Charles Mahoney v. John Ashton
To the honourable The Judges of the General Court.
The petition of Charles Mahoney humbly sheweth That he is held in Slavery by the Reverend John Ashton of Prince George's County, although he is entitled to his Freedom, being descended from a free woman named Anne Joice. He therefore prays your Honours to order Summons for his witness, consider his Case, & discharge him from the further custody of the said John Ashton, upon your petitioner's proving the facts stated. And he will pray and so forth.
G. Duvall for Pet[itione]r
Wit[nesse]s to be Sum[mone]d
AA County
Eleanor Harrison
Samuel Harrison Jr.
Joseph Hutton
The Revd Thos Digges; PG County
Benjamin Beecraft, Montg County
Dorothy Hale, PG County.
Read the full case on O Say Can You See: Early Washington, D.C., Law & Family
- Title
- Charles Mahoney v. John Ashton
- Description
- This freedom suit was based on the claim that the petitioner was descended from a free Black woman who was an indentured servant when she arrived in colonial Maryland from England. Mahoney's attorneys invoked the Somerset principle, 18th century British case law, and even the Declaration of Independence to secure his freedom, but after three jury trials, Mahoney remained enslaved.
- Excerpted
- Yes
- Date
- 1791
- Author
- Maryland. Court of Appeals
- Subject
- African Americans
- Temporal Coverage
- Early Republic
- Procedural History
- Maryland Court of Appeals; General Court of the Western Shore
- Document Type
- Court Case
- Document Category
- Primary Source
- Archival Source
- Maryland State Archives, General Court of the Western Shore (Judgments), MSA S498-220
- Digital Repository
- O Say Can You See: Early Washington, D.C., Law & Family
- Title
- Charles Mahoney v. John Ashton
- Description
- This freedom suit was based on the claim that the petitioner was descended from a free Black woman who was an indentured servant when she arrived in colonial Maryland from England. Mahoney's attorneys invoked the Somerset principle, 18th century British case law, and even the Declaration of Independence to secure his freedom, but after three jury trials, Mahoney remained enslaved.
- Excerpted
- Yes
- Date
- 1791
- Author
- Maryland. Court of Appeals
- Subject
- African Americans
- Temporal Coverage
- Early Republic
- Procedural History
- Maryland Court of Appeals; General Court of the Western Shore
- Document Type
- Court Case
- Document Category
- Primary Source
- Archival Source
- Maryland State Archives, General Court of the Western Shore (Judgments), MSA S498-220
- Digital Repository
- O Say Can You See: Early Washington, D.C., Law & Family