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certain property which the Plaintiff claimed as the assignee of one John
H Thomas . The Plaintiff introduced a deed of assignment Executed to him
by Said John H Thomas on the 15th day of January 1846 a copy of which
Said deed with the Schedule attached and endorsment thereon is appended
to this Bill of Exception made a part of the Same by direction of the court
and marked Exhibit A

The Plaintiff next proved that on the 20th day
of February 1846 the defendant levied on certain property named in the Deed
by vertue of an attachment placed in his hands as Sheriff of Macon County
while in the possession of the Said John H Thomas to wit three negroes a
Carriage and harniss & two horses two mahogany bed Steads & one Buggy and
harness Ten mahog chairs one Sofa one Center table Said attachment was
Sued out on a debt due by Hunter & Thomas and also proved the value
of Said property and gave evidence tending to prove a demand made of the
Said defendant for the Same previous to the institution of this Suit and a refund
on the part of the defendant to give Said property up he the Said defendant
at the date of the levey of the aforesaid attachment having left the Said property
with the Said John H Thomas taking a forthcoming Bond under the Statute
for the delivery of the Same as a day Subsequent to the date of Plaintiff
demand. The Plaintiff further proved that the debts Secured by the deeds were
valid debts that a portion of them were contracted by Henry H Hunter
and the Said John H Thomas under the St?? of Hunter and Thomas a
mercantile firm which previously had existed in Tuskagee and another portion
of them the individual debts of the Said John H Thomas and also that the assets
conveyed in the deed had once belonged to the firm of Hunter & Thomas with
the exception of the lands and the property levied on which was the individual
property of the Said John H Thomas and which was admitted to be equivalent
in value to his individual debts Secund in the Said deed. The Plaintiff
then introduced as a Witness the attorney who drew the deeds& who testified that the
portion of the deed which provided for certain of the property therein named
remaining in the hands of Thomas was inserted by witness without consulting with either
Bradford or Thomas: that after Said deed was drawn with the Said provision in it
the witness Read it over to Bradford & Stated to him that he had inserted said
provision because he Bradford lived in Coosa County Some fifty miles from
Tuskegee where the property was & when it could probably be Sold to more advantage
than at Bradford place of residence and when it could be taken care of until
a Sale could be effected that Bradford assented to Said provision; that the Deed
was then read over to Thomas who Executed it without any thing being Said by
or to him about the Said provision. The Same witness also Stated that there had
been great intimacy between Bradford and Thomas; that Some eighteen months
or two years before the Execution of Said Deed, Bradford was well acquainted
with Thomas business that a week or two before the Deed was Executed Thomas
went over to Coosa County to See Bradford & that Witness went to Tuskegee
from Montgomery to draw said Deed at the request of both Bradford & Thomas