Feb 21, 2008 - Sale 2137

Sale 2137 - Lot 53

Price Realized: $ 1,140
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 400 - $ 600
(SLAVERY AND ABOLITION.) The South Bend Slavery Case. Involving the Right to a Writ of Habeas Corpus [cover title]. 24 pages. Small 8vo, original printed wrappers, with very slight wear. New York, 1851

Additional Details

John Norris of Kentucky owned the Powells, a family of 6 slaves. He allowed them to farm a small piece of land and occasionally to carry their produce across the state line to sell in Indiana. However, one time while in Indiana, the Powell family fled. They proceeded to Michigan where they bought some land and began farming. Two years later, Norris tracked them down and with the aid of eight other men, kidnapped Mrs. Powell and the children. They were eventually ordered free by a judge, but Norris then sued the Powell family's lawyer. This pamphlet recounts the entire affair. See Finkelman, Slavery in the Courtroom, pages 80-83.