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Violet vs. Mark Howe (1766)
Violet was born in Newburyport in 1735, the daughter of a free "Negro woman" (who herself was born of "free Negroes") and an enslaved African. At some point she was sold as a slave, along with her "mulatto" son, Edward "Ned" Lewis, to a family in the Linebrook Parish of Ipswich. John Lowell Esq. of Newburyport negotiated her freedom and she received twenty shillings from her enslaver in 1766. Three years later, she sued her son's enslaver, again with John Lowell as her attorney, and was successful in freeing him. See also Lewis vs. Dodge (1769).
- Plaintiff: Violet Cudjo
- Defendant: Mark Howe
Related Cases
Lewis vs. Dodge (1769)
Edward "Ned" Lewis was 16 years old when his mother, Violet (see Violet vs Howe, 1766) sued for his freedom. Violet submitted documentation to show that her mother's mother was a "free Negro" and her mother was a "free Negro." Based on two generations of free maternal descent, Violet argued that she was legally free all her life and so too was Lewis. The case was lost at the ECCP level but won on appeal to the SCJ.
Notes
No case appears on ECCP docket for July 1765. Documentation of her freedom collected but submitted in Lewis vs Dodge (1769). Violet received 20 shillings from Mark Howe in September 1765.
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Sources
- Please review Court Formalities to understand the court documents. Note especially that phrases such as 'with force & arms' and specific dates for keeping the Plaintiff in servitude are formal statements not meant to reflect actual occurences.
- Dated June 9, 1766. Unsigned request to Joseph Parker to attend court in Salem in July and bring evidence that she is a slave. From Howe family papers.
- Dated July 7, 1766, Rev. Lowell, father of Ned Lewis's attorney John Lowell, certifies that Violet was daughter of Cudjo and Lydia Dyer baptized August 27, 1735.
- Dated July 8, 1766. Certificate from Newbury Town Clerk that Violet was born of Cudjo, a servant, and Lydia, a free Negro.
- Dated September 10, 1766. Violet's receipt for twenty shillings from Mark Howe.