Crawford v. Bank of Mobile

374

The State of Alabama} Mobile County }

Plea before the Honorable John Bragg Judge of the Circuit Court for the sixth Judicial Circuit of the State of Alabama at a time thereof begun and holden in and for Mobile County on the 3rd Monday after the 4th monday of March A. D. 1848.

Writ}

The State of Alabama to any sheriff of the said State writing you and hereby commanded To summon the President Directers and company of the Bank of Mobile if to be found in your county, to be and appear before the Honorable the Circuit Court to be holden for Mobile County, at the place for holding the said Court on the fourth monday after the fourth monday of October 1846 to answer to William Crawford in a plea of [[trespass?]] on the case to the damage of the plaintiff Twenty five Thousand dollars. Herein fail not, and have you them there this this writ Witness Augustus Brooks clerk of the Circuit Court onr aforesaid this 20th day of August in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and forty six.

Issued this 28th day of August in the year 1846.

Attest A Brook Clerk

Cause of action"

This action is brought to receive damages for the tortious issue and levy of an Execution from the County Court of Mobile County bearing date in June 1846 against this defendant & others; and also for the [?] & conversion of Twenty nine slaves & seventeen mules & horses - and for causing the death of a negro slave named Emily by this tortious and illegal proceeding.

Campbell Chandler for pff .

Shffs Return "

Received 29 ' August 1846 and executed August 31st 1846 by serving a copy of the within writ on Jonathen Emmanuel president Protem, and a copy of the [?] on Thomas W English Cushin of said Mobile Bank.

[Inezr?] Shuggins shff Mobile County By O. W. Austin Deputy Sheriff

Declaration " The State of Alabama} Circuit Court Mobile County } November Term 1846

William Crawford by his attorney complains of the President Directers &Co of the Bank of Mobile, who were summoned to appear in a plea of trespass on the case, per that whereas the said plaintiff before the happening of the grievances hereafter mentioned was possessed of his own property at Washington County to wit in the State aforsaid on the first day of June in the Year aforsaid, Viz of the negro slaves Silvia, Alfred , Edward, alias Ed , Bob, Alexander, Oliver, Nanny, Adelim, and her two children, Alzo, Iam, Betsey, & Louisa , Nat, Alfred, Windser, George, Gaston, Harry, George, Pleasant, Imy, Eliza and her three Children, Harriett and Eighteen mules each of which slaves are of the value of seven hundred dollars and each of the said mules were

375

of the value of one hundred dollars, and being so possessed in manner and form aforesaid the said pff casually lost the said property from his possession; and the said property afterwards to wit on the & year aforesaid came to the possession of the defendents by finding. Yet the said defendents although . requested by the said plaintiff to redeliver the said property to the plaintiff to wit; as the county aforesaid on the 25th day of June of the Year aforesaid refused so to do, but the said slaves & mules consented to their own use to the great damage of the plaintiff.

And for that whereas also the said plaintiff on the first day of June 1846 and before the happening of the grievences hereafter mentioned was possessed of the following slaves as of his own property, a negro woman named Silvia of the value of Seven hundred dollars; young & likely, a young negro man named Alfred, two boys Edward or Ed and Bob Alexander a likely boy, a man named Oliver, a woman named Nanny, and a woman named Adalin & her two children, a woman named Nancy with her two children three young women lam Betsey and Louisa, a young man named Nat, [aso] Alfred, Windsor, George, Curtin, Leroy, also [Gerge] Pleasant, [Jeny], valuable boys, a young woman named Eliza with her three children, each of the said slaves at the time aforesaid being of the value of seven hundred dollars Also Eighteen mules of the value of one hundred dollars each, and the said plaintiff being in possession as aforesaid, the said defendent contriving and fraudulently and maliciously designing to injure [being?] & to oppress the said plaintiff in this behalf and to distress and impoverish him the plaintiff did procure to be issued by the Clerk of the County Court of Mobile County a certain writ of Execution bearing [?] the 9th day of June 1846 and directed to any sherriff of the said state, and made returnable to the February term of the said County Court A.D. 1847 by which said Execution the said sherriff was commanded as before that of the goods & chattells, lands and tenements of Josiah H Lister, and of William Crawford, Julien E Sawyer & Ptolemy I. Harris his security on a Bond for writ of Error, and of Robert N. Hazard the security of Said Lister & Crawford on a forfeited forthcoming Bond if to be found in their county, he cause to be made the sum of Twenty Two hundred & Eighty four 02/00 dollars and the further sum of two hundred twenty eight 40/100 dollars ten per cent damages thereon awarded in the Supreme Court, which the Presidents Directers &Co of the Bank of Mobile has received against them & the sum of Twenty two dollars & thirty seven cents whereof the said Josiah P, William, Julien E, Ptolmy I, & Robert H were convicted and the said defendents with the same fradulent ma

