The Complainants Lawyer Washington et al.

George Washington and his wife Leah, who did not have children together, died intestate. Fifty acres in Copiah County, Mississippi, were at dispute among their heirs. George and Leah had lived together for nearly a half century. Their marriage was never legalized but they were married according to the customs of slavery. George died in 1900; Leah in 1902.

The complainants filed the case in Copiah County Chancery Court, 1903. They were the grandchildren of George Washington.

George Washington was born about 1810 in South Carolina. He was a slave of the Hooker family, probably Zadock Hooker who owned 52 slaves per the 1860 Copiah County Slave Schedule.

George had only one child, a son, James/Jim Washington born about 1853 to Susan Fry.

James married Easter Davis, 01 Feb 1872, in Copiah County. By 1880, the family had added six children; William 11, George 7, Lawyer 5, Quilla 4, Elias 2, and Mary Ida 0. James and Easter died after 1880, and the couple's children were raised by George and Leah. By the 1900 census, George and Leah were living alone.

All of James' children, with the exception of George, were named as complainants. The complainants charged Leah Washington never held title to the land, therefore the defendants could not inherit land from Leah.

Source
Copiah County Chancery Court Records
Case Number: 3260
Microfilm Number: 8245
Record found at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History

How do the complainants connect to my family tree?
I am not sure how I connect to this group of Washington kin. I connect to them through DNA tests.

Next Post - The Defendants