Black History Month.. Do you know Elizabeth Key?

[SoCalDem]

Great historical resource

1655 Elizabeth Key, a slave, sues for her freedom in Virginia based on the argument that her station in life should be determined by her
father, a free white, rather than her mother, a slave. Her attorney, William Greensted,
wins the case and marries her.
Virginia reacts in 1662 by legislating that children’s status is determined by
the mother’s condition, slave or free

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Elizabeth Key Case: The illegitimate daughter of an enslaved black mother and a free white settler father, Elizabeth Key spent the first five or six years of her life at home. Then in 1636, ownership of Elizabeth was transferred to another white settler, for whom she was required to serve for nine years before being released from bondage. At some point, ownership was transferred again, this time to a justice of the peace. When this owner died in 1655, Elizabeth, through her lawyer, petitioned the court, asking for her freedom; by this time she had already served 19 years. The court granted her her freedom. Unfortunately, the decision was appealed to a higher court. The court overturned the decision, ruling that Elizabeth was a slave. Elizabeth and her lawyer didn't stop there. They petitioned the General Assembly, which appointed a committee to look into the matter. The committee sent the case back to the courts for retrial. Elizabeth was ultimately freed

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I think this is a thesis paper on her life & the law that freed her
http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1053&context=fac_pubs

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actual court documents follow:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~vanorthu/docs/KeyElizabeth.html