Category Archives: District of Columbia

Joseph Jones

Connected Post: Richard (Dick) Jones & Mary (Polly) Jones | Old Age

Richard (Dick) Jones and his wife, Mary (Polly) were born at the end of the Revolutionary War and lived until the start of the Civil War in Queen Anne District of Prince George’s County. The vast majority of their life was spent on the estates of Marsham Waring. They and their children labored for Waring and his three children, as well as neighboring estates. This post explores the life of one of their sons, Joseph Jones.

Chart showing Mary’s estimated child-bearing years and identified children | Subject to Change

Joseph Jones was one of Mary’s younger sons. He labored on Warington, which was the main dwelling estate for the Warings, along with his parents, wife and children

Joseph and Barbara had three of their children’s baptisms recorded by the priests of White Marsh.

  • “Johns, Christina, daughter of Jos. Johns & Barbara Reyder, his wife, born May 3, 1854, property of Mr. Marsh. Waring. Godmother: Susana Steward.”
  • “Do: James, 2 weeks old, of Joseph & Barbara, property of M. Waring. Sp: Selley.” [1857]
  • “Bapt’. Richard of Joe & Barbara Jones, col’, 10 weeks old. Spons: Bettzy Fletcher for Martha Colbert.” [1860]

In May 1862, a group of enslaved people from Waring’s estates fled to DC with James Waring, Marsham’s son, pursuing them. He swore out an affidavit, swearing that they were enslaved in Maryland, not the District, and therefore he was lawfully able to seek their return to bondage. Joseph Jones was among those named by Waring.

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Records of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Relating to Slaves, 1851-1863; Microfilm Serial: M433; Microfilm Roll: 3 | ancestry.com

Joseph and his wife, Barbara, and their children are listed on a registration list for Camp Barker, a refugee camp set up in the northern part of the City of Washington, near U street and Vermont Avenue.

The image places the 1860 Waring Inventory on top for comparison with the names on the registration list estimated to be either in 1863 or 1864 based on other lists in the book.
U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Records, 1865-1878 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2021. | ancestry.com
Marsham Inventory WAJ 2:321 | Maryland State Archives
1869 Plan of the city of Washington : the capitol [sic] of the United States of America | loc.gov

“The present shelter of the refugees in Washington is called Camp Barker. We visited it on the 25th of 11th month. It consists of a large oblong square, surrounded on three sides by huts or barracks, and other buildings, all opening within the square; and by a high fence on the west side. The entrance is under a military guard. The huts, about forty-eight in number, are about twelve feet square, and each have from ten to twelve inmates. There are also several large tents, occupied by old or infirm men, and two buildings called hospitals—one for men, and one for women. The residence of the superintendent is within the enclosure.”

Report of a Committee of Representatives of New York Yearly Meeting of Friends upon the condition and wants of the colored refugees. | loc.gov

In 1861, the baptism for Augustus, the son of Lizy Jones and Notley Steward was recorded. Augustus is in the registration list for Camp Barker with Joe, Barbara [Patsy] and Elizabeth. Notley Stewart, with Joseph Jones, was listed on the affidavit by James Waring. Notley is not listed with the Jones family, though Elizabeth and Augustus are listed together.

At some point, they may have been transferred from Camp Barker to Camp Springdale, which was the precursor to Freedmen’s Village on the Arlington Estate (owned by Robert E Lee’s wife) and what would become Arlington Cemetery. They appear on a list of those who left Camp Springdale. The note indicates that they “gone to do for themselves”

U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Records, 1865-1878 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2021. | ancestry.com

After the war, Joseph and his family settle outside the City of Washington in the District in and around Benning’s Road. In 1870, they lived near Alex McCormick along the Maryland-District Border. McCormick had used his location along the border to hide the people he enslaved in Maryland when the District abolished slavery. The family successfully petitioned for their freedom. See Civil War DC for more information about this petition. Living with McCormick in 1870 is Robert Jones, a nephew of Joseph Jones. Of their children, Sophia and Peter are not listed with them in 1870. Peter rejoins them in 1880, but not Sophia. This suggests the likelihood she died, though it is possible she married.

