J.T. Morris alleges that H. Clay Pate stole an enslaved man who was sold to him by pretending he had escaped. On July 8, 1858 Pate sold Morris a woman and three children, in exchange for $1,500, including the value of a house and lot in Westport. Morris claims that Pate did not give him the deed, and instead sold him a man named Austin, who he hired out to H.M. McCarty. Pate then sent Austin to Wayne City, Missouri where he would intercept him and take him to Virginia.