The petition to the will made by Martha McNeill and others to Judge Farquhar Bethune, filed November 30, 1844.
(From: Papers concerning the will of Zephaniah
Kingsley, 1844, 1846,
Series M87-
20)
Page 11
and accord without any coercion whatever of the said Zephaniah
Kingsley or of any other person or persons: and that they and
each and every of them have ever since remained there to wit
at Hayti [Haiti] aforesaid, of their own respective free will and
accord and without any compulsion or coercion of any
person or persons whatever.
But your Petitioners aver and insist that if the said Anna
Madgigne Jai Kingsley, George Kingsley, John Maxwell
Kingsley, Flora Kingsley, Sarah M Kingsley and Micanopy
and each of them were free and not slaves at
the time when they so respectively went to Hayti as aforesaid
and have ever since continued to be free and not slaves and
are now free: they cannot nor can either of them return
to and become domiciliated in this Territory, nor could
they or either of them at the time of death of the said
Zephaniah Kingsley, or at any time since have returned
to and because domiciliated in this Territory: on the contrary
by the Laws and Statutes of this Territory now inforce all
free negros and mulattoes are expressly prohibited
from migrating to or becoming domiciliated in this
Territory: and that all negroes and mulattoes
have for a long space of time last past: To with
for more than fifteen years last past been thus
prohibited from migrating to or becoming domiciliated
in this Territory: and during all that period the migration
of free negroes and mulattoes into this Territory has by the Statute
Law of the Territory been rendered and is now rendered
unlawful. And that the said Anna Madgigne
Tai Kingsley, George Kingsley, John Maxwell Kingsley,
Flora Kingsley, Sarah M Kingsley and Micanopy and
each and every of them at the time when the said
supposed Last Will and Testament of the said
Zephaniah Kingsley was made and executed as aforesaid
were and ever since have been and now are therefore wholly
incapable of taking any property or interest by devise
|