1861 Topographical map of the District of Columbia | loc.gov

It’s likely that Barbara died in 1896; a death record for a Barbara Jones, born around 1824 in Maryland can be found. She was buried in Mt. Olivet, a Catholic cemetery. No family members are listed.

Her son, Peter Jones, is still living in the vicinity of Benning’s Road in the 1900 Census. He is working in a stock yard, and his son, Peter Jones, Jr. is working as a jockey.

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Nicholas Jones

Connected Post: Richard (Dick) Jones & Mary (Polly) Jones | Old Age

Richard (Dick) Jones and his wife, Mary (Polly) were born at the end of the Revolutionary War and lived until the start of the Civil War in Queen Anne District of Prince George’s County. The vast majority of their life was spent on the estates of Marsham Waring. They and their children labored for Waring and his three children, as well as neighboring estates. This post explores the life of one of their sons, Nicholas Jones.

Nicholas Jones was one of the younger sons of Richard and Mary born toward the end of Mary’s estimated child-bearing years (1795-1825), when she was 15 to 45 years old. If my theory is correct about Richard’s forced migration from Stephen West to Marsham Waring (see connected post), then Nicholas was named after his grandfather, Nick.

He labored on the Waring estate “Heart’s Delight”, which was in Bladensburg District near Buena Vista, near the Warington estate where his parents lived and labored. His wife and children labored on a neighboring estate owned by John B Magruder.

Nicholas and Martha had several of their children baptized by the priests of White Marsh.

  • 1853: Richard Euseb., son of Nichol. [Johns] & [?] Williams, property of J. Magruder; Sponsor: Chas. Gasebeth
  • 1856: Robert, son of Nichol [John] + Martha Williams, property of John Magruder; Sponsor: Thomas Allen
  • 1858: Lucy, of Nic Jones & Martha Anne, property of J. Magruder; Sponsor: Susan
  • 1862: Nicholas, of Martha & Nich Jones, col.; Sponsor: Carolina Green

In May 1862, a group of enslaved people from Waring’s estates fled to DC with James Waring, Marsham’s son, pursuing them. He swore out an affidavit, swearing that they were enslaved in Maryland, not the District, and therefore he was lawfully able to seek their return to bondage. Some of those named in the affidavit were Nicholas’s siblings, Joseph and Richard. Nicholas was not named, however, he is living in the District in the 1870 Census, suggesting he joined them later.

In 1864, Martha and her children are listed in the Freedmen Bureau’s Registration list for Camp Springdale, without Nicholas, her husband. She was recorded as Jones, and some of her children were recorded as Johnson. A comparison of the lists of names in the Freedmen’s Bureau Record with that of John B Magruder’s list of enslaved people he submitted to the Prince George’s Commission on Slave Statistics for compensation however show similar given names and ages and is similar to the list of names found in the White Marsh baptismal records. Again, Martha’s husband, Nicholas Jones is not listed with them.

Records of the Field Offices For the District of Columbia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1870; NARA Series Number: M1902; NARA Reel Number: 21; NARA Record Group Number: 105; NARA Record Group Name: Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1861 – 1880 | ancestry.com
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Prince George’s County Slave Statistics Original Scans | Maryland State Archives

They are reunited by the 1870 Census. Nicholas and his wife lived with four of their sons; one of their sons, Charles, had married and his wife and children lived with them in the District. They worked as laborers. How and where they labored is unclear.

1870 Census, District of Columbia, Ward 6 | ancestry.com

They lived near D & 13th NE on the far edge of town, near the boundary with the county and along the road to Benning’s Bridge. Other siblings were found in the County near Benning’s Bridge in the 1870 and 1880 census records.

By October 1870, Martha, Nicholas’ wife had died of consumption, now more commonly called tuberculosis.

Annotated by author with residence’s of Nicholas Jones from City Directories | Entwistle’s handy map of Washington and vicinity : showing public buildings, churches, hotels, places of amusement, and lines of street rail roads. [1876] | loc.gov

After 1870, the lives of Nicholas and his children become obscured. Other than Nicholas consistently living in Ward 6, the family and its members are not reliably identified in the 1880 census records. A widowed Nicholas Jones is identified in the census, living on B Street SE, which would suggest it is the same Nicholas Jones. He is recorded as born in Virginia, though this could have been an error made by the census enumerator, as other senior members of the household are also listed as born in Virginia.

