John W. Williams papers, 1835 May-July

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Summary

Creator:
Williams, John W., 1803-1837
Abstract:
John Worthington Williams (1803-1837) was a white attorney and magazine editor of Philadephia, Pennsylvania. This collection consists of legal documents, correspondence, case argument outlines, notes on the testimony of witnesses, and other documents compiled by Williams during his representation of Robert Aitken before the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas against Mary Gilmore (1817?-1856) in June-July 1835. Aitken alleged that Gilmore, a young woman living in Philadelphia with her adoptive father, was Emily Winder, a multiracial person enslaved by Aitken who disappeared from his home in Baltimore at the age of 8 or 9 in 1825. The judge decided the case in Gilmore's favor.
Extent:
1 folders (27 items)
Language:
Material in English
Collection ID:
RL.01389

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of legal documents, correspondence, case argument outlines, notes on the testimony of witnesses, and other documents compiled by Philadelphia attorney John W. Williams during his representation of Robert Aitken before the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas against Mary Gilmore in June-July 1835.

Evidence-related documents include a copy of Milly Winder's manumission papers; affidavits attesting Aitken's ownership of Emily Winder, including details about her age and physical appearance; a copy of the original "Ten Dollar Reward" offer for Emily's return that Aitken had published in August 1825; and affidavits attesting to the character of Robert Aitken and his brother James Aitken. Additional legal documents include a subpoena and other documents related to witness Maria Congo's appearance in court, and warrants of arrest and removal issued against Emily Winder in June 1835.

Williams' notes include outlines of his arguments, questions for witnesses, and his notes on case law and witness testimonies. The collection also includes a newspaper clipping of an article reprinted from the Philadelphia Inquirer concerning the case.

Biographical / historical:

John Worthington Williams was a white attorney and magazine editor of Philadephia, Pennsylvania. He was born in Westerfield, Connecticut, on November 17, 1803, to parents John and Mary Williams. After graduating from Yale University in 1822, Williams relocated to Philadelphia to practice law.

In June-July 1835, Williams represented Robert Aitken (1790-1849), a white druggist and city inspector from Baltimore, Maryland, in Aitken's attempts to claim Philadelphia resident Mary Gilmore (later Gordon) (1817?-1856) as his enslaved property. Aitken alleged that Gilmore was the same person as Emily Winder, an enslaved girl, described as "mulatto," who disappeared from his residence in 1825 at around 8-9 years old; Gilmore denied this claim. Aitken's representatives submitted an affidavit of ownership, a physical description of Winder, and other documentation to a Philadelphia judge to secure a warrant of removal.

After a warrant was issued for Winder's forced return to Baltimore, the Court of Common Pleas commenced a hearing to establish whether Aitken's claim was valid, in accordance with Pennsylvania's 1826 personal liberty law. Among the witnesses who testified on Gilmore's behalf were Jacob Gilmore (approximately 1784-1835), a free Black confectioner and Mary's adoptive father, who asserted that he and his late wife adopted Mary as a young child, years before Emily Winder disappeared from Baltimore. This testimony was supported by several other local witnesses who attested to seeing Mary as a child in Philadelphia. Milly Winder, Emily's mother, who had been enslaved by the Aitken family but manumitted without her daughter in 1824, also testified that Gilmore was not her daughter. Witnesses who testified on behalf of Aitken included Maria Congo, a free Black woman from Delaware who was acquainted with both Millie Winder and Jacob Gilmore's late wife. Dr. James Aitken, brother of Robert Aitken, also gave evidence on Aitken's behalf. The judge ultimately dismissed Aitken's claim, citing the preponderance of witness testimony affirming Mary Gilmore's identity.

During the hearing, some witnesses also expressed their belief that Gilmore was white due to her light skin. After the claim was dismissed, a local paper reported that interested parties had traced her parents and found them both to be white, leading to editorials in the abolitionist press about the dangers that fugitive slave laws posed to white women as well as free Black people.

Later in 1835, Williams left his law career to become an editor of the American Quarterly Review and the National Gazette. In April 1836, he married Anne Keppele, with whom he had one son. Williams died of an illness in September 1837.

In 1839, Mary Gilmore married James R. Gordon, a Black Philadelphia resident who also became a confectioner. The couple had one daughter, Cordelia Gordon (Carlile), and lived in Philadelphia's Pine Ward. Gilmore died in May 1856 and was buried in Lebanon Cemetery in Philadelphia.

Sources:

"Case of Mary Gilmore", Saturday Courier (Philadelphia, PA), July 18, 1835: p.1-2. Accessed online 2025 April 29 via Readex: America's Historical Newspapers.

John W. Williams correspondence finding aid, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania, accessed 2025 April 29.

Mary Gilmore Gordon memorial, Find a Grave. Accessed 2025 September 22.

"Matrimony Notice", Public Ledger (Philadelphia, PA), July 25, 1839: p. 2. Accessed online 2025 September 22 via Readex: America's Historical Newspapers.

Virginius, "Mary Gilmore: Stanzas", Liberator (1831-1865), July 18, 1835. Accessed online 2025 September 3 via Proquest Historical Newspapers.

Acquisition information:
The John W. Williams papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 1973.
Processing information:

Processed by Rubenstein Library staff, 1973

Encoded by Jessica Carew, May 2012

Reprocessed with reparative description by Mary Mellon, September 2025.

Accession(s) described in this finding aid: 1973

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], John W. Williams Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

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