Group 1: Polly & her Children
This post is one in a series in an attempt to identify members of the Clarke family groups among the people enslaved by Robert D Sewall at “Poplar Hill” in Prince George’s County.
Charity in 1821
Charity is listed in the 1821 inventory alongside Abraham Clarke, who was manumitted in Robert D Sewall’s will and who lived in DC after his manumission.
Charity in 1853
She is listed immediately after Abraham’s family in the 1853 inventory with two children: Daniel, age 14, and Mary Mag, age 8
The 1870 Census returns a record for Charity Jackson, age 50, living in the neighborhood of TB, in the Piscataway District. Piscataway is the district immediately south of Surratts, where Poplar Hill is located.
Husband Daniel
She was living with her inferred husband: Daniel Jackson, age 40, and their two children: Alfred and Caroline. The Prince George’s Marriage Licenses show they formalized their marriage in 1872. Both were listed with the last name Jackson, suggesting they had been married informally for decades prior.
A Daniel Jackson, age 40, is listed in the Prince George’s County “Slave Statistics”; Mrs. Jane P Williams submitted his name as a person she enslaved as of 1864. She and her husband owned real estate valued at $10,000 in 1860 and personal property (including value of enslaved people) was recorded as $25,000. In 1870, she was a widow with real estate valued at $8000 and personal property of $600.
1870 Residence
The approximate location of Charity and Daniel’s residence after the Civil War can be inferred from the use of Martenet’s Map of Prince George’s County which shows landowners [1863] and the dwelling numbers of the landowners in the 1870 census. Williams can be identified on the road parallel to the district boundary, while W. A Gibbons is close to the TB Post Office, and Marshall and Gwynn are to the west.
Charity and Daniel are listed at dwelling number 25, suggesting that they are on the roads near Gibbons and the TB post office.
If Charity lived on “Poplar Hill” during her captivity by Sewall and if Daniel lived on the Williams’ tract of land (and possibily the residence he inhabited after emancipation by the state), this suggests that they were forced to live apart during their marriage.
If either of them had been granted a pass to visit the other, the walk would have been about 8 miles from one estate to the other, and would have taken about 3 hours.
| Family in the 1853 Inventory | Family in the 1870 US Census |
| Charity, 38 | Charity Jackson, 50 |
| Daniel Jackson, 40 | |
| Daniel, 14 | |
| Mary Mag, 8 | |
| Alfred Jackson, 7 | |
| Caroline Jackson, infant |
Died prior to 1880
Daniel Jackson (Sr) is recorded in the 1880 census with a wife, Clarisa, and his children Alfred and Carolina. Listed with the family is Elizabeth Duckett who is labeled as “mother”. The age difference between Daniel and Clarisa is small, Daniel is 54 and Clarisa is 53. This suggests that Charity died prior to 1880 and Daniel remarried.
Son, Daniel Jackson, Jr
Charity’s son, Daniel Jackson, is listed in the 1853 inventory with her and not in the 1870 census. His estimated birth year, based on the 1853 inventory is 1839, which in 1870, would make him 32. As an adult, it is likely he is in his own household.
In the 1870 census, a Daniel T Jackson is living next to Abraham Clarke in the City. He is the correct age to be Charity’s son, Daniel. This suggests Daniel left Poplar Hill in pursuit of freedom during the Civil War, like many enslaved people who used the proximity to DC as a means for emancipation after 1862.
Daniel married Annie Lowe in 1867 and settled into a home near his uncle. The 1880 census indicated Annie had consumption, and she must have died by 1882, as the Evening Star lists an Equity Case (Lowe vs. Jackson), in which Daniel T Jackson was appointed guardian ad litem.
A Daniel Jackson, widower, died in 1886. His estimated birth year was 1836 and he was buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery, suggesting like many of the residents of Poplar Hill, he was Catholic.
stories of Then 