He is in the household of Frances Williams and her grown children; this suggests he moved in with one of his wife’s relatives, if this is the same Nicholas Jones.

A death record for 1899 lists Nicholas Jones, widowed, who was born around 1815. He was buried at Potter’s Field, part of the Washington Asylum, the “poor house”. It was located near where Nicholas Jones was recorded living in the City Directories.

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James Stewart | Acquisition

What connection if any does James Stewart have to the enslaved of Notley Young of Prince George’s County?

After emancipation in 1864, James Stewart and many of his children, including Notley Stewart, stayed on the lands of Dr. Benjamin Lee in Queen Anne District in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Annotated Excerpt from 1861 Martenet Map of Prince George’s County | loc.gov

Prior to emancipation, Stewart had been forced to labor for Marsham Waring’s estates, while his children labored on the estates on the Lee. Waring and Lee were brother-in-laws. Inventory records for Marsham (WAJ 2:321) and the post-emancipation records of the 1870 and 1880 records suggests that James was born a few years after 1800, and about a decade after Marsham Waring.

The name “Notley” has been used by multiple generations of the Stewart family — and one possible source for the given name is from the enslaver Notley Young. Other members of the Stewart family used names that were aligned to their (former) enslaver. For example, James’ son and daughter-in-law, George and Rebecca Stewart had daughters named Violetta and Eleanora, both names in common with the wives of Waring and Lee. Sarah (Sallie) Stewart and her husband Washington Lee named one of their sons, Benjamin, giving him both a given and surname that matches Sarah’s former enslaver, Dr. Benjamin Lee. The use of Notley in the family suggests a connection with a (former) enslaver named Notley, i.e., Notley Young.

There are three Notley Youngs in three successive generations:

  1. Notley Young (I) who died in 1802. His estates and property were located within the parts of Prince George’s County that would become the District of Columbia.
  2. Notley’s (I) son, Notley Young (II), a priest with connections to the Jesuits, Georgetown University and the White Marsh plantation along the Patuxent.
  3. Notley’s (I) grandson, Notley Young (III), son of Benjamin Young. Notley Young (III) married Eleanor Hall, his second cousin, and lived in Queen Anne District, before dying in 1846.

In the 1828 Tax List for Prince George’s County, Notley Young (III) owned practically 735 acres of land in the Collington & Western Branch Hundreds, from which part of Queen Anne District would become. Both Waring and Lee owned property before the Civil War along the Western Branch, which divided the two hundreds.

Map of part of the city of Washington shewing the situation of the mansion house, grave yard & buildings belonging to Mr. Notley Young : original proprietor of that part of the city. | loc.gov

View of the city of Washington in 1792. | loc.gov

Inheritance

There are three ways to acquire an enslaved person: 1. purchase, 2. inheritance/gift, or 3. natural “increase”, i.e., claiming ownership of the children of enslaved women.

James Stewart was born prior Marsham Waring acquiring his father’s estate, who died in 1813. On his inventory, there was a child called Jim (James) age 12 with an estimate birth year of 1801, which is consistent with calculated birth years from the later documents. This suggests that Marsham Waring (Sr.) conveyed James along with his other property to Marsham Waring (Jr.) of the 1860 Inventory, and opens the line of inquiry of how Marsham Waring (Sr.) acquired him.

Purchase from Notley Young, Sr.

Notley Young’s grandfather died in 1802. Included in his inventory is a James age 3, who would have been born in 1799. This is within two years of the age on the 1813 inventory of Marsham Waring (Sr.) After making some specific bequeathals to his wife and for his real estate, Young’s grandfather divided his personal estate (including his chattel) to be equally divided among his five identified children/grandchildren.

As noted on the family tree, a cousin of Notley Young (II) is George Washington Young, who inherited his father’s estate Nonesuch along the Eastern Branch (what would become known as Anacostia) and within the District of Columbia. When the District abolished slavery in 1862, G. W. Young filed a claim for compensation for his “loss” that included a “Stuart” family group.

