Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives
Brom and Bett v. Ashley
This collection consists of court records filed in the case of Brom and Bett v. Ashley, heard in the Berkshire County Court of Common Pleas in 1781 and appealed to the Supreme Judicial Court for Berkshire County. Included are pleadings, writs, and other documents filed in the Court of Common Pleas, as well as a record-book entry documenting the appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court.
This case was brought by two enslaved people, Brom and Bett (later known as Elizabeth Freeman), who successfully won their freedom from John Ashley of Sheffield, Massachusetts. This was likely the first successful freedom suit filed in the wake of the 1780 Massachusetts Constitution.
This case was brought by two enslaved people, Brom and Bett (later known as Elizabeth Freeman), who successfully won their freedom from John Ashley of Sheffield, Massachusetts. This was likely the first successful freedom suit filed in the wake of the 1780 Massachusetts Constitution.
