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under the apprentice law and Judge Bailey of the Probate Court directed me to retain them under that law. Sylvia came back and remained with me the balance of the year. She was impressed of what I had done and was perfectly satisfied. She remained with me until I left for Mobile and I then asked her whether she would come or stay. She preferred to remain in the "old neighborhood" as she said. I then found her a place with Dr. Lassiter's family and took her there in a wagon with her children and asked the Doctor to attend to her during her attacks of rheumatism. She was to cook for his family but soon fell sick as usual and the Doctor finding her services could not be reliable discharged her. She afterwards was without a home was in a very destitute situation and was a charge upon the public and received rations from the [[strikethrough]] county [[/strikethrough]] Government.

When I was coming to Mobile I desired to take Tom at that time with me and asked him in her presence whether he preferred to go with me or stay with his mother, he very decidedly preferred to come with me. She gave him up willingly knowing all the facts. When I went