Marguerite Scypion facts for kids

Marguerite Scypion, also known as Marguerite, was an African-Natchez woman born into slavery in the 1770s in St. Louis. At that time, St. Louis was part of French Upper Louisiana. She was first held by Joseph Tayon and later by Jean Pierre Chouteau, who was a very powerful man in the city.

In 1805, just two years after St. Louis became part of the United States, Marguerite did something brave. She filed the first "freedom suit" in the city's court. This was 41 years before Dred Scott and his wife Harriet filed their famous case. In November 1836, Marguerite, her children, her sister, and other family members finally won their case. They were declared free people of color. The jury agreed that they should be free because their mother, Marie Jean Scypion, was descended from the Natchez people. Indian slavery had been stopped by the Spanish in 1769. The trial was moved to Jefferson County because the Chouteau family was so powerful in St. Louis. The decision to free them was upheld even after appeals to the state and the United States Supreme Court in 1838. This important case helped end Indian slavery in Missouri.

Throughout their long fight, Marguerite and her two sisters argued that their mother, Marie Jean Scypion, had been held illegally as a slave after 1769. This was because the Spanish took over the area and their governor ended Indian slavery. This rule made the laws in Louisiana the same as other Spanish colonies. Since her mother was Natchez, Marie Jean Scypion was legally free. This meant that all her children born after that date were also free, because they were born to a free mother. Even though a court ruling in 1806 went against the Scypion family, they never gave up their dream of freedom.

In 1824, a new law was passed that protected the right of enslaved people to sue for their freedom if they were held illegally. Because of this, Marguerite and her family started their lawsuits again. In 1826, Marguerite Scypion, her children, and her two sisters filed separate lawsuits against the people who held them. Sadly, one of Marguerite's sisters and some other family members died before the cases were finally decided. The court combined the lawsuits under the name Marguerite (free woman of color) for the final trial. She and the other family members of Marie Jean Scypion finally became free in 1836.

Marguerite's Early Life

Marguerite Scypion was the third daughter born into slavery in St. Louis. Her mother was Marie Jean Scypion, an enslaved woman. Marie Jean Scypion's mother was a Natchez woman who had been captured and sold into slavery during the Indian wars. Marguerite's father was a black slave. Marguerite had two sisters named Celeste and Catiche. Their father was not known. Marie Jean Scypion and her daughters were held by Joseph Tayon and his wife Marie Louise. When the two Tayon daughters got married, Marie Louise Tayon gave Celeste to Helene (Tayon) Chevalier and Catiche to Marie Louise (Tayon) Chauvin.

Slavery in Missouri's History

The Mississippi Valley area had a complicated past under French and Spanish rule. This history later affected the slavery case law (legal rules based on court decisions) in the United States after the Louisiana Purchase. The Spanish took control of this area in 1763. This happened after France lost to Great Britain in the Seven Years' War. In 1769, the Spanish governor of the area made Indian slavery illegal. This was done to make the laws the same as in other Spanish colonies.

However, powerful slaveholders protested this new rule. So, the government allowed them to keep slaves of Indian descent while the King of Spain reviewed the issue. But it was forbidden to sell these slaves. The Tayon family had disagreements about holding their slaves. Around 1799, Joseph Tayon wanted to sell Scypion and her daughters. But his daughters, Helene Chevalier and Marie Louise Chauvin, tried to protect their servants. They reminded him that the women had Indian ancestors, which meant they could not be sold. The daughters refused to give their father the two mixed-race women. They said their mother (Mrs. Tayon) had given the sisters to them. After his wife died, Joseph Tayon moved in with Jean Pierre Chouteau, a rich merchant and fur trader. Tayon brought Marie Jean Scypion and her daughter Marguerite, along with Marguerite's children, with him. Marie Jean was half African and half Natchez.

By 1803, when the United States took over the area through the Louisiana Purchase, many people in Missouri still held descendants of Indians as slaves. In 1804, the Missouri Territory created its own slave laws. These laws were generally similar to those in other U.S. states and territories. Officials struggled to figure out who should be considered a slave, especially with the old French and Spanish laws. They classified mixed-race people with one-quarter or more African ancestry as "mulatto". This classification limited the rights of these free people of color. The Tayon family continued to have problems. In the spring of 1804, Mrs. Chevalier and Mrs. Chauvin filed legal papers. They declared that Celeste and Catiche were free women of color. They did this to stop their father from selling them.

