George & W. E. Williamson, Guardians vs. L. Fels (1870)

State of North Carolina, Superior Court

Caswell County

George & W. E. Williamson, Guardians

vs.

L. Fels 

This 1870 lawsuit is interesting in several respects:

1. The defendant is former Yanceyville merchant and postmaster Lazarus Fels (1815-1894) of Fels Naptha Soap fame.

2. Fels no longer lived in North Carolina but apparently owned property there. He moved to Baltimore, Maryland, in 1866.

3. George Williamson and W. E. (most likely Weldon Edwards) Williamson were suing to collect $300 from Fels for slaves "hired" by Fels (and apparently owned by the Williamsons or the person the Williamsons represented).

4. The lawsuit was brought to enforce a contract with respect to people no longer enslaved. Would not such an action be against public policy under the 13th Amendment?

5. Was property owned by Lazarus Fels in North Carolina (most likely in Caswell County) seized and sold to pay the alleged $300 debt.

6. Why did Fels "hire" ("lease/rent") slaves from the Williamsons (or the person represented by them)? How many enslaved people were involved?

7. Note the debt apparently became due December 25, 1865. Why did it take over four years for the lawsuit to be brought? Presumably, the legal chaos immediately following the Civil War contributed to this delay.

__________

The Greensboro Patriot (Greensboro, NC), 24 March 1870.

See: Slave Contracts and the Thirteenth Amendment, John C. Williams (2016).