The Scypion family: Natchez grandmother, freedom won 1836 (Spanish Upper Louisiana and Missouri, 1805–1838)
Record: the document says itPattern: documents line upLens: our readingOpen: not yet proven
Year: 1805 · Places: Louisiana, Gulf Coast, Mexico, Europe
SUMMARYThe Scypion family: Natchez grandmother, freedom won 1836 (Spanish Upper Louisiana and Missouri, 1805–1838) [Connections: Gulf, Louisiana, Texas & Mexico, Nov 5, 2026]
RECORDMarguerite Scypion was the daughter of Marie Jean Scypion. Her "maternal grandmother Marie was a Natchez" woman, and Marie Jean's father was an enslaved Black man. She filed suit in 1805 against François Tayon; the Territorial Supreme Court ruled against the family in 1806. She renewed the suit in 1825 against Pierre Chouteau Sr., styled "Marguerite, a free woman of color v. Chouteau." On November 8, 1836, a jury ruled unanimously for the descendants, and the verdict survived appeals to the state and U.S. Supreme Courts in 1838. The page says the case "officially ended Indian slavery in Missouri."
PATTERNAn Afro-Natchez family was enslaved as "negro" for three generations and freed only by proving the Indian line
LENS (WW9)Natchez blood, freed in court, and the court record still says "free woman of color."
OPENMarie Jean's labels in the Spanish St. Louis records; Wikipedia does not name the 1769 governor here
SOURCEMarguerite Scypion (Wikipedia); Marguerite v. Chouteau (hallapproved).