Letter from J. B. Greaves to Mississippi Governor William L. Sharkey; October 11, 1865
Title
Letter from J. B. Greaves to Mississippi Governor William L. Sharkey; October 11, 1865
Subject
Freedmen.; Mississippi. Governor; Sharkey, William Lewis, 1798-1873
Description
From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Sharkey Collection. Letter from J.B. Greaves, mayor of Clinton, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor William L. Sharkey concerning a court involving a freedman who refused to honor a verbal contract with a planter.
Creator
Greaves, J. B.
Publisher
Mississippi Department of Archives and History. (electronic version); Mississippi Digital Library. (electronic version)
Date
1865-10-11
Contributor
Funding for this project provided by The Dale Center for Study of War and Society-USM, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the Mississippi Digital Library, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the University of Southern Mississippi, and the Watson-Brown Foundation
Rights
NO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATES; http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/
Language
English
Identifier
mdah_771-956-11-24
Coverage
1865
Text
Page 1:
Clinton Miss.
Oct, 11th 1865
To his Excellency
Go,r W, L, Sharkey
Respected Sir
A case between an Employer & an employee came before my court on Monday last, where a verbal contract was clearly proven between the parties, the freed man agreeing to work from 1st June to the 25 decmr at 10$ per month, & it was proven that said freedman violated his contract without just cause, leaving, as he acknowledged, because he was told by the military authorities that he ^could^ work where he pleased without regard to contract unless it were a written one, I decided that he should return to his employer & finish his contract, he openly refused to do so, and I placed him and the hands of the sheriff with a mittimus commanding him to deliver said freedman to the custody of his employer at [loss?] Gap on the T.R.R. the place where he had contracted to work, he then consented to go & was released, & instead of going as he promised, he went to Jackson. & reported to the Provost Marshal & returned with a letter directed to me asking for information &c
My reason for troubling your Excellency with this note is, to find out from you if I have acted according to law & whether I have the power to have the freedman returned to his Employer
I would have presented myself in person to get the necessisary information but a [press?] of business prevents my doing so. Very respectfully &c
J, B, Greaves Mayor
of Clinton Miss.
Page 2:
Go,r Sharkey
Jackson
Miss
Clinton Miss.
Oct, 11th 1865
To his Excellency
Go,r W, L, Sharkey
Respected Sir
A case between an Employer & an employee came before my court on Monday last, where a verbal contract was clearly proven between the parties, the freed man agreeing to work from 1st June to the 25 decmr at 10$ per month, & it was proven that said freedman violated his contract without just cause, leaving, as he acknowledged, because he was told by the military authorities that he ^could^ work where he pleased without regard to contract unless it were a written one, I decided that he should return to his employer & finish his contract, he openly refused to do so, and I placed him and the hands of the sheriff with a mittimus commanding him to deliver said freedman to the custody of his employer at [loss?] Gap on the T.R.R. the place where he had contracted to work, he then consented to go & was released, & instead of going as he promised, he went to Jackson. & reported to the Provost Marshal & returned with a letter directed to me asking for information &c
My reason for troubling your Excellency with this note is, to find out from you if I have acted according to law & whether I have the power to have the freedman returned to his Employer
I would have presented myself in person to get the necessisary information but a [press?] of business prevents my doing so. Very respectfully &c
J, B, Greaves Mayor
of Clinton Miss.
Page 2:
Go,r Sharkey
Jackson
Miss