Abraham Dutton, a boy of color, by and through his next friend, Grace Dutton v. John Paca

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Abraham Dutton, a Boy of Color, by and through His Next Friend, Grace Dutton V. John Paca. 1834, St. Louis Circuit Court Historical Records Project, accessed October 8, 2026, https://digitalexhibits.library.washu.edu/s/ccr/item/60802

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Case Title: Abraham Dutton, a boy of color, by and through his next friend, Grace Dutton v. John Paca
Series: Freedom Suits
Plaintiff: Dutton, Abraham
Defendant: Paca, John
Date Filed: 1834-07-02
Next Friend: Dutton, Grace
Filing Date: 1834-07-02
Plaintiff’s Attorney: Gamble, Hamilton Rowan
Defendant’s Attorney: Bates, Edward G.
Court Name: St. Louis Circuit Court
Court Term: 1834-07
Judge: Lawless, Luke E.
Clerk: Gamble, Archibald; Ruland, John
Justice of the Peace: Hough, D.
Sheriff: Walker, John K.
Cause of Action: Trespass; Assault; Battery; False Imprisonment
Case Notes: Plaintiff born June 1818, sued by mother/next friend Grace Dutton, born 1792; grandmother Hannah owned & manumitted by Josias William Dallam of Maryland; agreement extended to Hannah's decendants; Andrew born after Grace freed, but given to John Paca.
Case Number: 114
Identifier: ccr1834.06722.008
Source: Missouri State Archives - St. Louis
Rights: Public Domain
PDF Download: Download PDF of all images
Transcription: **Abraham Dutton, a boy of color, by and through his next friend, Grace Dutton v. John PAca**

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**Page 1** (6722_001.jpg)
> *Legal Function: Petition to Sue*

To the Honorable the Judge of the circuit Court of St Louis
county
The petition of Abraham Dutton a free boy of
color an infant under the age of twenty one years
by Grace his mother and next friend respect-.
-fully represents
That his grand mother who was named
Hannah was a slave the property of one Josias[?] William Dallam in the State of Maryland and that the said
Dallam while he so owned the said Hannah on
the thirteenth day of March in the year seventeen
hundred and eighty seven [illegible] a [illegible] of [illegible]-
[illegible] by which he [illegible] the siad [illegible]
at the [illegible] of [illegible] year from the date of
said deed [illegible] the [illegible] in said deed that [illegible]
the children or [illegible] that might [illegible]
from said [illegible] and he [illegible] in [illegible] after the
[illegible] of said deed should he free at twenty three years
of age. [illegible] that his mother [illegible]
was the daughter of said [illegible] and was [illegible] the year seventeen hundred and ninety two
and that your [illegible] was [illegible] about the month of
April in the year eighteen hundred and nineteen and
after his said mother [illegible] has [illegible] the age of twenty
three years. [illegible] then [illegible] that his mother
[illegible] is [illegible] in the enjoy ment of her [illegible] that
your [illegible] is held as a slave [illegible] of St Louis
[illegible] who [illegible] your [illegible] as property [illegible]
by his marriage with the daughter of the said Josias[?]
William Dallam Wherefore your petitioner prays that
he may be permitted to institute a suit as a poor person
against the said Josias[?] William Dallow to recover his
freedom and that counsel be assigned him according to law.

*Grace her X mark Dutton
next friend
Feste[?]
H R Gamble*

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**Page 2** (6722_002.jpg)
> *Legal Function: Justice of the Peace's Certification*

State of Missouri County of St Louis
This day personally appeared
before the undersigned a Justice of the peace of
the county of St Louis Grace Dutton who being by
me duly sworn upon her oath says that the facts stated in the foregoing petition she believes to be true
Sworn before me this 2nd day of july 1834

*Grace her X Dutton mark
D Hough Justic[?] of the peace St Louis county*
> *Legal Function: Order Granting Petition to Sue*

On the foregoing petition it is ordered that Abraham Dutton the
petitioner be permitted to sue as a poor person to es-
tablish[?] his freedom and that H R Gamble be as-
signed as petitioners counsel. It is also ordered that
the petitioner have reasonable liberty to attend his counsel and the court when occasion may require and
that he shall not be removed or taken out of the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court of St Louis County nor be
subjected to any severity because of his application
for freedom

*Given at my chambers in the city of St Louis
July 11th. 1834
[illegible] Carr Sct*

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**Page 3** (6722_003.jpg)
> *Legal Function: Complaint of Plaintiff Abraham Dutton by Next Friend Grace Dutton*

In the Circuit Court
July Term 1834 Saint Louis County to wit
Abraham Dutton a boy of color
by HR Gamble his counsel duly asigned com
plains of John Paca of a plea of trespass for
that the said defendant heretofore to wit on
the first day of June in the year eighteen
hundred and thirty four with force arms at
the county aforesaid an assault did make in
and upon the said plaintiff and him the
said plaintiff then and there did beat bruise
wound and ill treat and did then and there
imprison the said plaintiff and hath ever
since kept detained and held the said plain-
tiff in imprisonment and slavery and still
holds the said plaintiff in slavery he the
said plaintiff at the time of the committing
of the said grievances and still being a free
person and other wrongs to the said plaintiff
then and there did to the great damage of
the said plaintiff and against the peace
and dignity of the state wherefore the
said plaintiff saith he is injured and
hath sustained damage to the amount
of four hundred dollars and therefore he sue &c

