Lenoir County, NC - Parrott vs Hartsfield, 1838

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#2673 PARROTT VS HARTSFIELD
NC Supreme Court Case - found at the NC Archives

Lenoir County 1838

Benjamin F. Parrott plf - his attorney John H. Bryan - vs Benjamin Hartsfield - 
Bill of Complaint was plea of trespass and damages of $200 requested - went to 
Court 1836

Parrott owned a dog, Ring, and said Hartsfield killed him - the def said he was 
justified - def said he had sheep in his enclosed pasture contiguous to the right 
of his house - at sunrise in July 1836 the dog was in the pasture killing the 
sheep - two had already been killed and 4 others were dangerously wounded and 
died in a few days - the def went after the dog with his gun but he escaped - the 
dog returned 2 hours later and the def shot and killed him - the dog was opened 
and he was filled with parts of sheep - the plf insisted the def proved he could 
not protect his sheep other than by killing the dog - the Court instructed the 
jury that the burden of proof was on the def.

The Court found that a sheep stealing a dog lurking around other's sheep incurred 
the penalty of death

The plf appealed. 

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This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by
Martha Mewborn Marble <mmarble@erols.com>
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