James Stewart | Junior

Did James (Jim) Stewart (b. about 1800) have a son named James Stewart?

James Stewart, Senior

James Stewart (Sr.) was living in Queen Anne District of Prince George’s County after emancipation in 1864. He was residing near the estate of Dr. Benjamin Lee who had died during the war.

He lived with his inferred children, George, Mary (Polly), Sarah (Sallie), and Notley as well as Peter Laxson (Blackstone), and is neighbor to Philip Hanson and Beckie Stewart. The 1870 census record for James Stewart is best understood when compared to the 1880 census record for James Stewart, which identifies the relations between the households.

Not present in the 1880 Census record are Sarah (Sallie) Stewart, who married Washington Lee in 1870 and established a separate household nearby and George and Rebecca (Beckie) Stewart who also established a separate household nearby.

The comparison of the two census records show however, that James Stewart was the head of a family with several adult children.

James Stewart, prior to Emancipation

In the 1870 Census, James Stewart and his children are enumerated directly after the heirs of Dr. Benjamin Lee and an overseer, suggesting that they lived near “Oak Hill”, the Lee estate.

Dr. Benjamin Lee was the brother-in-law of Marsham Waring. Both owned considerable amounts of property in the area. They married the daughters of Captain James Belt, who had bought parts of Chelsea from another branch of the Belt family and who conveyed the tracts to his daughters. Lee also acquired tracts of land from Northhampton, Partnership and other parcels. Waring also acquired land from nearby families, purchasing land from the Hillearys and the Bowies.

Lee and Waring died within a few years of each other. Marsham Waring died in 1860, and his wife in 1863. His probate records include an inventory (WAJ 2:323) with the names of the people enslaved on four separate estates. Benjamin Lee died in 1863 and also includes the names of those he enslaved (WAJ 3:127). Waring heirs, (his two daughters and son) had compensation lists submitted to the Commission on Slave Statistics which provided both a first and last name with an age for many. This allows us to identify the people on the Waring Inventory and which estate they were forced to labor on. Lee does not have a similar compensation list, and so identifying the people he enslaved requires more records to ensure identification of them.

James (Jim) Stewart is included in the Waring Inventory and in the list made by Waring’s daughter, Mrs. M. Virginia Mackubin [sic] for the Commission on Slave Statistics. In both documents he is listed as 50 years old. He labored for the Warings on the Warington Estate . He is the only James Stewart listed on the three compensation lists. The children in the inventory are not listed in the Waring inventories or compensation lists, rather they appear to be included in the 1863 Lee Inventory .

Lee’s inventory includes the names of James Stewart’s children as well as Mary’s oldest son, with ages that are comparable to the ones in the census. (As always there is some variability with ages for those enslaved, as the exact birth year is not always known by the enslaver or the person enslaved.)

The Warings were Catholic and many of the people they enslaved were baptized by the priests of White Marsh, the Jesuit Plantation in Queen Anne District. The Early Records of White Marsh, Book Three contain baptismal records from 1853-1872.

In 1858, John Henson was baptized, the son of Nancy (Ann) Fletcher and James Stewart. The priests marked them “property of Marsham Waring.” Notley Stewart acted as a sponsor/godparent; this Notley Stewart is an older Notley, not the child in the 1870 Census. In the 1860 Inventory of Marsham Waring, listed two below James (Jim) Stewart, is Notley, age 30. He is also on the list submitted by M. Virginia Mackubin [sic].

In 1860, George Antony was baptized as James and Nancy Steward, with Elizabeth (Bezzie) Fletcher as sponsor/godmother.

Ann (Nancy) Fletcher was enslaved by the Warings on the estate “Heart’s Delight”, which was inherited by James Waring. She was included on James Waring’s compensation list, as was “child of Nancy” [George Antony] and John. Above her is Betsy, who may be the same Elizabeth (Bezzie) who stood as sponsor at the baptism of the infant.

With only the census record, it was an assumption that the James Stewart mentioned in these records was James Stewart (Sr.). However, a registration list from the Freedmen’s Bureau with an 1870 Census record from the District of Columbia suggests that the James Stewart of the baptismal records is not James Stewart (Sr.), rather James Stewart (Jr.).

Flight to the District of Columbia

After slavery was abolished in the District of Columbia in 1862, the people enslaved in the neighboring jurisdictions saw an opportunity to grab freedom for themselves. Despite the fact that the roads toward the District were monitored by constables and private patrols, many of the people forced to labor fled their captivity and made their way to the District. Barbara Jeanne Fields wrote in her book, Slavery and Freedom on the Middle Ground that “Many an ex-fugitive later reported having left Maryland for the District during or after the spring of 1862. Families packed up such of their possessions as could be compactly assembled and departed, sometimes appropriating means of transportation from their owners.” (111)

As such camps were built in and around the District to house the incoming refugees from chattel slavery. One such camp was Camp Springdale which was made up of tents on the grounds of the “Arlington Estate”, owned by Robert E Lee’s wife. At the start of the Civil War, the Union Army occupied the site and the soldiers gave protection to fleeing refugees. Other camps were built in and around the District.

A registration list for Camp Springdale lists its residents and their former residence along with whether or not they are married.

In March 1864, James Stewart appears to have been registered with a group of male refugees. On March 17, James is listed with other men with the surname Jones and a Dennis Fletcher. Dennis Fletcher also appeared on the 1860 Marsham Waring Inventory, after Nancy and her children. This suggests he is a younger brother of Nancy, and therefore brother-in-law of James. James is 33 years old.

Then, on March 19, a 33 year old James Stewart is listed with Nanny Stewart, and the children, John, George, and Francis. The ages of John and George are consistent with the ages in the baptisms. This suggests that James of the baptismal record is not James (Sr), rather James (Jr.)

A review of Benjamin Lee’s inventory shows a Jim, age 27, above the identified area that contained the other names of James (Sr.)’s children. His age is consistent with that of James (Jr) who gave his age as 33 to the registrar at Camp Springdale.

1870

After the war, James and Nancy stayed in the District of Columbia. They lived in Ward 5, with James working as a scavenger. They are living with Elizabeth Fletcher, age 23, who has a son, Louis.

Update

The White Marsh Baptismal Records Book 4 contains earlier baptism records than Book 3 (1819-1833) and contains a baptism record for James, born 1832, son of “James Stuart, slave of Master Warring” and “Suky, slave of Dr. Lee in Marlborough”. This would be consistent with the 33 year old James Stewart who escaped to the District of Columbia.