*HR Gamble
Attr[?] for plff*
County of Saint Louis , ss, The State of Missouri , To the Sheriff of the County of saint Louis Greeting
We command you to summon John Paca that he be and appear
before the Judge of our Circuit Court at the next term thereof to be
held at the city of St Louis within and for the County of Saint Louis on
the fourth Monday of July instant then and there to answer unto
Abraham Dutton a boy of color of a plea of trespass wherefore the said
plaintiff saith he is injured and hath sustained damage to the amount

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**Page 4** (6722_004.jpg)
of five hundred dollars and have you then there this writ

*Witness Archibald Gamble Clerk of our said
Circuit Court at office this twelfth day of July
one thousand Eight Hundred and thirty four
Archibald Gamble Clerk*
on the foregoing petition it is ordered that Abraham Dutton the petitioner be permitted to sue
as a poor person to establish his freedom and that H.R. Gamble be assigned as petitioners counsel. It is
also ordered that the petitioner have reasonable liberty to attend his counsel and the court when occasion
may require and that he shall not be removed or taken out of the Jurisdiction of the Circuit Court of St. Louis
county nor be subjected to any severity because of his application for freedom-Given at my chambers
in the city of St. Louis July 11th 1834

*L.E .Lawless
the above is a copy of the order of the [illegible] on the patition
A Gamble Clerk*
Served this writ on John Paca on the
12th July 1834 by offering to read to him
the writ and declaration in the city of
St. Louis which he refused to hear, and
at the same time I made him acquainted
with [illegible] of the above copy of
the order of the above permitting, the plaintiff to sue &c

*Jno K . Walker shff Serv[?]. \$1.00*
> *Legal Function: Cover Page*

No.115
Saint Louis Circuit Court July Term 1834
> *Legal Function: Certificate of Filing*

Abraham Dutton
vs
John Paca
Suit for freedom
let a summons issue

*HR Gamble
filed 12th July 1834 Archibald Gamble Clerk*

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**Page 5** (6722_005.jpg)
> *Legal Function: Reply of Defendant John Paca*

Abraham Dutton vs John Paca
And the said John Paca , the
defendant, by [illegible] Bates his attorney, comes & defends the
force & injury when &c and says that is not guilty of the
wrongs & trespasses above laid to his charge in manner
& form as the said boy Abraham Dutton has above
thereof complained against him; and of this he put
himself upon the country

*[illegible] Bates*
And for a further plea in this behalf, the said
John Paca says that the said Abraham Dutton ought
not to have & maintain his action aforesaid against him, because
he says that at the said time when &c the said Abraham
Dutton was a slave, without that the said Abraham , was,
at the said time, a free person, in manner & form as
he the said Abraham has in his declaration above
supposed, and of this he puts himself upon the
country.

*filed July 30[?] 1834 [illegible] Bates*

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**Page 6** (6722_006.jpg)
Dismifed[?] book 9 - page 52
> *Legal Function: Certificate of Filing*

Abraham Dutton vs John Paca
No 115 July term 1834
pleas. 1. not guilty
2. plff a slave

*filed july 30th 1834 A Gamble clk*

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**Page 7** (6722_007.jpg)
> *Legal Function: Bill of Exceptions*

Be it remembered that on the trial of this
, the same being submitted for trial to the court, nei[?]-
ther[?] party requiring a jury; the plaintiff read in residence
the following acts of the legislature of Maryland, to wit,
“an act to prevent
disabled & superannuated slaves
being set free or the manumission of slaves by any
last will or testament “ made at a session of assembly
begun & and held at the City of Annapolis the 3 June 1752 &[?]
“an act to continue the acts of assembly therein men” tioned[?]“ made at a session of assembly began & held at
the city of Annapolis the 6th November 1786. which
acts of the legislature of Maryland so read in residence
one not herein set forth it being assured by the counsel
of both parties hereto that that the same may be read & the same advantage had in effect given to the same
in the Supreme Court on error as if they were incor[?]-
porated[?] in this will - the plaintiff then offered to
read in residence with in-authentication thereon
endorsed, a paper writing purporting to be an au-
authenticated copy for one of the land record books of
Hartford county in the state of Maryland , which pa-
per writing & in-authentication are in the words &
figures following (here insert - the same) to the read-
ing of which the Deft by his counsel objected but the
court overruled the objection & permitted the same to
be read, to which the Deft by his counsel excepts
the plff: then read in evidence said paper writing & in-, authentication & [illegible] one of the
slaves named in said paper writing was the mo-
ther[?] of Grace who is the mother of the plff: & it
was admitted that Hannah at the time appointed
for her liberation in said paper writing was under
fifty - years of age & capable of maintaining
herself - that Grace was born in the year 1792

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**Page 8** (6722_008.jpg)
& the plff: her child was born after Grace had passed
the age of twenty three years and that the defendant held the plaintiff in slavery slavery at the commencement of this suit
-there being no other
evidence on either side; the deft. upon the foregoing
testimony moved the court to decide that upon
the case made by the plff: he was not entitled to
recover his freedom, but the court refused so to
decide & decided that upon the case made by
him he was entitled to his freedom, to which de-
cision[?] the deft by his counsel excepts & prays
the Court to issue & read his bill of exception
which is [illegible] accordingly.

*[illegible]*
> *Legal Function: Certificate of Filing*

Abraham Dutton vs John Paca
Bill of Exceptions

*Filed April 8th 1836[?] John Ruland clerk*

Item sets: All Circuit Court Records; Freedom Suits Case Files, 1814-1860; Circuit Court Cases