Three years after Marie Jean Scypion died, Marguerite Scypion filed a freedom suit in 1805. She sued François Tayon, who had inherited her after his father died. In October 1805, Marguerite's sisters, Celeste and Catiche, asked for writs of habeas corpus in the Superior Territorial Court. This means they asked the court to decide if their imprisonment was legal. They were supported by statements from Mrs. Chevalier and Mrs. Chauvin, who said the women lived in their homes freely. The court freed Celeste and Catiche. François Tayon fought Marguerite's lawsuit, but the court ordered him to free her too.

Marguerite's daughters said that because their grandmother Marie was Natchez, her daughter Marie Jean Scypion was legally free under the 1769 Spanish rule. Marguerite's status meant that her three daughters and their children were also legally free people of color. This was based on the rule of partus sequitur ventrem. This rule, used in the United States since 1662, meant that a child's legal status (free or enslaved) was decided by the mother's status.

The lawyers who were against Marguerite argued that Marie Jean's daughters should be seen as only having African descent. This would mean they were legally enslaved because they had a black grandfather and were considered "mulatto" under Missouri law. This was a rule called hypodescent, which ignored their Native American ancestry. Even though the Territorial Court first ruled in favor of Marguerite and her two sisters, a higher court later changed that decision.

For 30 years, Scypion's family members were held as slaves. But they kept fighting for their freedom through lawsuits. They finally won in 1836, but sadly, some family members had already died.

Marguerite's Family

• Marguerite had several children: Antoine, Baptiste, Michael, and François. Their father was not named.
• Celeste's children were Auguste, Paul, Antoine, and Sophie. Sophie's children, Edward and William, were also part of the lawsuits.
• Catiche's children were Helen, Joseph, Julie, and Camelite. After 1825, Camelite's daughter Mary was also included in the lawsuits.

Renewing the Fight for Freedom

In December 1824, the Missouri General Assembly passed a law. This law allowed enslaved people to sue for their freedom as "free poor persons" and protected them during the process. If the court agreed there was a reason for a freedom suit, it would assign lawyers. These lawyers would then file a lawsuit for "trespass, assault and battery, and false imprisonment" against the slaveholder. The Scypion family filed several lawsuits before their cases were settled.

In 1825, Marguerite Scypion started her case again. She sued as a free woman of color, with Pierre Barribeau helping her as a "next friend" for legal standing. By this time, she had been sold to Pierre Chouteau, Sr. She filed her lawsuit against him in the St. Louis Circuit Court. The court assigned these lawyers to her case: Farris, Hamilton Rowan Gamble (who later became a chief justice and governor of the state), and Isaac McGirk.

In this lawsuit, Marguerite accused Chouteau of assault and false imprisonment for continuing to hold her and her children as slaves. She sued for $500 in damages as a free woman of color. Her claim was based on her mother's illegal enslavement, since her mother had Natchez ancestors. Although the first judgment and appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court went against Marguerite and her sisters, the case was reviewed in 1834. A new trial was ordered.

Because the Chouteau family was so powerful and important in St. Louis, Marguerite's lawyers asked for a "change of venue." This means they asked to move the trial to a different county. The court agreed. The cases of Celeste and her children against the Chevaliers, and Catiche's surviving children against the Chauvins, were all combined into Marguerite's suit. This way, all their cases would be decided at once. The trial was first set for St. Charles County and then moved to Jefferson County. The case finally went to trial on November 8, 1836. After hearing the case, the jury decided unanimously in favor of the Scypion family. This decision was upheld even after appeals to the State Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court in 1838. All the descendants of Marie Jean Scypion were freed by this decision. The case is seen as officially ending Indian slavery in Missouri.

Marguerite's Legacy

The Scypion daughters' strong will and determination helped their families gain freedom. Their case also led to the official end of Indian slavery in Missouri.