Petition

Davis Bottom et al. to Thomas E. Bramlette

Document Genre
Petition
Repository
Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives
Collection
Office of the Governor, Thomas E. Bramlette: Governor's official correspondence file, petitions for pardons, remissions, and respites 1863-1867
Box / Folder
BR11-241 to BR11-242
CWGK Accession Number
KYR-0001-004-1137
Rights
This image and its transcription are freely available to the public. Images appear courtesy of Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. Transcriptions and annotations were created by Kentucky Historical Society staff, volunteers, and interns. When referencing this document, please use our preferred citation.; The use of transcriptions, images, or annotations from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce any material on CWGK is required.
FTP Identifier
32204024

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Dates
1863-05
1863-11
1864-05
--10
1864-08-06
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Citation

Davis Bottom et al. to Thomas E. Bramlette, Office of the Governor, Thomas E. Bramlette: Governor's official correspondence file, petitions for pardons, remissions, and respites 1863-1867, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. Accessed via the Civil War Governors of Kentucky Digital Documentary Edition, https://discovery.civilwargovernors.org/document/KYR-0001-004-1137 (November 12, 2026).

[Page 1]

To His Excellency T E Bramlett
Governor of Kentucky —

Your petitioners Davis Bottom and others Citizens of Washington County repsectfully represent that at the May Term 1863 of the Washington Circuit Court an Indictment was found against said Bottom charging the offense of unlawfully selling whiskey to a slave on which he was tried at the Nov term 1863 and a verdict and judgment rendered against him for a fine of $50 — He filed grounds for a new trial which the court held under advisement till near the close of the May term 1864 when the motion was overruled and leave given to prepare the case for the court of appeals, by the next Oct Term —

It was proven on the trial by a single witness that said Bottoms occupied a house in Maxwell of several rooms with a family of several persons including a negro woman and that the witness with others procured a slave named Ned to go into the house in the night and that he (Ned) returned to them with whiskey, but there was no proof that Deft or any of his family furnished the whiskey or know of the negros entering the house — Said Bottoms now states that was not guilty of said offence and knows not by what means the

[Page 2]

the slave obtained the whiskey if attall

Your petitioners represent said Bottom to be a law abiding, although a very poor man and believing the verdict and judgment to have been wrong and not authorized by the evidence and moreover that the case is a proper one for the interposition of the Executive we respectfully ask a remission of said fine

Davis Bottom
[...]

I believe the foregoing case is one that justifies the intervention of executive clemency

F. S. Anderson
William Sweeny
R. S. Mitchell
[Wm Lewis]
Henry Brown

P. P. Barbour clk Washington ct Court
C. R. Butner county attorney
John McIntire
R S Peters
John M Smith

I do not know any thing about the facts of the case but would be glad to see Mr Bottoms released of the fine

Richd J. Browne

I was counsel for Bottoms on the trial and the petition fairly states the evidence according to my recollection — I join in the prayer for a remission of the fine

M R Hardin

I am unacquainted with the case but concur with R J Browne & Hardin in the Request

C J Cunningham

[Page 3]

Washington Cir Ct
vs
Davis Bottom
Remit
$50 —
Tipling
6th Aug/64

If remitted send remission to Washington Circuit Court clerk.