Watch the Archived Video Isaac Blackford 131 mb | 65 minutes

Justice Isaac Blackford

Summary

Descendants of Mary Clark, a black woman who played a key role in the Indiana Supreme Court's 19th century decisions regarding slavery, will tell her dramatic story as a part of the inaugural lecture in the Supreme Court's lecture series.

This hour long event showcases the Court's efforts to develop new ways to access information about Indiana 's legal past including: a searchable database of early Indiana cases, dramatic re-enactments about the lives of key figures in Indiana legal history, and a biography series about Indiana lawyers and judges.

Clark's case was heard during Isaac Blackford's tenure at the Court—he is Indiana 's longest serving justice. Information about a new biography of Blackford and how to use a recently completed searchable database covering Supreme Court cases from this period will compliment the presentation by Clark 's descendants.

Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard will introduce this inaugural lecture and the speakers.

This event was held in the Indiana Supreme Court Courtroom on Friday, October 14, 2005 at 2:00pm.

Related Materials

= Adobe PDF

Justice Isaac Blackford & Historical Information

• Short biography and image of the painting of Justice Blackford that hangs in the Indiana Supreme Court courtroom
  
  
• Sample pages from Isaac Blackford: The Indiana Blackstone, by W.W. Thornton, a recently published biography
  Libraries may receive a free copy of Isaac Blackford: Indiana's Blackstone by emailing their request to dbaumer@courts.state.in.us. If you would like to purchase a copy of this book, please contact the Indiana Historical Bureau.
  
  
• The 1816 Indiana Constitution

Case of In re Clark Case Documents
For the first three documents below, the "page images" are images of the original handwritten documents from the lower court.

Document	Page Images	Transcript
Certified Record of Knox County Proceedings in the case of Mary Clark v. G.W. Johnston, including: Initial Complaint Writ of Habeas Corpus Johnston's Reply to the Writ, which includes a copy of Mary's emancipation by Harrison and her indenture to Johnston Holding of the Knox County Circuit Court Certification of the Record by the Knox County Clerk Clark's Attorney's Notice of Appeal
Indiana Supreme Court Decision, In re Clark, November 1821		n/a
First Supreme Court Order to Harrison Co. Sheriff to collect damages awarded to Clark from Johnston
First response from Harrison Co. Sheriff to Supreme Court stating that Johnston had no property in Harrison Co. from which the Sheriff could collect damages (we believe this same letter was sent to the Knox Co. Sheriff because it accompanies the Receipt below)
Second Supreme Court Order to Harrison Co. Sheriff to collect damages awarded to Clark from Johnston; damage amount increased
Receipt from Knox Co. Sheriff to Supreme Court stating that $10 had been collected from Johston and was enclosed
Second reponse from Harrison Co. Sheriff to Supreme Court reiterating that Johnston had no property in Harrison Co. from which the Sheriff could collect damages

Database of Historic Supreme Court Cases: 1816-1872
Note: In order to view this database, you must have Microsoft Access version 2000 or newer installed on your computer. In order to download this database, you must have a high-speed internet connection. The file size is 9+ megabytes. To save the database file to your computer, right-click the link below and select 'Save As' from the context menu that appears.

• NEW! This database is now available online!

Image Gallery
Click the images to enlarge them

Corydon, IN - State capitol in 1821 and location of Supreme Court arguments for In re Clark	Corydon, IN - State capitol in 1821 and location of Supreme Court arguments for In re Clark
Corydon, IN - Second territorial capitol, first state capitol	Vincennes, IN (Knox County) - First territorial capitol before Corydon and location where original case concerning Mary Clark was heard