ABSTRACT
Wylet was a slave to Benjamin Brannan, inn-keeper in Marketstreet, Philadelphia. She was born in the family of his wife’s father, who registered her under the act of assembly of Pennsylvania, passed in the year 1780, for the gradual abolition of slavery. I believe it was about the year 1808, that Wylet called upon me. She said she was the slave of Brannan’s wife, who had always told her that she should be free at her death. That event having occurred, Wylet thought she ought to be free. She was about fifty years old, remarkably smart and active; and withal, not deficient in intelligence, considering her scanty opportunities. After hearing her story, I informed her that slaves in Pennsylvania were considered personal property; that when Brannan married her mistress, she became his property; and that the promise of her mistress could have no legal effect to make her free. This grieved the old woman greatly; and it was difficult to convince her that I was correct in this opinion. I inquired whether she had been registered; but she was unable to inform me. I then told her I would consider further of the matter, and requested her to call again. In the course of a day or two, I went to the proper officer to examine the record, and there found that she had been registered, by the name of “WYLET.” Although the woman called herself by this name, I concluded that it might be attributed to her imperfect dialect, and that her proper name must be Violet; for I had never known any person by the name of Wylet. I then called upon William Lewis, who was not behind the foremost lawyer in Pennsylvania in legal knowledge, and explained the case to him. He agreed with me that the name was doubtless Violet, and not Wylet; and that therefore the registry was defective. He advised that a habeas corpus should be taken out, and the validity of it tested. I accordingly applied to 294Chief Justice William Tilghman, 2 and procured one, which was duly served upon Brannan. The judge was a native of Maryland, and I believe, a slaveholder; but of that I am not entirely certain. Many looked upon him with a jealous eye, apprehending that he could not wholly divest himself of the prejudice so common to those who have spent the greater part of their lives in the midst of slavery; but the sequel proved they were, in this instance, mistaken; and I once heard a slaveholder remark, that “Judge Tilghman stood so straight, that he leaned backwards.” He was, unquestionably, a very upright judge.
