Ashland Boyd County Ky
April 28^th 1862
Germain May — Pet'r
To } Petition to remit fine
His Honor B Magoffin Governor of Ky —

The petitioner German May residing near Ashland Boyd County Ky begs leave respectfully to represent to your Honor that he was indicted by the Grand Jury of Boyd County at the April Term 1861 — of Circuit Court of said County and charged thereby with the offense of keeping a tippling house, a copy of the Indictment and the proceedings theron is herewith inclosed.

Your petitioner was never tried on the said Indictment until the April Term 1862 of the Boyd Circuit Court (just closed) at which Term a trial was had & verdict returned against your petitioner — "of guilty of keeping a tippling house."

Your petitioner begs leave respectfully in consideration of the following facts to ask your CHonor — so far as section 10 art 3^d of the New Constitution of Kentucky confers the power — to remit the fine of $60⁰⁰ imposed by the Statute as the "penalty for keeping a tippling house" viz

1^st at the time of the trial the Defendant your petitioner was sick with measles and entirely unable to attend cCourt to make a defense.

2^nd Your petitioner is a quiet sober peace-loving citizen never before having been charged with any crime nor misdemeanor.

3^d He has been all the period of his life an invalid so that he could with great difficulty prevent this becoming a burthen to the County. Since 1851 his has been confirmed case of Liver Complaint with also great tendency to a pulmonary affection so that he has since that time been utterly unable to make a living by manual labor and in order to prevent himself from becoming a pauper on the County he managed to rent a small house a few miles from Ashland and purchased a few groceries with a view thereby to make an honest support, It was at this house your petitioner is "charged with selling spirituous liquors that was drunk on the premises or adjacent thereto",

Your petitioner never sold liquor ^only^ in quantities not less than a half gallon — and has no knowledge of any liquor so sold having been drunk on the said premises — if any was so drunk it was without his knowledge or consent.

4^th Your petitioner being as above stated an invalid and a poor man the penalty of $60⁰⁰ in this ^case^ is both unjust and intolerably oppressive, and he believes had ^he^ been able to have attended Court and had his case properly attended to that this unjust verdict would not have neen rendered against him.

Your petitioner begs leave very respectfully to call your Honor's attention to the above stated facts and ask in consideration of the same that yYour Honor extend to him the — Executive leniency by remitting this fine of $60⁰⁰

or so much thereof as Your Honor has proven to remit under section 10 article 3^d of the New Constitution of Kentucky

Germin ^his X mark^ May

Ashland Boyd County Ky
April 28^th 1862

The undersigned subscribers hereby ^beg leave respectfully to,^ petition His honor B, Magoffin — Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky — for the reasons set forth in the above petition — that he remit the fine or so much thereof as he has power Constitutionally to remit — in the above named case of the Commonwealth to Germin May —

S J Henderson att'y Ashland Boyd Co Ky
H,, C,, Ferguson " " " "
W. D. Creasy merch " " " "
T, A, Newman " " " " "
I. E. Veyssie " " " " "
T,, J, Berry Hotel " " " "
Ja^s H. Poage ^Groceries^ " " " "
John Hammond J. P. B.C.
H A Poage J P B C " " " "
A Bagby Police Judge Ashland
B. Veyssie
Henry. J. Rice Enginneer L & B S R R^d
B, A, Mitchell
D. H. WIlson
R Waterman