1844 Petition, Anderson County, SC A.K.A. Version 2.3, 6-Jul-2004, MR006.TXT **************************************************************** REPRODUCING NOTICE: ------------------- These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format for profit, or presentation by any other organization, or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Paul M Kankula Anderson County SC GenWeb Coordinator Anderson County SC GenWeb Homestead http://www.rootsweb.com/~scandrsn/ **************************************************************** DATAFILE INPUT . : Paul M. Kankula at kankula1@innova.net in Jul-2004 CONTRIBUTOR .... : Kim Wilson at kimwilson@mail.utexas.edu in Jul-2004 **************************************************************** [SCDAH Petition, 1809, 1844 no. 142, transcribed by Kim Wilson, 5 July 2004. Note: The men who signed this petition were mostly members of Mt. Pisgah Baptist, Big Creek Baptist, and Shiloh Methodist churches--all residing in the Slabtown/White Plains/Piercetown neighborhoods of Anderson District. As the petition states, they believed in the rights of ordinary men to participate in political discussion. Politically they were aligned with the Democratic Party of Andrew Jackson.] Novm 23rd 1844. To the honourable Gentlemen of the Senate and house of representatives: we the undersigned beg leave to bring to your notice a few particular grievances under which we are now labouring and request your action thereon as circumstances and your own good judgement may direct. In the first place we earnestly request that you would for the accommodation and convenience of all parties increase the jurisdiction of Magistrates in two particulars, i. e. Make it lawful for them to ishew [sic] summons and give judgement, execute and collect all sums of Book account or notes of hand to the amount of $500. And that his judgement be made equally binding with that of our courts of law executions and sales to be regulated as is now allowed by law. In the second place we petition that the jurisdiction of Magistrates be increased so far as to try and determine with the right of appeal all suits or cases of damage to the amount of $500. All cases of debt or damage to be left recognizable by the courts of law as now is, leaving the matter at the option of the creditor on the one damaged. We also petition that the jurisdiction of ordinaries be increased over real estate to the amount of $500,000. To the senate and house of representatives Gentlemen, we the petitioners regard the immediate adoption of the above regulations as highly necessary and acutely called for by the people of S. C.--though a similar petition may not reach you from any other district or even any other community in this district. Altho we claim at your hands a consideration of the above. The attitude we now assume cannot be censured we believe by any who are conscious of the honesty of their own opinions for we have undoubtedly the same right to think for ourselves that any have and from sincier [sic] and brave men we shall incur no blame for daring to express the sentiments we really entertain. But in the failure of all others support and countenance we shall have yet the greatest of all counselations [sic] the approval of our own conscience. Mathias Richardson Senr W[illiam] E[lbert] Welborn J[ohn] D[aniel] King David Spearman Elija[h] [Benjamin] More [sic, Moore] Fr[anci]s. A[sbury] Spearman G. W. Slaten Noah T[endall] Richardson Phillip P. Smith A[lbert] G[arrison] Wellborn John Slaten Wm. R. Clardy Sion T. Richardson Matthew Gambrell