Thaddeus Mitchell obtained a male slave in a trade with William Dandridge in 1832. A short time later, at Dandridge's urging, Mitchell purchased the slave's wife, Jenny, who was represented as a good nurse and gardener, able to "perform all the usual services of a female servant advanced in years." Mitchell signed a note to pay sixty-four cords of wood, the equivalent of about eighty dollars. When Jenny arrived, however, Mitchell discovered that she was "labouring under long previous and permanent disability from chronic rheumatism & other diseases." Mitchell complains that Jenny has required "constant attention" and is now a "heavy charge" on his funds. Asserting that Mitchell "grossly imposed" Jenny on him, he speculates that the "expense of keeping and attending her may constantly increase. Even so, Dandridge has sued and won a judgment on Mitchell's note. Mitchell now seeks an injunction and asks the court to compel Dandridge "to receive into his possession the said negro woman Jenny."
Result: Injunction granted; dissolved.
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Repository: Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