This suggests that the Young family had enslaved members of the Stewart/Stuart Family group, perhaps even the one that James Stewart came from.

It is possible that the heirs of Notley Young sold James and separated him from his family, sending him to Marsham Waring (II) and his estates. Both Marsham Waring (II) and Notley Young were involved in the creation of the District of Columbia and engaged in business together. In the 1830s, their heirs were sued as together they had put up sureties for Thomas S Lee and a loan he had taken from Charles Carroll of Carrollton (Charles Carroll of Carrollton vs. Marsham Waring, et al June 1832).

White Marsh Baptism Record

In 1832, the enslaved population of Waring and Lee grew through “natural increase”, the term enslavers used to conflate the language they used to talk about their livestock and their enslaved people, dehumanizing the latter. James “Stuart” and Susan (Suky) had their son, James, baptized by the priests of White Marsh, the Jesuit Catholic plantation near Priest’s Bridge which also enslaved numerous people.

The baptism record notes that James (Sr.) was enslaved by “Master” Warring and that Susan (Suky) was enslaved by Dr. Lee in Marlborough. The record also notes the sponsor/godmother as a person enslaved by Notley Young, mostly likely Notley Young (III) based on the year of the baptism. The name was transcribed as “__rvelide?”.

“Content” | wikipedia.com
Dr. Benjamin Lee lived in this house in Upper Marlboro from 1821-1844 before moving to his estate in Queen Anne District. This is where Suky and her children most likely labored.

It is probable that the sponsor for the baptism of James and Suky’s son is a relative of either James or Suky, as godparents are usually chosen from within a kinship group, and therefore suggesting a connection between the Notley Young estates and James Stewart’s kinship group.

Reconstructing the Transcribed Name

My source document provides the typed transcription without access to the handwritten record of the priest, leaving the reader to guess at how the the transcriber interpreted the name. To complicate matters, the priests of White Marsh were not also fluent with Anglo-American names or the diminutives used by the enslaver and so there is often non-traditional spelling. With that in mind, the following three items helped to narrow the possibilities.

  1. The transcriber noted it was a godmother, therefore looking for women’s names
  2. The index to White Marsh Book 4 provides three plus page list of names of given names used by the priests, providing a sampling of names used during this time period by enslavers and enslaved.
  3. The final syllable “-ide”

These three items helped to identify Adelaide and its variations as a probable given name for the godmother. Another possibility includes names like Emeline and its variations, though Matilda and Cornelia are also likelihoods.

Of note, on the same page, a Adelaide was noted as a person enslaved by Benjamin Young, likely Notley Young’s brother. She had a son, Alexander who was baptized the same year as James. In 1818, Sandy [Alexander] and Adelaide were married at White Marsh with the permission of their enslaver, though the record does not note their enslaver. That said, the repetition of Alexander and Sandy in both records suggests that Adelaide and Alexander married and had a son, named for his father, Alexander.

A 1821 records provides more insight into the Alexander + Adelaide family group. Francis and Moses Sandy were baptized in 1821, as one-day old sons of Sandy and Adelaide Cosy, servants of Mr. Benj. Young. In 1817, Peter Corsey escaped from Notley Young, he may be related to the Cosy’s of Benjamin Hall.

A review of the 1809 Inventory (TT 1:321) for the estate of Benjamin Young (the son of Notley Young (I) and the father of Notley Young (II) and Benjamin Hall Young provided a possible family group for Adelaide. The Inventory appears to be groups in families, as a few adults will be named then children, then adults and children again. The group identified occurs near the beginning of the inventory. The list includes a Suck, a name variation for Susan; though Susan was an extremely common name for the enslaved communities of Prince George’s County.

NameAge in InventoryEstimated Birth Year
Dolly321777
Eliza211788
Suck151794
Louisa121797
Adelaid101799
Harry121797
John101799
Billey101799
Maria41805
Chrissy51804
Edward31806
Ned41805
Robert21807

Tentative Conclusion

The circumstantial evidence suggests that James Stewart came to the Waring family from the Young family.

