Hundreds of people who were being held as slaves in St. Louis sued for their freedom in the city’s Circuit Court during the five decades leading to the Civil War. The Freedom Suits Memorial identifies and honors these Black men, women, and children, who confronted enormous obstacles in their efforts to establish their freedom.
We invite you to learn more about their stories, through the documents their legal struggles produced. Clicking on the names of the plaintiffs listed below will take you to their case files, the vast majority of which were digitized by the St. Louis Freedom Suits / Legal Encoding Project at Washington University. Among plaintiffs who sued more than once, please note that only their first suit is linked.
[This segment of the Virtual Learning Center is still under construction and will continue to be added to over time. Still there is a great deal of information about the plaintiffs below.]
St. Louis Freedom Suit
Plaintiffs, 1814 – 1860
1814
1818
1819
1820
1821
1822
1823
MALINDA, a free person of color
NELLY, a free person of color
1824
JAMES YOUNG, a free man
1825
MOLLY, a free woman
LORINDA, a free girl of color
WINNY, a free woman of color
MALINDA, a free girl of color
HARRY, a free boy of color
JENNY, a free woman of color
WINETTA, a free girl of color
MARGUERITE, a free woman of color
1826
CATHERINE
JULIA
HELEN
JOSEPH
JOHN MERRY, a free man of color
JENNY, a free girl
JERRY, a free man
1827
POLLY WILSON, a free woman of color
FRANCOIS LaGRANGE, a free man of color
MILLY, a free mulatto woman
WILLIAM, a free negro boy
DAVID SHIPMAN, a free mulatto boy
ASPASIA, a woman of color
THEOTISTE, a woman of color
MARY, a woman of color
ELIZABETH, a free girl of color
VIRGINIA, a free girl of color
VICTOIRE, a free girl of color
JOHN SINGLETON, a free man of color
MOLLY RECTOR, a free woman of color
1828
ASPASIA, a free woman of color
PETER, a free man of color
SUZETTE, a free woman of color
ANGELIQUE, a free woman of color
EDMUND, a free boy of color
JOHN, a free boy of color
GEORGE RELFE, a man of color
MATILDA, a free girl of color
1829
MARY, a free woman of color
ELIZABETH, a free girl of color
VIRGINIA, a free girl of color
VICTOIRE, a free girl of color
ROBERT SIMPSON
VINCENT, a free person of color
MILLY, a woman of color
PETER, a man of color
NICHOLAS JONES, a free man of color
CAREY EWTON, a free man of color
MARIA WHITEN, a free woman of color
PATRICK HENRY, a free boy of color
VINCENT, a man of color
1830
WILLIAM HENRY, a black man
RALPH, a man of color
JOE, a black man
1831
CARY, a man of color
MATILDA, a woman of color
JULIA, a woman of color
PETER, a man of color
NELLY RICHARDS, a woman of color
JACK, a man of color
MARIQUETTE
JANE, woman of color
MARGARET, a girl of color
SALLY, a girl of color
HENRY, a boy of color
ANNA, a woman of color
LOUISA, a girl of color
1832
TENOR WASHINGTON, a woman of color
JOHN, a boy of color
THENIA, a woman of color
CHARLOTTE, a colored girl
VINA, a woman of color
COLEMAN DUNCAN
MATILDA, a woman of color
MICHAEL, a boy of color
ANSON, a boy of color
SAM, a person of color
NATHAN, a person of color
MARY ANN, a person of color
MAHALA, a free woman of color
SUSAN, a girl of color
JACK BARTON, a man of color
LEAH, a woman of color
1833
SUSAN, a woman of color
SARAH, a girl of color
HARRIET, an infant
MILLY, a woman of color
RALPH, a free man of color
JAMES WILKINSON, a man of color
MARY, a woman of color
ADOLPHE VINCENT, a boy of color
MARCELLINE VINCENT
LOUISE VINCENT, a woman of color
1834
HENRY, a man of color
REUBEN, a man of color
NELSON KERR, a free man of color
ANDREW DUTTON, a free boy of color
ABRAHAM DUTTON, a free boy of color
LEMMON DUTTON, a free girl of color
MARY ANN, an infant of color
JAMES HENRY, a boy of color
1835
JUDY (also known as Julia Logan)
HETTY, a woman of color
NANCY LIGON, a woman of color
LEWIS, a man of color
DANIEL WILSON, a man of color
SALLY MELVIN, a woman of color
ELIZA TYLER, a woman of color
MARY FARNHAM
MARY JOHNSON (also known as Bevinue)
PAUL AUGUSTE ALLARD, an infant of color
MARY ANN STEEL
SALLY, a person of color
AGNIS (also known as Agathe), a woman of color
