Satisfaction from Henrietta Wood vs. Zeb Ward
Henrietta Wood was a formerly enslaved woman who had been living free in Ohio. Relatives of her former enslaver tricked her into crossing the Ohio River in 1853 and forcibly re-enslaved her. This case is noteworthy, as after the Civil War she was able to successfully sue her former enslaver in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio for damages related to her kidnapping and forced enslavement for 15 years. The satisfaction document from this case shows that her former enslaver was made to pay $2,500 to Henrietta Wood. While less than the original $20,000 she sought, this case remains the largest award ever given by a U.S. court for slavery restitutions.
Satisfaction from Henrietta Wood vs. Zeb Ward, National Archives Identifier: 148721431
View and download the case Henrietta Wood vs. Zeb Ward on the National Archives Catalog. This record is one example of many held in District Court Case Files at the National Archives at Chicago, IL. You can explore more of our holdings by visiting our online Catalog or by visiting our research room in person. These records are located within Record Group 21: District Courts of the United States, Series: Civil Case Files, 1847–1911. Many of the records in this collection have yet to be digitized. We encourage researchers to visit us onsite or contact us remotely to explore these records and learn more about the archival collections held in the National Archives at Chicago.