Gabriel Long, son and administrator of the late Richard Long, informs the court that said Long died in 1848, leaving a contested will. He complains that, two years before his death, Long's "artful & shrewd" grandson, Richard B. Long, defrauded his grandfather by "wickedly and unjustly" influencing the elder Long to sell him a slave named Elijah for $1 and the "love and affection" he had for him. Richard B. Long later exchanged Elijah "for the purpose of [obtaining] ... a younger and better slave," a 14-year-old girl named Grace; Elijah was subsequently carried "by traders to parts unknown." The petitioner asserts that the transaction was void due to Richard Long's incompetence and that Grace therefore belongs to Long's estate. He asks the court to subpoena Richard B. Long, to attach Grace so as to prevent Long from removing her, and to award Grace to Richard Long's estate. In an earlier suit, Gabriel Long and his brother, Thomas Long, and James Shaw, son-in-law of Richard Long, complained that the 88-year-old Long was incapable of handling his own affairs. They charged that Long owns "a considerable amount of real & personal property," including slaves. Citing that "his mind is greatly impaired" and "he has lost his memory to a very great extent," the petitioners feared that he was "liable to be imposed upon and robbed by any one." They thus prayed that "a writ of Lunacy may issue out of your honorable Court to inquire of the unsoundness of mind of the said Richard Long."
Result: Partially granted.
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Repository: Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee
