Ashley County, Arkansas

In July of 1855 Abby Guy sued William Daniel for wrongfully holding her and her children in slavery based on the claim that she was actually white. Guy and her children had lived freely since 1844 and although the 1850 federal census identified the family as free people of color, Guy socialized with the white community as an independent white woman would have. Then in 1855 Guy decided to move her family to Louisiana prompting Daniel to seize her and her children and started to hold them as slaves (Encyclopedia of Arkansas). The circuit court ruled in favor of Guy which was upheld by the Arkansas Supreme Court after Daniels attempted to appeal the decision. Guy claimed that her mother had been a white orphan that was kidnapped into slavery which Daniels denied stating the because her mother was a slave, she could not have been white. While Daniels based his argument on the right of property, Guy based hers on the perception of the community. Officially the accounts from community members testifying that her and her children have lived as white people and behave, and social as white people was the more convincing argument in the determination of the racial identity of the family. This was of course in addition to the official physical inspections in the courtroom to examine their bodies for African lineage.