The Fenton Project puts forward information that Silas Burke was sued in April 1836 by an enslaved man, George, for his freedom and that Silas “dodged” subpoenas to appear on the Case. The Project also suggested that because Silas was a Judge in Fairfax County that the Judge in US District Court (Washington, DC where the suit was filed) was not processing the Case because of their positions as Judges.
The facts of the Case are that George, the enslaved person, who filed a complaint for his freedom had no grounds to bring the suit because it was based on false information. The Will of James Keene, deceased, bequeathed ownership of George to his brother, Oliver Keene. The Will proved there were no legal grounds for Complaint. Silas, as Attorney and Agent for James Keene’s Estate, was executing his role as required by law, and under oath to uphold the law at that time in history. There is no Court dismissal of the Case that can be found which is not unusual for that time. A logical supposition can be made that eventually a copy of James Keene’s Will finally caught up to the Complaint in the Court document system that lead to the Case being dismissed. That process at that time often took years to rectify.
Fairfax Co., Va. Will Book R-1, p. 375
Will of James Keene
James Keene Estate, Division of Slaves, Nov. 1833 (R-1, pp. 148-149);
Inventory, 28 Nov. 1833 (R-1, pp. 149-151);
Account of Sales (R-1, pp. 179.In the name of God Amen I James Keene of the County of Fairfax State of Va being concerned and knowing of the uncertainty of human life do hereby ordain this my last will and testament at my departure of soul and body. I recommend my soul to him who gave it my body to be interred in christian like form and as to my worldly estate wherewith the Lord hath blessed me I appoint in the form and manner following - First of all I do firmly appoint Colo. Silas Burke now administrator of my father James Keene Estate to be my Lawful administrator and he to have my personal property duly appraised and done according to law it sold my debts which are few paid and fully discharged the remainder of my estate which consists in several slaves namely Charles George Rachel and Mary I do will and bequeath those servants with the remainder of my effects unto my beloved brother Oliver and him alone to dispose of in any form and manner as he may think best the remainder of my personal property's value which will be in the admr. hands will also be given to him and his heirs forever - In testimony whereof I set my hand & affix my seal this twenty third day of January one thousand eight hundred and thirty four. James Keene {seal}
T.E.S.T.E
It is noted in reviewing the documents, the Inventory of James Keene’s Estate showed groupings of the distributions which appear to keep family units together. George was in a group that included a woman, Rachel, a child, and a man, Charles (unknown age). It cannot be determined if Rachel and child are a family unit with George or with Charles, or perhaps Charles could have been the son of George. It is impossible to tell if George was trying to leave the family unit through this suit.
Negroes George $600
Charles $350 $950
Rachel & child Mary $300
The Fenton Project claims that seven (7) summonses were issued for Silas Burke relating to this Case and it was hard to believe that Silas was not avoiding the jurisdiction of Washington County. Washington County included Alexandria, Virginia at that time. Silas’ practice, his client base, the committee meetings for which he chaired or served as president or vice president, and the Court that he filed documents in were all in Fairfax not Alexandria. He is documented as attending numerous public meetings in Fairfax County that were reported on in The Alexandria Gazette from 1836-1839. There are no reported meetings for Silas in Alexandria during that same period, however, there are numerous legal notices placed in The Alexandria Gazette by Silas during that time for Estates, and Land for Sale, Businesses to Rent, etc. It would seem that he traveled to the Court in Alexandria and the newspaper’s office, also in Alexandria, to place those legal notices under his signature and therefore would have been in that jurisdiction numerous times, which apparently did not result in any detention. It can be surmised that the Case had been resolved even though the Court documents available do not show the resolution. It seems to have become a moot point.
The Fenton Project also indicated that because Silas Burke was a “fellow Judge”, special favors were given to him in not complying with the law. There are numerous reports that Silas was of a reputable, trustworthy, and highly honest character as evidenced by the many responsible positions that he held. Silas was a Justice of the Peace (lay judge) and Attorney in the years 1836-1839 and did not become a Judge in the Fairfax County Court system until 1852, a position he held until his death in 1854. This is substantiated by the Fairfax County “Justices and Judges of the Fairfax County, Circuit and District Courts” list compiled by Authors, E. Sprouse, P. Howe, V. Peters, A. Lewis and N. Netherton.
The Court Case was filed in 1836 when Silas was a Justice of the Peace.
Example used by Fenton Project relating to case brought by enslaved person, George
