Martha Mann and her husband wish to claim an inheritance from her father's estate. One of Mann's sister, Maria Eveline, recently died without heirs. The petitioners believe that "your Honor will perceive from the Testators will that the property bequeathed to his daughters were limited in such a way that if either died without issue at her death the share of such deceased daughter should be divided between the surviving daughters." Despite this clause, Maria Eveline's widower, Blassingame Harvey Johnson, refuses to return the slaves for redistribution. Johnson has already sold an estate slave named Ellen and now threatens to sell the rest. Mann is "anxious to have said slaves delivered" to her because they "are family servants & have a peculiar value." The Manns therefore pray that Johnson and the other surviving sister, Elizabeth, be made parties to this suit; that the court order Johnson to render an account of the hires and sales of the said slaves; and that he be compelled to give up the slaves in order that they may be divided in kind among the rightful heirs.
Result: Partially granted.
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Repository: Circuit Court Clerk's Office, Petersburg, Virginia
