THE AMERICAN CHANCERY DIGEST, Being a Digested Index of all the Reported Decisions in Equity, In the United States Courts, And in the Courts of Several States.
Gould & Banks: NY, 1828. Item #98-7952
9.5 x 6, blindstamped full calf, 584 pp, front cover and free front endpaper detached, lacks rear cover and spine, cover is worn, rubbed, scraped, etc., lower corner of title page detached but present, endpapers have small tears, scattered foxing (some heavy), toning, ink stamp of a Kalamazoo, Michigan, notary public and dated 1869, staining on pages 65-66, small piece out of margin of pages 251-252, creased corners, loose signature else contents tight and good. The book covers many decisions relating to wills, guardianship, fraud, mortgage, marriage settlements and so on. Of interest are the mentions of slaves and negroes of which there are 44 separate entries, some longer than others and they can be found in decisions such as debtor and creditor, fraud, legacy, mortgages, slaves, wills. One entry, under "Injunction" reads: "Isaac a negro-man, sued for his freedom, and a verdict was found for the defendant and that the plaintiff was a slave: but it appearing that he was poor and ignorant, and was not permitted in that suit, by those who claimed him as a slave to procure the proper testimony in support of his right, the court of equity warded a new trail, and the jury having found ‘that he was not a slave but a freeman’ the court decreed a perpetual injunction against the former verdict. Isaac V. Johnson, 1 Munf.95." Although there may be only 44 listings usually the lines immediately preceding or following directly relate to those listings. Early mention of slaves in the U.S. court system. Sold as is. Scarce. FIRST ED.
Price: $395.00