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Greene County Court Documents Regarding William Crumley v. William Luster and Thomas Justis

 Collection
Identifier: MS-0150

  • Staff Only

These documents show the case of William Crumley v. William Luster and Thomas Justis, which was heard before the Greene County Circuit Court between 1818 and 1820. Crumley filed the suit on October 29, 1818 alleging that Luster and Justis had seized a 200 acre parcel of land belonging to him and unlawfully imprisoned him in a structure on it. Luster and Justis were tried and convicted on March 10, 1820 but were granted leave to appeal their case. A new trial took place in September of 1820, when the men were acquitted. The court ruled that Crumley pay all of the court costs involved, and Crumley appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Errors and Appeals. This court directed that Crumley be responsible for the costs, which they calculated at $81.83. These documents are copies of the original court records written by Valentine Sevier on April 2, 1821.

Dates

  • 1818 October 29-1821 April 2

Conditions Governing Access

Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Conditions Governing Use

The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Extent

0.1 Linear Feet (1 folder)

Abstract

These documents show the case of William Crumley v. William Luster and Thomas Justis, which was heard before the Greene County Circuit Court between 1818 and 1820. Crumley filed the suit on October 29, 1818 alleging that Luster and Justis had seized a 200 acre parcel of land belonging to him and unlawfully imprisoned him in a structure on it. Luster and Justis were tried and convicted on March 10, 1820 but were granted leave to appeal their case. A new trial took place in September of 1820, when the men were acquitted. The court ruled that Crumley pay all of the court costs involved, and Crumley appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Errors and Appeals. This court directed that Crumley be responsible for the costs, which they calculated at $81.83. These documents are copies of the original court records written by Valentine Sevier on April 2, 1821.

Biographical/Historical Note

William Crumley was born in about 1767 in Frederick County, Virginia. The family was of Quaker origin and had lived in Virginia for a number of generations. William Crumley migrated to Greene County, Tennessee with his sons in 1793 and settled near what is now the Wesley Chapel Community. He most likely returned to Lee County, Virginia sometime after 1821, where he is thought to have died in about 1838.

Arrangement

This collection consists of a single folder.

Acquisition Note

Vic Weals donated these documents to Special Collections on April 7, 1957.

Repository Details

Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository

Contact:
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville TN 37996 USA
865-974-4480