1811-012: John Cary & wife vs. Charles Sweeney & c by etc.

Scope and content:

Estate suit. Centers around the estate of George Wythe and the property originally entailed to his great-nephew George Sweeney, who was tried for Wythe's murder in a famous 1806 Richmond court case. Includes as evidence a copy of Wythes's will and the codicil in which he disinherited Sweeney after being poisoned. The will outlines the support that was supposed to be given to Lydia Broadnax, a free Black woman who lived with Wythe and who was barred from testifying about his murder, and Michael Brown, a free Black boy who also lived with Wythe and was murdered alongside him. This included a personal request for Thomas Jefferson to act as Brown's patron.

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