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To his Excellency Samuel Houston, Governor in and
over the State of Tennessee -

Your petitioners the undersigned, beg leave
most respectfully to represent to your Excellency, that at the
present term of the Circuit Court for Wilson County, James
Nelms was tried and convicted, upon a charge of stealing and
disposing of certain Negroe slaves- Many of the undersigned
heard the evidence in the cause, and all are acquainted with
the prominent facts in the case, and although it ^is common in
applications of this kind, to express opinions in favour of
executive clemency they can not forbear to say, that if
a case ever occure [sic] in any country, which loudly demanded
the merciful interposition of the pardoning power of the govern
-ment, this is one; The law under which he was convicted, to say
[illegible] most sangunary [sic] one; and we conceive
that the dispensing power vested in your Excellency, could
never be exercised with more obvious propriety than in the
present case- It is litterally true, that the whole county of
the prisoners residence, desire most ardently his pardon-

The evidence in the cause, together with circumstances
which have come to the knowledge of society since the trial
have produced a setled [sic] conviction that he took the negroes
to Murray, ^where he sold them as the agent of one Noah Walker, who has for
years asserted, and still asserts a claim to them- He left home
about 4 o.clock in the evening, traveled openly on the publick [sic]
road, untill [sic] he sold them, and returned home in the same
way, evidencing his inocence [sic] in his own opinion, & his agency
for Walker- We therefore pray that Your Excellency will
graciously interpose by pardoning the said Nelms-

And as in duty bound we will ever pray &c