Description:

Native American 0 - 0 Female Cherokee slave ownership in antebellum Tennessee! An outstanding 12pp legal document.

12pp AMS describing a court case in Monroe County, Tennessee involving a female Cherokee slave owner. The document is comprised of three 4pp bifold bundles of lined paper, mostly inscribed by the same hand of law clerk James M. Broyles. In fine to very fine condition, with expected paper folds, each page measuring 7.875" x 12.125". A few minor tears along creases do not affect text. The legal document may be a draft, as there are several crossed out passages, smudges, and the handwriting appears hurried. Several signatures appear throughout the document, including that of the plaintiff, Margaret Morgan, a Cherokee.

The court record dates from around September 19, 1844, when clerk James A. Coffin witnessed the signing of the document. Monroe County, located in southeastern Tennessee, abutted land that was previously owned by the Cherokee Nation, and indeed, the case concerns a Cherokee woman's will. The draft is addressed "To the honorable Thomas L. Williams Chancellor for the Eastern Division of the state of Tennessee presiding in chancery at Madisonville Monroe County Tennessee" and outlines the case of "oratrix" Margaret Morgan against defendants John McShea and Gideon Morgan. Two related legal documents are reproduced at the end of our record; a copy of a will, and a copy of an affidavit testifying to the legitimacy of handwriting involved in a bill of sale.

The plaintiff Margaret Morgan claimed that her slave Alsey, along with four of Alsey's children, were illegally seized from her possession and sold to her husband's creditor after September 1844. As in accordance with Cherokee law, the plaintiff argued that these slaves were solely her property and not that of her husband, and therefore he had no right to sell them to another person. Margaret Morgan, the plaintiff, wanted to recoup her slaves from the man who bought them, John McShea.

Margaret Morgan explained that her mother had bequeathed her a "Negress" named Alsey and Alsey's two sons in a last will and testament dated on December 14, 1828, "for the maintenance and support of your oratrix [Margaret Morgan] ... for her own separate use the use and enjoyment of the said Negress". In addition to the twenty-six year old slave woman and her two children, the affluent Cherokee woman also bequeathed her daughter a "Brussell carpet".

The plaintiff testified that she lived with Gideon Morgan between 1818 and 1828 as a common law spouse, "sometimes with + sometimes separate from him according to agreements and disagreements". Yet according to Gideon Morgan, he lived with Margaret Morgan between 1813 and February 1818 during which time they "lived and cohabited ... according to Cherokee practices" and Gideon even obtained a marriage license from a Blount County, TE Justice of the Peace. Regardless of whether or for how long Margaret and Gideon Morgan were married --based on either Cherokee practices or white law -- the crux of the legal case depended on Margaret's right to own slaves. Cherokee law dictated that Margaret's slave owning rights were exclusive to her: "your oratrix [Margaret Morgan] did not suppose or intend to yield or give up any of her rights under Cherokee laws usage and customs but to retain the same". This Cherokee practice of "femme sole" deviated from white practice, in which a woman was considered "covert" or under the protection, possession, and authority of her husband.

The record continues that between 1828 and 1842, Margaret Morgan "enjoyed the slaves", as well as three more children born to Alsey: Sally, Silvey, and Molly. In 1844, John McShea brought a process against Margaret's estranged husband Gideon in order to "destroy ... bring ... to sufferance and distress" Margaret. To pacify McShea, Gideon sold Alsey and four of her five children to McShea.

Slave owning, along with religious conversion and the adoption of white dress, were just some of the ways that indigenous peoples like the Cherokee attempted to assimilate into white culture. Among upwardly mobile and aspiring Cherokee like Margaret Morgan (who could write, as our document shows), slave owning was a significant sign of social prestige. In Cherokee culture, women possessed the same rights as men: they owned property, could divorce, and even vote in elections. Even more, the Cherokees had a matrilineal society in which ancestry and domestic arrangements were determined by female relationships.

An incredible document exposing the intersection between Cherokees, slaves, whites, and women, six years after the Trail of Tears! Ex William Burger Collection

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. ***PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR SHIPMENT TO BE SENT TO AN ADDRESS OTHER THAN THE ONE YOU HAVE ON FILE WITH INVALUABLE, YOU WILL NEED TO INFORM US OF THIS AS SOON AS PAYMENT IS SUBMITTED FOR YOUR WINNINGS*** Shipping and handling costs are competitive as we maintain discounted contracts with FedEx. If you have any questions, contact University Archives prior to bidding. After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 5 business days following receipt of full payment for item. We currently ship via FedEx but if your purchase is shipping to a P.O. Box, we ship via USPS. All items are insured. We ship from our offices in Westport, CT. We may opt to use a third party shipper for very fragile, bulky or oversized items. Items requiring third party shipping will be denoted in the item description. Packages shipped internationally will have full value declared on shipping form. International buyers will be responsible for any customs fees incurred.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Westport, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 20% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000