Sarah Desicker asks that a deed of conveyance issued to Lemuel Lane and Joel Heller be cancelled. Desicker describes herself as an illiterate "of weak mind," who recently found herself deeply in debt. In 1858 most of her creditors had brought judgments against her, and she feared that she would lose all of her property. Under these circumstances, Lemuel Lane agreed to pay off her debts if she agreed to convey her twelve slaves, livestock, and two hundred acres of property to him upon her death. Desicker agreed with said proposal and conveyed said property to the said Lane and Heller in trust to herself for her lifetime. All parties agreed to the condition that during Desicker's life, and after her death, Lane and Heller would apply some of the profits from the trust to support her niece, Catharine Beam, and her illegitimate daughter Nancy, whom she describes as "a free person of color and an idiot," for the duration of their lives. Desicker charges that after they prepared this agreement, Lemuel Lane seized one of her slaves named Lige as compensation for money owed to him. She agrees that Lane should keep Lige to settle the debt, but she argues that, with the seizure of Lige, her debt to Lane and Heller is settled. She therefore asks that the deed of conveyance be cancelled. Desicker further requests that the court appoint new trustees to manage the life estate for the benefit of Nancy and Catharine.
Result: Partially granted.
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Repository: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, South Carolina