376 [ma]licious design did place the said writ of Execution in the hands of the sherriff of Washington County of the state aforesaid and instruct the sherriff of the said county with the same fraudulent & malicious design of impoverishing and destroying the said plaintiff to sign and take from the possession of the said plaintiff the said slaves of the value aforesaid, and the said eighteen mules of the value aforesaid; and him to hold for a long space of time to wit from the 13th day of June aforesaid till the 15th day of July thereafter, with the fraudulent and malicious intent of hindering and preventing the said plaintiff from employing the said slaves, or from having the use & benefit of their services on his plantation in the county aforesaid and to prevent and hinder the cultivation of the same. And the plaintiff avers that the said seizure and detention of the said slaves and mules made by the said Sherriff under the procurement aforesaid was not made in the bonafide design and intent of obeying the commands of the said writ but to carry into effort the unlawful malicious & fraudulent intent of the said defendent, and the said plaintiff further avers that the said slaves and mules were of very great value to wit, that each of the slaves was of the value of Seven hundred dollars, and each of the mules of the value of one hundred dollars, and that the same was well known to the defendent, and so the said plaintiff says that the said exorbitant & excessive levy was made in pursuance of the same unlawful criminal and malicious intent to injure and to impoverish the plaintiff and to withdraw from his control and service the slaves and mules aforesaid to a much greater value than was necessary to keep and satisfy the said debt of the said defendent, and so they the said defendent well knew, when they gave their instructions aforesaid: and the said plaintiff further saith that the reason of the seizure of the said property under the said execution, and -- the detention of the same as aforesaid the said plaintiff was deprived of the services of the said slaves and mules as aforesaid, and his plantation amitted remained uncultivated and divers valuable crops of corn oats cotton [vegetables?] of any great value were wholly lost to the said plaintiff --- -- And for that also heretofore to wit at the January term of the Supreme court of the state of Alabama A.D. 1845 it was made to appear to the said court that the said defendents at the June term of the County court for mobile county 1843 had received a judgement against Josiah H. Lister, in the sum of $2284.07 & costs of suit, and that the said judgement had been removed to the Supreme Court aforesaid by writ

377 4 of Error issued on behalf of the said Josiah D Lister, where upon it may considered by the said Supreme Court that the said Judgement be affirmed and that the said President Directers and Company of the Bank of Mobile recurs against said Lister & against WmCrawford, Julien E Sawyer & Ptolmy I Harris securities for the prosecution of the said writ of Error the amount of the said Judgement of said county Court two per cent damages thereon & interest & the costs of the said cause in the Supreme Court & the Court below - and afterwards to wit on the 15th day of March A. D. 1845 a writ of fieri facias issued from the said county court upon the said affirmand of judgement against said Lister & his securities returnable to said county court at the[June] term thereof thru next succeding for the amount of the same directed to any sheriff of the State of Alabama and was placed in the hands of the said Sheriff of Washington County to be executed and afterwards to wit 27th day of April 1845 the sheff of Washington County aforesaid levies the said execution upon the following slaves to wit, Harvy Davy Bob Ed Jim, Windsor as the property of said plaintiff who gave bonds with Josiah D. Lister & Robert N. Hazard to have the same forthcoming at the day of sale (5th May 1845) and to be delivered to the sheriff which bond was entered into to the said defendent and delivered to the said Sheriff and for that also the said sheriff afterwards to wit on the 5th day of May 1845 endorsed on the said execution the said levy, and the taking of the said Bond and the forfeiture of the same, and returned the said Execution & bond to the County Court, and for that also afterwards to wit on the 10 day of December 1845 a writ of fieri facias issued from the said Court against the said parties to the Judgement in the Supreme Court and the said Robert N. Hazard the security on the forthcoming Bond aforesaid for the amount of the judgement and costs returnable to the next term of the County Court next after the [liste?] thereof & which was listed of the day aforesaid, directed to any sheriff of the State of Alabama - and which was placed in the hands of the sheriff of Washington County to be executed, and who executed the same by a levy of the same upon certain lands of of Josian A Lister situate in his county, and which are respectively described in the endorsments of the said sheriff on the said Execution, and who further returned the said execution with the return not in time to sell at the return day thereof - And for that also after the return of the said last mentioned execution the said defendent afterwards to wit on the 5th day of February 1846 caused to be issued an alias fieri facias directed

37 8 as before to any sheriff of the state of Alabama upon the said judgement and against the parties to the same & to the functioning bond and returnable to the same term of the said county court, and which was placed in the hands of the sheriff of Washington County and was by him levied upon certain slaves of the plaintiff, Davy, Winston, James, Rhonda, Jim, & four mules & was further returned not in tie to sell. And for that also on the 26th of February 1846 the said defendent caused to be issued from the office of the Clerk of the County Court of Mobile County a writ of venditio expona directed to any sheriff of the state of Alabama and by which the said sheriff was directed to expire to sale the lands and tenements of Josiah D Lister which he according to the ammands of the execution aforesaid had levied & which remained in the hands of the sheriff unsold as he had certified in his return to the said county Court to satify the debt and costs afforesaid and to bring the monies together with the writ to the said court on the 2nd Monday of June thereafter - and the said writ was placed in the hands of the sheriff of Washington County aforesaid to be executed, and the said sheriff returned the same in said court not sold for want of time bidders - and for that also the said defendents afterwards to wit on the 9th day of June 1846, said out of the said court a writ of Venditeo exponas directed to any sheriff of the state of Alabama commanding him to expose to sale those goods & chattels of the plaintiffs Dayt Winston Iam Rhoda, Jim, & five mules to the value of of the debt & costs of the said defendents so recovered as aforesaid; and which goods and chattels remain in the hands of the Sheriff to satisfy the said defendent the debt aforesaid and he was directed to return the same to the said County Court at the 2nd Monday of February after on the judgement aforesaid, and the returns of the sheriff aforesaid & which remain on record in the said County Court.

And the said plaintiff avers that at the date of the aforesaid execution there was in the hands of the sheriff under his levy as aforesaid lands & tenements ], goods and chatells of the defendents sufficient to satisfy the said judgement & costs.

And the said plaintiff further avers that the said defendents notwithstanding the proceedings aforesaid to said defendents contrivingcontrary and maliciously and wilfully contriving to injure oppress and impoverish the plaintiff in the behalf caused and procurred to the issue from the said county court another writ of Execution bearing [?] the 9th of June 1846, and directed to any sheriff of the state of Alabama by which he was commanded as before of the goods and chattels, lands and tenements of Josiah D Lister and of William Crawford, Julien