodward seeks the court's assistance in recovering two slaves, who are in the possession of Milledge Hawkinson. The petitioner represents that he received a female slave named Jane and her son Isam "on loan" from said Hawkinson in 1858. Woodward, a widower and the father of a three-year-old daughter, wanted to "judge [Jane's] qualities as a seamstress and housekeeper." Being pleased with the results of the trial, the petitioner contracted to purchase Jane and her son. In 1859 Hawkinson agreed to trade the two slaves for $400 and the two tracts of land that Woodward anticipated receiving from the partition of his late wife Emily's estate. Woodward avows that Hawkinson knew that title to said land could not be given until the partition of said estate was complete. However, less than a month after the trade, Hawkinson took possession of the slaves by sending one of his slaves to entice Jane and Isam to return to him; he has since refused to return the slaves. The petitioner insists that Jane's unique skills as a seamstress and housekeeper make her invaluable to him and that her labor is "essential to the comfort and convenience of his household." He therefore prays that Milledge Hawkinson be compelled to return Jane and Isam.
Result: Settled.
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Repository: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, South Carolina