  1. The use of Notley as a given name within the Stewart Family
  2. The presence of a James on the 1802 Notley Young (I) Inventory
  3. The inclusion of other Stewart family groups on the Compensation List for G. W. Young
  4. The presence of a White Marsh baptism record which indicates a godmother from the Notley Young estate for James Stewart’s son, James (Jr.)

related posts

Benjamin Lee and Augustus Jones | Stealing Horses

Stealing Horses

In the summer of 1900, two horses were stolen. One from the pasture of Dorsey Jones and one from the home of Washington Lee. Both men lived in Leeland, Maryland, a small community built up after the Civil War along the Pope Creek Railroad. It sits on the boundary between Queen Anne District and Marlboro.

1899 Top Map of Patuxent River | accessed from topoview

They alerted the authorities in Washington that their horses were stolen and the police were on the look-out for the thieves in the District. They arrested two men for trying to sell the horses near Centre Market in downtown DC near 11th and Louisiana, just north of the map about mid-point between the Eclipse and the Capitol.

According to the articles, the men arrested were their sons, Augustus Jones and Benjamin Lee.

21 Aug 1900, Evening Star | newspapers.com
22 Aug 1900, Evening Star | newspapers.com

Relatives

The two horse thieves, Augustus Jones and Benjamin Lee were distant cousins of each other. The first article says that Augustus was the son of Dorsey and the second article claims that Benjamin was the son of Washington Lee.

Reconstructed tree using a mixture of records. Subject to change to as more records are located.

Benjamin Lee

Washington Lee with his wife, Sarah (Sallie) Lee are enumerated with Benjamin Lee in the 1880 census. They were enumerated in the Marlboro district near Upton Brooke who was enumerated at DN 243. This places them in the vicinity of Brick Church Station which is where Leeland would grow over the next few decades.

Marlboro District, Prince George’s County 1880 Census | ancestry.com
1878 Hopkins Atlas of Prince George’s County, Marlboro District | loc.gov

Augustus Jones

Augustus Jones is not found in the census with Dorsey Jones. In 1880, Dorsey Jones, age 30, is living with his father and mother, Michael and Amelia (Milly) Jones in Queen Anne’s District, likely near Woodmore P.O as they are enumerated a few pages from Jeremiah Duckett, who owned land near Woodmore. He does not have any children living with him in the 1880 census.

Queen Anne District, Prince George’s County 1880 Census | ancestry.com
1878 Hopkins Atlas of Prince George’s County, Queen Anne District | loc.gov
Note: North is to the right, not up like in most maps.

Neither Dorsey nor Augustus Jones have been located in the 1900 census. Dorsey died in July 1905, his death certificate indicated he was single, which is consistent with the 1880 Census.

Maryland State Archives

In the 1870 and 1880 Census, Augustus Jones was listed with Joseph and Barbara Jones in the District of Columbia. In 1870, they are enumerated near Alex McCormack who lived near the District/Maryland boundary. (In fact, the Wedge family had to petition for their freedom from McCormack during the Civil War when DC abolished slavery as McCormack sought to maintain their captivity by claiming they lived on his Maryland land and not his DC land. )

East of Seventh Street, District of Columbia 1870 census | ancestry.com
1861 Martenet Map of Prince George’s County | loc.gov

In 1880 they are enumerated near Daniel Stewart and Joseph Coven [Covington] which places them near Pleasant Grove and Benning’s P.O. and still near A. McCormack

Central Avenue, District of Columbia 1880 Census | ancestry.com

Augustus Jones is listed at the son of Joseph and Barbara Jones. However, based on other records, I would suggest that Augustus Jones is their grandson, and the son of Elizabeth (Lizy) Jones and Notley Stewart.

Reconstructures Family Tree with identified direct and indirect sources | Subject to Change

The Jones and Stewart family were enslaved primarily by Marsham Waring and also by Benjamin Lee, his brother-in-law in Queen Anne District prior to emancipation in 1864. Waring died in 1860, and among his probate records is an inventory that lists the people he enslaved. Lee died in 1863 and his probate records also include an inventory. Additionally, Waring’s children, Elizabeth L. Bowie, M. Virginia Mackubin [sic] and James Waring had compensation lists submitted to the Commission of Slave Statistics which lists both the first and last name of the people the Waring’s enslaved.

