In 1870, a partnerless James Stewart is living with his grown children in Queen Anne District of Prince George’s County. The census allows us to identify George, Mary (Polly), Sarah (Sallie) and Notley. The death certificate for George Stewart in 1904 lists James Stewart and marks his mother as unknown.
James Stewart was enslaved by Marsham Waring and his children were enslaved by Dr. Benjamin Lee. Both slaveholders owned extensive property in Queen Anne District and were brother-in-laws. They also both died during the Civil War, and the inventories of their estate help to identify the family groups.
The 1863 Inventory of Lee’s estate (WAJ 3:127) allows for the identification of other children of James Stewart. As explored in another post, Jim was identified as James Stewart, Jr.
In 1832, James Stewart and Suky had their son, James, baptized by the priests of White Marsh. James (Sr.) was identified as enslaved by Marsham Waring and Suky was identified as enslaved by Dr. Lee.
In the inventory excerpt, there is a child, Susan, 2 months old, that is likely the daughter of Betty, age 18, and grandchild of James Stewart as they are listed between other children of James Stewart also identified in the 1870 census. The name Susan is also used by Sarah Stewart, the daughter of James Stewart. This repetition suggests that the name is significant to the family and is consistent with what was learned from the 1832 White Marsh Record, namely that James Stewart partnered with Suky, or Susan. Sukey (and numerous variations) was a diminutive of Susan.
In 1854, Susana Steward sponsored the baptism of Christina Johns [Jones], the daughter of Joseph and Barbara Jones, who were enslaved by Marsham Waring.
The names in the inventory give hint to Susana Stewart’s age. The ages range from 29 to 3; though the baptism of James in 1832 suggests that the ages are slightly off. If we estimate that Susana began having children around 1830 and that Notley was her last child in 1860, this would suggest a typical child-bearing range of 30 years when women were approximately 15 to 45 years old, allowing us to estimate that Susana was born around 1815.
stories of Then 