James Caldwell seeks compensation from Christopher Haynes in the amount of $300 "or for such sum as your orator may in justice and equity be entitled to." In 1835 Caldwell sold a "first rate mulatto girl" named Nice to Christopher Haynes, ostensibly an agent working for William H. Morison, for five hundred dollars in 1835. Caldwell explains that Nice had been raised in the family and was a great favorite of his wife and children; in fact, it was only with the "distinct understanding that she was not to be driven or taken from this section of the country" that Caldwell consented to sell Nice for three hundred dollars under her market value. Caldwell reasoned that he "prefered making a sacrafice to putting her in that market." He later learned that Haynes "was going to drive the said girl to Mississippi." Claiming to have been "entirely deceived by the said Haynes and defrauded out of at least $300," Caldwell files suit to recover Nice's value.
Result: Dismissed.
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Repository: Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