The Warings were Catholic and some of the people they enslaved had their children baptized by White Marsh Priests. Among them, Lizy Jones and Notley Stewart had their son Augustus baptized in 1861. A year later, Notley Stewart and Joseph Jones, Elizabeth’s father, are named in an affidavit, among others that they had fled to the District after the abolition of slavery there. Notley and Elizabeth Jones have not been located, though their son is living with Joseph and Barbara Jones, Elizabeth’s mother, in both the 1870 and 1880 Census.

Incidentally, Peter Jones, the son of Joseph and Barbara Jones, and uncle of Augustus (assuming my theory is correct), lived on Benning’s Road in 1900 and he worked at as a laborer in a stock yard, and his son Peter (Jr.) worked in a jockey house, suggesting the family worked with and knew horses.

Afterwards

The local papers reported that “Gus Jones, Ben Lee, and Frank Matthew” were indicted for horse-stealing and that they were acquitted.

26 Oct 1900, Prince George’s Enquirer and Southern Advertiser | newspapers.com

And, in 1903, Benjamin Lee was arrested again for stealing a horse in August of 1900. This time from William Wilson, who also lived near Marlboro and again, Lee is alleged to have sold the horse in the city. Wilson was a Black man who worked on the railroad.

27 July 1903, Washington Times | newspapers.com
23 Oct 1903, Prince George’s Enquirer and Southern Advertiser | newspapers.com

The Evening Star described his day in court as multiple days due to multiple technicalities. It was first delayed to a legal technicality, then a new jury had to be impaneled as his brother-in-law sat on the jury, then finally he was tried and found not guilty. The judge sentenced him to seven year. The paper reported he tried to escape and assaulted officers. His head was injured and he required bandages. The paper described hi as barely recognizing him the final time in the court, though if this referred to a change in demeanor or a multitude of bruises, or both, it doesn’t specify. Considering how the criminal system treated and treats Black men, it was probably a submission by force. This seems reflected in the Judge’s comment, “you got all that was coming for you.”

20 Oct 1903, Evening Star | newspapers.com

In the 1910 Census, a Benjamin Lee is listed as a prisoner in Baltimore working in the foundry.

One Final Note

The Washington Times seems to have been ahead of the police. While the Evening Star reported that “Gus” Jones and accomplices had been arrested for stealing horses from their family, and the Prince George’s Enquirer reported that they had been acquitted, and the thief of Wilson’s horse was not identified until 1903 for stealing William Wilson’s horse and not tried until October 1903, the Washington Times reported their arrest in 1900. They even knew Benjamin’s alias of Will.

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.

1870 Census with overlay of 1880 Census

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.

1870 Census

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.)

Lee Inventory with overlay of 1870 Census

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.

Marsham Waring Inventory

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.)

The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC; Records of the Field Offices For the District of Columbia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1870; NARA Series Number: M1902; NARA Reel Number: 21; NARA Record Group Number: 105

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.

Lee Inventory

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.

Abraham Clarke (ca. 1815-1891)

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

Manumission

In 1852, Robert D. Sewall wrote his will, devising his property to his nieces and nephew.  The majority of it went to Susan and Ellen Daingerfield, with some devised to his nephew Henry S. Mitchell.  However, excepted from this was the man Abraham Clarke, as Sewall bequeathed “to my faithful and trustworthy house servant Abraham Clarke, his freedom”.  Along with his freedom, Sewall bequeathed 400 dollars to allow him to move outside of Prince George’s County.  

Robert D. Sewall Will | familysearch.org

When Abraham was emancipated by Sewall, he was living with his wife, Francis, and two children, Alice and John Henry, as evidenced by the 1853 Inventory.  While his manumission provided freedom for himself and some money to establish his life, it did not grant his family freedom. 

While Sewall died in 1853, it wasn’t until 5 years later, in 1858, Abraham Clarke was issued the certificate of freedom.  He was described as of “light complexion, five feet six…with a small scar on the forehead near the edge of his hair and a large scar on the cap of the left knee occasioned by a burn when a small child.”

