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Title: John C. Caldwell vs. Richard H. Porter
Description: These documents, created between 1855 and 1857, relate to the Jackson County, Missouri court case John C. Caldwell vs. Richard H. Porter. On January 1, 1855, Caldwell purchased a slave named Eliza for $800 from slave dealer Clifton R. Barnes with plans to sell her for a profit in Louisiana. Caldwell later discovered that Eliza was “unsound both in body and mind” and accused Barnes of “fraud and wilfull misrepresentation.” Caldwell took Eliza back to Missouri but Barnes refused to rescind the sales contract.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: 1855-1857

Title: State vs. Thomas Brown
Description: These documents, created between 1855 and 1856, relate to the Jackson County, Missouri court case State vs. Thomas Brown. Brown is accused of attempting to take four slaves out of Missouri with the intention of procuring their freedom. The slaves were caught in DeKalb County, Missouri in November 1855; a witness recounts that “Brown stated he took those Negroes for the love he had for them.” In a signed statement dated November 28, 1855, Thomas Brown pleads guilty to the charges.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: November 25, 1855 - March 11, 1856

Title: Wyllys C. Ransom vs. George C. Bingham
Description: These documents, created between 1866 and 1867, relate to the Jackson County, Missouri court case Wyllys C. Ransom vs. George C. Bingham. Ransom accuses Bingham of slander, asserting that Bingham publicly and repeatedly said he was a “murderer, robber, thief and a house burner” during the Civil War. Portions of testimony are from Ransom’s fellow officers in the Kansas Volunteers. Ransom seeks $30,000 in damages.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: 1866-1867

Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865