Here David's father, Levi Moses Kokernot, sells a slave named Lucilla, about forty years, to August Hebert for ninety dollars. (New Orleans Notarial Archives, Carlile Pollock, v. 12 p. 360, 18 Dec 1823)
By 1834 David's mother had been widowed for probably six years and was heavily invested in property in New Orleans, including slaves, and had a successful retail dry goods business. Advertisements such as this were extremely common in the New Orleans paper. The "& Son," above, refers to David's brother Louis. David had been in Texas two years already. (New Orleans Bee, 12 July 1834, p. 1)
In 1866 David was sued by the estate of John Hodges, a neighbor, who alleged that David failed to pay for the agreed lease of two negroes, Bill and Em, for the year 1864. In his response, above, David claims first that the plaintiff altered the contract, adding "in gold or silver" and, second, that Bill and Em both ran away. Many papers are missing from this file, including the jury's final conclusion. (Rufus Cates, admr, vs. D L Kokernot et al, Case No 2114, District Court for Gonzales County, Texas)
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© 2006 Alan Barber