Autograph petition signed by Jiney by mark. Navarro County, Texas, 27 March 1860. 1 page, 4to. Docketed to verso. Witnessed by W.C. French and Julilus A. Scales.

A remarkable petition of a free Black woman requesting a master in Navarro County, Texas. The petition records that "Jiney an African woman of 40 years of age a resident of the County of Navarro...would respectfully represent unto your Honor that she is free born and desirous of availing herself of the privilege of choosing a master, as allowed her by the laws of this state for herself as well as for her child[ren] Charlotte, Emily and Sarah, all of whom are under fourteen years of age." The document continues that "this petition is of her own free will and perfectly voluntary on her past and that consideration of the welfare of herself and children alone prompts her...she also prays that James M. Scales of the said County of Navarro...be appointed Master of herself as well as of her Children."

James M. Scales (1830-1893) was a cousin of Alfred Moore Scales (1827-1892), the 45th Governor of North Carolina. James Scales married Ruth Searcy Slater and after the birth of two of their children, they became early pioneers of Navarro County, Texas, arriving in 1856 and owning a large cattle ranch. During the Civil War, he enlisted as a sergeant with Company I of the 19th Texas Cavalry in the Confederate Army. After early garrison duty in Arkansas, they fought in the Battle of Girardeau. They continued to harass Union supply lines and skirmish in the Western Theater. Though they arrived late to the major engagements of the Red River campaign, they did engage at the Battle of Yellow Bayou.

Other than the hardship of living as a single mother, it is unclear why Jiney is requesting enslavement, or why she has requested James Scales in particular. Regardless, it is a fascinating document that reveals a rarely-seen experience of free African Americans before the Civil War.

[Slavery, Enslavement, Abolition, Emancipation, African American History, African Americana, Black History, Texas, Civil War, Union, Confederate, Manuscripts, Documents, Ephemera]