Replevin of Elizabeth Freeman (aka Mum Bett)

Born a slave in upstate New York sometime around the year 1742 and “given” to the Ashley household in Sheffield, Massachusetts, Elizabeth Freeman served the Ashleys until 1781. “Mum Bett” (also spelled “Mumbet”), as she was known while enslaved, was purportedly compelled to sue for her freedom for two reasons. First, Elizabeth had suffered bodily injury at the hands of Annetje Ashley, the mistress of the household. Particularly, the infamous story tells of Ashley attempting to strike Elizabeth’s sister or child, and Elizabeth intervening and taking the blow. The second possible reason for her suit, reported by later biographer Catherine Maria Sedgewick, was Freeman’s realization that she had legal grounds to claim her freedom after hearing the language of liberty contained in both the Declaration of Independence and the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780. Working with Stockbridge attorney Thomas Sedgewick, Elizabeth and Brom, an enslaved man, brought suit for their freedom. Elizabeth and Brom were successful, winning both freedom and a sum of money to cover trial costs. 

Elizabeth Freeman would spend the next 48 years of her life as a paid servant in the Sedgewick household. Freeman died as a free, property-owning, woman. Her gravestone, located within the Sedgwick family plot in Stockbridge, reads: “ELIZABETH FREEMAN, known by the name of MUMBET died Dec. 28 1829. Her supposed age was 85 years...She never violated a trust, nor failed to perform a duty. In every situation of domestic trial, she was the most efficient helper…”