John BJohn B .Laffoon of lawful age, being produce, sworn
and examined, on the part of the Plaintiff deposeth,
and sayeth, that he is acquainted with the
parties to this suit; that when he first knew the
Plaintiff RalphRalph he was owned by JohnJohn Gordon
GordonJohn Gordon deceased who sold RalphRalph the plaintiff
as deponent believes to one Issac Metcalf
who sold him to oneAbner West who sold
him to Coleman DuncanColeman Duncan the Defendant by
whom RalphRalph was taken or sent out of this
County to parts unknown to this deponent only
by report.

Question 1st on the part of the Plaintiff
If you have ever known or heard of RalphRalph
the Plaintiff having been hired or permitted to
labor in the State or Territory of IllinoisIllinois state at
what time and by whom he was so hired or
permitted

Answer: I have frequently heard of the
Plaintiff RalphRalph having been hired to labor at
the Saline Lick in the State of IllinoisIllinois by John
Gordan and I think at as early a time as 1816 or
1817 & from that time at interval up to the time he
was taken out of this county