Show ROBT Ii FULTON SLAVE Steamboat Inventor Once Placed in Prison for Debt NEW NEV YORK July 2 Dl By The rhe As As- Associated Press Press Press-A A bill of 0 sale le show show- showing showing ow- ow ing that Robert Fulton bought a slave girl shortly after his invention of o the steamboat and later gave her her freedom is 15 t among the hitherto un un- unpublished Unpublished published documents relative to the affairs which have come Into possession of Columbia sity Among the papers are arc deeds show- show showIng showIng showing Ing that he bought land extensive extensive- extensively ly IX here and In New Jersey on the in installment In- In plan and letters concerning patent litigation and his arrest by a n aman aman man to whom he owed money The slave bill of 0 sale dated October 9 9 1809 two years eus alter after the first steamboat sailed up pp the Hudson read as follows Know all men by these thesa presents that presents that I George McKay l of Now New York YorI for sold to Robert Fulton a certain woman Betts Belts 26 25 years old for and during her natural life On the reverse of the document written and signed by Fulton Pulton is the notation The said Jane Betts Belts etts to ha e her freedom at atthe atthe I Ithe the expiration of six st st. years from the date hereof that is Is on the ninth day of October 1815 The man who had Fulton arrested is mentioned only as De Dc Lacey A petition to have a suit brought against Fulton dismissed shows that the in inventor In- In owed De Dc Lacey 2500 The expensive litigation that arose v over the steamboat patents is shown shon by a 0 lawyers lawyer's bill bm among the Colum- Colum la Ia papers The bill blU is for for services in three courts in connection with several severt steamboat con trover- trover rica sies es The rhe documents were presented to Columbia by Samuel Glassman of New York |