Charlotte Dupuy

Charlotte Dupuy was born into slavery in Cambridge, Maryland. She was brought to Kentucky in 1805 by the tailor James Condon, who had purchased her as a child from Daniel Parker in Cambridge. Condon sold Charlotte to Henry Clay in May 1806, perhaps to allow the young couple to live together. Charlotte and Aaron had two children, Charles and Mary Ann Dupuy. Clay went to Washington, D.C., for his congressional term beginning in 1810 and took the Dupuys with him. They lived with Clay and served in the house he rented, originally built for Stephen Decatur. Located at Lafayette Square across from the White House, today the Decatur House is a museum and a designated National Historic Landmark. ==Petition for freedom==

Charlotte Dupuy and her family enjoyed the relative freedom of living in Washington, D.C., where they met other enslaved people and joined some of the city's activities. Clay allowed Charlotte Dupuy to visit her mother and family on the Eastern Shore. Beale argued that Dupuy and her children were "entitled to their freedom" based on a promise by her previous enslaver, James Condon, but was "now held in a state of slavery by one Henry Clay (Secty of State) contrary to the law and your petitioners just rights". Clay wanted to remove the Dupuys from their DC residence and return them to Kentucky. There, Beale argued, they would "be held as slaves for life". While the Court allowed Charlotte Dupuy to stay in Washington while the case was heard, it permitted Clay to take her husband Aaron and children Mary Ann and Charles back to Kentucky. ==Case==

Charlotte Dupuy's petition to stay in the District temporarily was granted, but her writ for freedom was denied. Clay's attorney showed that her mother had been freed after Charlotte was born, which did not affect her status as enslaved. Although Dupuy was fighting for her freedom, the courts, to hear her case, had to assume her status as a free negro or a free person of color since enslaved people had no legal standing in the courts. Such actions began to create political space for enslaved people's freedom. The Court determined that the agreement between Dupuy and Condon did not apply to any new enslavement, and rejected her claim against Clay. ==Aftermath==

Clay's agent arranged for Dupuy to be imprisoned in Alexandria, which was then part of the District of Columbia, while he decided what to do. Clay had Dupuy removed from Washington and transported to New Orleans, to the home of his daughter and son-in-law Martin Duralde Jr. She was enslaved there for another decade. Finally, on October 12, 1840, Henry Clay freed Charlotte Dupuy and her daughter Mary Ann in New Orleans. He retained her son Charles Dupuy, who traveled with him to speaking engagements. Clay frequently used him as an example of how well he treated enslaved people. He eventually freed Charles in 1844. Clay, either before he died in 1852 or by his will, or his descendants, freed Charlotte's husband Aaron Dupuy or "gave him his time". The couple reunited to live again in Kentucky, where Aaron worked for John M. Clay at Ashland after his father's death. While no deed of emancipation was found for Aaron Dupuy, according to the 1860 census, he and Charlotte Dupuy lived together as free persons in Fayette County, Kentucky. An obituary of Aaron Dupuy said he died February 6, 1866, and was survived by his widow, although she was not listed by name. ==Legacy==

• Dupuy's struggle for freedom has been recognized by new exhibits in the Decatur House, where she lived and worked for nearly two decades. The Decatur House has been designated a National Historic Landmark and operates as a museum. • The story of Charlotte and Aaron Dupuy is also featured at the Isaac Scott Hathaway Museum of Lexington, Kentucky, and in their online exhibits. ==See also==