Ran across this while searching cases decided in the Alabama Supreme Court, and thought it might be of interest to someone. I didn't search the Hatcher Family site, as I have no idea who this Hatcher belongs to... There may well be some interesting documents in the actual record of this case. Often they included wills and extracts from wills. The Alabama Supreme Court on Slaves. by Dwayne Cox. "In 1812 James E. Hatcher executed a deed of gift for certain slaves to his wife, Anne E. Hatcher. The clerk of the county court recorded the deed. Mrs. Hatcher died in 1844, but left two sons. Following her husband's death, the sons sued his executor, Allen Clifton, to recover damages for conversion of the slaves. The lower court ruled in favor of Clifton because in 1812 recording of such a deed was not among the official duties of the clerk of the court. Furthermore, the original deed did not exist, only a copy. On appeal, Judge Stone agreed. Hatcher v Clifton, 35 Alabama 275 (1859). "