Case Summary

On 19 August 1829, Patrick Henry, respondent, had a petition filed in his stead by his next friend and mother, Maria Whitten. Whitten claimed that Henry was freed following the death of their enslaver, John Whitten, who had fled from Virginia with the two following an instance where they were being sold there. Whitten, with the other two, fled first to Kentucky and then to Illinois where they found themselves in a financially poor situation that necessitated the sale of Maria Whitten’s services to Abraham Granger. After some time there between 1828 and 1829, John Witten passed away and freed Maria Whitten and Patrick Henry. The defendant, Garland Rucker, at some point following this incident allegedly enslaved them and stole away with them to St. Louis where he intended to sell them.

Case Information

Petition type(s)

• Interpersonal

Petition subtype(s)

• Wrongful enslavement

Outcome

Unknown

Fate of bound party

Unknown

State

• Missouri

People

• Henry, Patrick (petitioner)
• Henry, Patrick (bound party)
• Rucker, Garland (respondent)
• Rucker, Garland (responding party)
• Rucker, Garland (holding party)
• Newman, John (petitioner attorney)
• Strother, George French (petitioner attorney)
• Gamble, Hamilton Rowan (respondent attorney)
• Carr, William C. (judge)

• Additional parties

  Granger, Abraham (former enslaver)

  Garnier, J.V. (Justice of the Peace)

  Gamble, Archibald (Clerk)

  Simpson, R (Sheriff)