Charlotte Dupuy's Petition
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Letter written by Robert Beale on behalf of Charlotte Dupuy petitioning the Judges to summon Henry Clay to court.
Credit: National Archives, Washington, DC
To the Honbl Judges of the circuit court of the District of Columbia for the county of Washington.
The several petitions of Charlotte or Lotty Charles and Mary Ann respectfully and humbly sets forth to your honors that they are people of color who are entitled to their freedom and who are now held in a state of slavery by one Henry Clay (Secty of State) contrary to law and your petitioners just rights and that they are about to be taken out of this district and carried into the state of Kentucky, there to be held as slaves for life whereupon they severally pray your honors to grant them such releif [sic] as they may be lawfully entitled to and such process of your honorable court against the said Henry Clay as is usual in such cases to compel the attendance of the said Henry Clay in your honbl court to answer this petition and to enter the usual security and recognizance not to remove your petitioners or any of them beyond the jurisdiction of your honorable court and as in duty bound they will ever pray
Robt Beale pro
petitioners
[opposite side lists filing date as: "13th Feby 1829"]
Related Subjects:
Slavery
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| President's House Carpenters' Roll from May 1795 | Payment record for carpenters,including five enslaved men, who constructed the President's House. |
| Members of Gadsby's Enslaved Household | A list of their names and ages. |
| Gadsby Slave Quarters at Decatur House ca.1937 | Photograph taken by Volkmar Wentzel in 1937 showing the H Street side of the slave quarters at Decatur House. |
| First page of a letter from Henry Clay to his agent in Washington, Philip Fendall, regarding Charlotte Dupuy's petition for freedom | Letter written written by Henry Clay to his agent in Washington, Philip Fendall, regarding Charlotte Dupuy's bid for freedom. |
| Ewell House | Buying, selling, and resisting. |
| Dolley Madison's House | A former slave shows charity toward an impoverished First Lady. |
| Decatur House Slave Quarters Floor Plans | Floorplans and architectural drawings of the Decatur House slave quarters. |
| Decatur House Slave Quarters | Men, women, and children from two families living together in 900 square feet... |
| Decatur House | Where Charlotte Dupuy takes a brave stand against slavery. |
| Daniel Webster's House | A slave plans a daring escape, but has a change of heart... |
| Charlotte Dupuy | Charlotte Dupuy, an enslaved woman who sued her owner Henry Clay for her freedom. |
| Bill of Sale for Paul Jennings from Dolley Madison to Pollard Webb | Document recording Dolley Madison's 1847 sale of Paul Jennings to Pollard Webb. |
| Bill of Sale for Charlotte Dupuy to Henry Clay | Bill of Sale for Charlotte Dupuy from James Condon to Henry Clay. |
| "Negro Life At the South" | Click Image to Enlarge. A 1859 painting by Eastman Johnson depicting urban slavery. |
| "Negro Life at the South" | 1859 painting depicting urban slavery. |
| "Mrs. Madison's Slaves Again" | 1848 Newspaper article about the Madison's slaves. |
Resistance to Slavery
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Paul Jennings' Letter | Reading of letter from Paul Jennings to Daniel Webster. |
| Paul Jennings | Paul Jennings |
| Frederick Douglass | Revered African American leader. |
| First page of a letter from Henry Clay to his agent in Washington, Philip Fendall, regarding Charlotte Dupuy's petition for freedom | Letter written written by Henry Clay to his agent in Washington, Philip Fendall, regarding Charlotte Dupuy's bid for freedom. |
| Ewell House | Buying, selling, and resisting. |
| Dolley Madison's House | A former slave shows charity toward an impoverished First Lady. |
| Decatur House | Where Charlotte Dupuy takes a brave stand against slavery. |
| Daniel Webster's House | A slave plans a daring escape, but has a change of heart... |
| Charlotte Dupuy | Charlotte Dupuy, an enslaved woman who sued her owner Henry Clay for her freedom. |
| Bill of Sale for Charlotte Dupuy to Henry Clay | Bill of Sale for Charlotte Dupuy from James Condon to Henry Clay. |
Enslaved People
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Weddings at St. John's Church | Selected entries from the St. John's Church marriage register. |
| Thomas Greene Bethune [Wiggins], 1849 -1908 | Photograph of blind piano prodigy Thomas Greene Bethune, the first African American artist to perform at the White House. |
| The White House | From slavery to sit-ins.... |
| Tayloe House | Compensated emancipation, only in DC... |
| St. John's Church | Free and enslaved African Americans are married and baptized at the President's parish... |
| President's House Carpenters' Roll from May 1795 | Payment record for carpenters,including five enslaved men, who constructed the President's House. |
| Paul Jennings | Paul Jennings |
| Members of Gadsby's Enslaved Household | A list of their names and ages. |
| Lafayette Square | An enslaved woman buys her freedom and changes the nation's history.... |
| Gadsby Slave Quarters at Decatur House ca.1937 | Photograph taken by Volkmar Wentzel in 1937 showing the H Street side of the slave quarters at Decatur House. |
| Frederick Douglass | Revered African American leader. |
| First page of a letter from Henry Clay to his agent in Washington, Philip Fendall, regarding Charlotte Dupuy's petition for freedom | Letter written written by Henry Clay to his agent in Washington, Philip Fendall, regarding Charlotte Dupuy's bid for freedom. |
| Ewell House | Buying, selling, and resisting. |
| Emancipation in the District of Columbia - List of the Petitions Filed | Government document showing claims paid for emancipated slaves to the former owners. |
| Elizabeth Keckly (1818-1907) | Elizabeth Keckly was born into slavery in 1818. She went on to purchase her own freedom and establish a successful dressmaking business. |
| Dolley Madison's House | A former slave shows charity toward an impoverished First Lady. |
| Decatur House Slave Quarters Floor Plans | Floorplans and architectural drawings of the Decatur House slave quarters. |
| Decatur House Slave Quarters | Men, women, and children from two families living together in 900 square feet... |
| Decatur House | Where Charlotte Dupuy takes a brave stand against slavery. |
| Daniel Webster's House | A slave plans a daring escape, but has a change of heart... |
