Walton, George (1749 or 50-1804) [Legal Document on confiscation of slaves]
High-resolution images are available to schools and libraries via subscription to American History, 1493-1943. Check to see if your school or library already has a subscription. Or click here for more information. You may also order a pdf of the image from us here.
Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04337 Author/Creator: Walton, George (1749 or 50-1804) Place Written: Augusta, Georgia Type: Autograph document signed Date: 28 March 1785 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; 23.8 x 18.8 cm. Order a Copy
Written by the Declaration of Independence signer George Walton. Was written while Walton was the Chief Justice of Georgia. Legal document in the case Hancock v. Jack. Document declares that three negroes had been delivered by the "Commissioners of Confiscated Estates to Henry Allison." Allison had received the slaves as compensation for military service and had sold them to the defendant. Goes on to say that the plaintiff recovered them "as not having ever been public property." Says that Allison must apply to the government to be reimbursed. Attached document signed by Thomas [Hancock] and Samuel Jack certifies that the slaves were sold at public auction for 205 pounds, 10 shillings. Docket states "Chief Justice Certf. No. 3."
Walton served as a Continental Congressman 1776-1777 and 1780-1781, was wounded at the Battle of Savannah during the Revolution, and was Governor of Georgia 1779 and 1789. He served as Commissioner to treat with the Indians and to negotiate a treaty with the Cherokees in Tennessee in 1783; chief justice of Georgia 1783-1789; member of the Augusta Board of Commissioners 1784-1785; represented Georgia in the settlement of the boundary line between South Carolina and Georgia in 1786; elected as a delegate to the convention to frame the Federal Constitution in 1787, but declined. Walton was appointed to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James Jackson and served from November 16, 1795, to February 20, 1796, when a successor was elected
[Draft Created by Crowdsourcing]
In court, 28 March, 1785
Hancock v. Jack
[It] appeared on the trial that three negroes had been delivered by the Commissioners of Confiscated Estates to Henry Allison, in compensation of service as an Officer, and that he had sold them to the Defendant, Which said Negroes were recovered by the [present] plaintiff, as not having ever been public property. Therefore [inserted: the said] Henry Allison must apply to the Government to be reimbursed.
Geo Walton
[2]
[Augusta], 28 March, 1785
We certify that the negroes before mentioned, were, some time before the trial, sold at public auction for two hundred and five pounds and ten shillings, Sterling.
Tho. Hancock
Sam. Jack
[docket]
Chief Justice Certf.
No. 3
Citation Guidelines for Online Resources
The copyright law of the United States (title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.