MICHAEL EDWARDS, a colored lad
JOSEPHINE LaCOURSE, an infant of color
MILLY, a woman of color
1836
COURTNEY, a woman of color
BEN, a man of color
GREEN BERRY LOGAN, an infant of color
JULIA (also known as Mary Ann)
DELPH (also known as Delphy), a mulatress
PHILIS, a free woman of color
1837
ASPASIA, a woman of color
JUDY, a woman of color
CELESTE, a woman of color
CELESTINE, a woman of color
ANDREW, a boy of color
LEWIS STUBBS
WILLIAM STUBBS
JACK, a man of color
JAMES alias James Haskins
NANCY STUBBS
ROBERT STUBBS
PHEBE STUBBS
1838
STEPNEY, et al., persons of color
TARLTON, a person of color
CASSY, a person of color
LUCY JANE, a person of color
GEORGE LOUIS, a person of color
MARGARETTA, a person of color
HURIAH, a person of color
REBECCA, a colored girl
SAMUEL STOKES, a man of color
ANN DAVIS
1839
JAMES TALBOT
CHARLES ENDICOTT
LEWIS, a boy of color
CELESTE, a woman of color
ASPASIA (also known as Aspisa)
ANDREW, a person of color
POLLY WASH
ELIZA BRISCOE
1840
SEYTON, a woman of color
CHARLES, a man of color
BRUNETTA BARNES, of color
ARCHIBALD BARNES, of color
PIERRE, a mulatto
DIANA CEPHAS, a woman of color
JOSIAH CEPHAS, a colored boy
1841
RICHARD THOMPSON, a man of color
JAMES TALBOT
ALSEY, a woman of color
CHARLES, a man of color
LOUIS SCOTT, a man of color
DIANA CEPHAS, a woman of color
SQUIRE BROWN, a man of color
CHARLES, a man of color
MARY ROBERTSON, a person of color
JONATHAN, a man of color
PETER, a man of color
PRESTON
BRAXTON
MARY
NAT (a/k/a Nathaniel)
BEVERLY
JESSE
JORDAN
MADISON
MALINDA
SEAN (a/k/a Seany)
CLARISSA
CAROLINE
JACKSON
MARY
HOWARD
JAMES
LEWIS
MARGARET
ANN ELIZA
BEVERLY
LUCY
ELLEN
NELLY
LUCY
LYDIA
HARRISON
HENDERSON
HARRY
1842
CHARLES, a man of color
MARY, a woman of color
VICA, a woman of color
THADEUS ALONZO, a boy of color
MUSA BEN ABEL GAZEN, a boy of color
JINNY JACKSON, a woman of color
HENRY JACKSON, a person of color
ANN MARIA, a person of color
SALLY JACKSON (also known as Sarah), a person of color
MARGARETT JACKSON, person of color
HENRY WILLIAM, a person of color
SMITH, a person of color
PIERRE, a mulatto
1843
THOMAS JEFFERSON, a man of color
REBECCA, a negro woman
SQUIRE BROWN, a man of color
MARY CHARLOTTE, a woman of color
FELIX CATHARINE, a person of color
WILLIAM, a person of color
MINTA, a person of color
EMILY DAVENPORT
1844
SAMUEL, a man of color
LOUIS CHOUTEAU, a man of color
MICHEL PAUL
ANDRIAN PASCHALL, a man of color
MARY ANN SPEAKS
ANDERSON STEWART, a free man of color
ANN, a woman of color
THOMAS JEFFERSON, a man of color
SQUIRE BROWN
JAMES, a person of color
MARTHA ANN, a person of color
CELESTINE, a woman of color
HANNAH, a woman of color
LUCY ANN BRITTON
JESSE, a man of color
PRESTON, a man of color
NAT, a person of color
CLOE ANN SMITH, a woman of color
JANE BROWN (also known as Jinny), a woman of color
AMY MOORE
JIM BROWN
MARY BROWN
STEPHEN BROWN
MARTHA DRUSELLA
MARY, a negro woman
1845
MARY ROBINSON, a woman of color
ELSA HICKS, a mulatto girl
MICHEL PAUL
JESSE, a man of color
RACHEL STEELE, a colored woman
THOMAS JEFFERSON, a man of color
SARAH, a colored woman
JANE McCRAY, a mulatto woman
MALINDA, a woman of color
1846
CAROLINE BASCOM, a free mulatto woman
DRED SCOTT, a man of color
HARRIET SCOTT, a woman of color
MATILDA THOMAS, a person of color
MISSOURI LITTLETON
GABRIEL, a man of color
1847
ELSA HICKS, a mulatto girl
1848
NANCY, a free woman of color
JANE COTTON, a free person of color
THOMAS SCOTT, a man of color
ALFRED TAYLOR, a free man of color
PEGGY PERRYMAN, a woman of color
1850
PATSY CURD
HARRY DUTY, of color
ELLEN DUTY
NELLY DUTY
JORDAN DUTY
PRESTON DUTY
LUCINDA
CAROLINE DUTY
MARY DUTY
DAVID McFOY
1851
MARY, of color & her children SAMUEL & EDWARD
1852
HENRY LOHRE, of color
GABRIEL, of color
LAURA, a woman of color
GEORGE JOHNSON, a man of color
1853
THORNTON KINNEY, a man of color
HESTER WILLIAMS
ELLA WILLIAMS
PRISCILLA WILLIAMS
1854
LOUISA MAHONEY, a woman of color
SAMUEL SLAUGHTER, a negro
1855
MARY, a woman of color
1859
ANN DAVIS
ISHAM DAVIS
RICHARD CLINTON, a man of color
1860
LOUISA
ISHAM SHAW
JULIA SHAW
FREEDOM SUITS MEMORIAL FOUNDATION 