Even before leaving, there was tension in the Maddox family between Mary and her nephew Samuel. Samuel felt he had ownership of the slaves, his future inheritance (even though they were already free).[1] On July 24, 1845, Samuel Maddox Jr. and a group of four other men kidnapped Kitty and her three children from the house they were in.[2] The men brought her and her children back to Rappahannock County and to the house of a friend.[3] Luckily for Kitty and her children, the older sister in the house, Fannie, did not agree what Samuel and her sister were doing and she helped Kitty and her children. As Meghan Bishop explains in her dissertation, although Fannie was not an abolitionist, Samuel kidnapping the woman and children made her angry and in this case, she united with a fellow female, despite the race difference. Fannie brought Kitty and her children back to her house where she had the sheriff waiting. She discussed with the sheriff the situation and he agreed that Kitty and the children should stay with her for the time being. Annoyed by the absence of his “slaves” again, he broke into Fannie’s house to try and take the Paynes back. This time, he was caught in the action and Fannie talked to him and said he could have the family back in the morning. Once he left, Fannie had the sheriff come to her home again where they came to the agreement that the prison would be the safest place for Kitty and her children. Bishop uses a letter Eliza Payne later wrote where she herself says they were “there for Safe keeping.” Eliza also explains that the room they stayed in at the jailer’s place was like any other nice, finished room.[4]
Kitty and her children remained in prison for about a year.[5] Payne managed to escape Samuel selling her and her children (to pay off his debt) because Kitty was able to sue Samuel for battery, trespassing, and assault.[6] The Paynes had the Quakers from Adams County, Pennsylvania (where they were kidnapped from) and Quakers in Loudon County, Virginia supporting and helping them out.[7] In March 1846, the Kitty v. Maddox case was brought to court.[8] Eventually the Paynes were free, however, Samuel was not charged because of a technicality.[9] As Bishop describes after lots of legal debate between Samuel Maddox Sr.’s will and if Kitty and her children had already been legally been freed, the court ruled in Samuel Maddox Jr.’s favor, however, with the technicality, Samuel’s argument would not stand in a court of equity as documented in Kitty v. Maddox in the Rappahannock’s Clerk’s Office. This was a legal alternative for Kitty in case Samuel continued in his claim. Bishop also uses the Star and Republican Banner from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania as a reference when she says, “Maddox, however, finally resigned to the futility of his suit, ‘rose in open court, and renounced all title to the Slaves.’” In later 1846, Kitty and her children were legally free.[10]
_________________________________ [1] Ibid. 47 [2]Kitty Payne Kidnapping 1845- Part 1, directed by Debra McCauslin (2010; Bendersville: For the Cause Productions, 2010.), YouTube. Accessed 14 April, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNPLiMIpm4s [3] Bishop, “Slave to Freewoman and Back Again,” 61. [4] Ibid. 61, 63-65, 68 [5] A. Cockburn, Journey Through Hallowed Ground: Birthplace of the American Ideal (Washington D.C.: National Geographic, 2008), 107. [6] D.A. Lee, Honoring Their Paths: African American Contributions along the Journey through Hallowed Ground (Waterford: The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, 2009), 35. [7] Cockburn, Journey Through Hallowed Ground, 107 [8] Bishop, “Slave to Freewoman and Back Again,” 73. [9] Lee, Honoring Their Paths, 35. [10] Bishop, “Slave to Freewoman and Back Again,” 76-77. (Picture): T. Prudente, "Kidnapped Slave's Descendant Honored During Re-enactment," The Evening Sun, Accessed 15 April, 2015 http://www.eveningsun.com/ci_15595139.