Two Slaves in Jacksonville

[...]as the prosecutor pointed out, Chinn married one of the Hardin "infants" and claimed the services of Robert as a slave and sent him back to Kentucky. Because of his behavior, Chinn was "guilty of kidnapping, under both sections of the law" and demanded the services of someone who was no longer a slave. According to the court record, the jury heard one of Logan's attorneys read the Will of Robert's original owner, Martin Hardin, and the depositions of Edmund P. Miller and John J. Hardin recorded in Jacksonville and sent to Frankfort before the trial. According to these documents, Illinois was part of the territory created in 1787 by the Northwest Ordinance that included article six prohibiting slavery. According to the law, a bill of exceptions becomes part of the record and may be introduced as evidence of facts stated.