The Enslaved Freedwoman Who Sued for Her Freedom--And Won It
Wendell Edwards, on KHOU.com (Feb. 11, 2004):
An incredible story of freedom and justice unfolded more than a century ago inside a Harris County courtroom. One hundred and fifty-six years ago Emeline Thompson, a free woman of color, came to Texas only to be enslaved again.
But that is not the end of her story -- it's just the beginning. A remarkable legal challenge that was once lost has been recently found.
Houston in the 1840s was hardly a place for a free woman of color. But in 1846 26-year-old Emeline Thompson moved to Harris County.
"A black woman who had been freed, coming to Houston and being enslaved and trusting the law courts run by slave owners to set her free make this a compelling story," says Judge Mark Davidson.
The story can be found in the original court case documents, documents discovered last fall that have since been restored.
They chronicle the story how slave owner Jesse P. Bolls enslaved Emeline and her two young sons. Having gained her freedom from living in a northern free state Emeline decided to fight.
Her plight was the talk of the town. And it captured the attention of prominent attorney Peter Gray, one of the founding members of the law firm Baker-Botts, who was so intrigued by her story he took the case pro bono.
"The first real significant motion was an injunction from selling the two children," says Joe Cheavens, a partner of the Baker-Botts Law Firm. "Because he was a slave owner, he could sell them as property."
The case was delayed three times before it ever went to trial.
"That turned out to be very harmful to Mr. Bolls," says Judge Davidson. "Gray used that last six-month period to get testimony from Philadelphia, Tennessee and Louisiana that showed Emeline was free."
Then on November 25, 1848, according to court documents, the jury of 12 white men, some of which were slave owners, came back with a verdict.
"The jury found that she was and would remain for the rest of her life a free woman," says Judge Davidson. "And found she was entitled to damages of $1."
Judge Davidson says it only took an hour for that jury to reach the verdict. But the fallout would last much longer.
Emeline Thompson left Harris County. Her name didn't show up in any cenus reports. Jesse P. Bolls also left and moved to Cameron, Texas and continued to own slaves.