Certificate of Freedom | MSA

  

Life in the District

By 1860, Abraham had left Prince George’s County and was living in Ward 2 of the City of Washington, with his daughter Alice.  It is unclear how he secured her freedom (by self-emancipation or purchase) and a new wife, Sarah.  His home, about a half mile north of the White House, was on the north edge of the inhabited city where the buildings gave way to empty lots.  It is unclear what the fates of Francis and John Henry were.  

Family in the 1853 Inventory Family in the 1860 US Census
Abraham, 38Abraham Clarke, 45
Francis, 23Sarah Clarke, 40
John Henry, 6
Alice, 2Alice, 9

Abraham was the neighbor to James Johnson, a man manumitted by Robert D. Sewall in 1845. (Prince George’s County, Land Records, JBB 4:576 | mdandrec.net).

The 1860 US Federal Census records James Johnson working as a cook, Abraham Clarke as a servant.  The City Directories for the 1860 lists his occupation as waiter. 

1860 US Federal Census, DC, Ward 2, Image 192 | ancestry.com

Both men owned real estate and had a small personal estate.  Based on the 1862 City Directory, they lived near Rhode Island Ave where it connects Scott and Logan Circles; an article in the Evening Star on May 7, 1863 describes it as 29 by 105 feet. In 1884, Sarah Clark, Abraham’s wife, died, bequeathing her husband use of lot 7 on block 211 during his natural life with her stepdaughter Alice (Clark) Jennifer. He died in 1891.

Author Annotated Excerpt of 1851 Map of the City of Washington DC | loc.gov

1821 Inventory and Family

While the 1853 inventory gave details of his adult life as a husband and father, the 1821 inventory gives evidence to his role as a son. Based on the ages provided in the Federal Censuses and the 1853 Inventory, we can estimate his birth year to be between 1815-1820.  Most records suggest a year closer to 1820.  

The 1821 inventory lists a two year old Abraham, grouped with inferred older sisters and his inferred mother, Polly.  (page 354-355)

It is tempting to infer status in the eyes of the enslaver from arrangement on the inventory. The 1853 will bequeathed freedom to Abraham due to his “faithful and trustworthy” character, and he was listed first in the 1853 inventory, seeming to signify the closeness with which he labored to Robert D Sewall. In contrast, in the 1821 inventory lists Polly and her children toward the end of the list for the property in Prince George’s county. While it is tempting to drawn conclusions from this comparison, there is no indication that the organizers of the two inventories had similar thought processes.

George Brown | Escape

In May 1842, George Brown escaped.

[Legacy of Slavery Database | MSA]

Escape

The ad placed in the National Intelligencer by Robert D. Sewall’s plantation manager, Wm. G Jenkins, described George as “25 or 26 years old, 6 feet 2 or 3 inches high, dark complexion, very high forehead.” He was also described as “when spoken to has a quick speech and a smile on his countenance”.

He most likely worked in the fields of the large estate, raising the tobacco and wheat for the Sewall as he was described with a scar on his knee, “occasioned by a cut from a scythe”. Scythes were use to harvest crops or clear fields.

An allegorical 1863 print using a scythe to criticize the plantation system.
See loc.gov for more details.

During his escape he was seen on the stage road leading from Upper Marlboro to Washington. A 1848 Baltimore Sun edition posted the male stage routes and included route 1936 “From Washington DC by Long Old Fields, MD., Upper Marlboro, Queen Anne and Davidsonville to Annapolis, three times a week. [24 Jan 1848 | newspapers.com]

Excerpt from 1863 Martenet Map of Prince George’s County annotated with location of Poplar Hill in relation to the describe mail route

Fanny and Henrietta Brown, Sold

The same year, Robert D Sewall sold the legal authority to enslave eight people to William J Stone, a resident of the District. Stone owned a tract of land called “Mount Pleasant” and a residence in town.

In August 1842, four months after George’s escape, Fanny and Henrietta Brown was among those included into the sale to Stone. [Civil War Washington] Fanny was described as twenty-two years old in the sale. Henrietta Brown was fifteen.

It is possible that George, Fanny and Henrietta were siblings, as they shared the same surname and were enslaved by the same person and similar in age.

Unlike George, who toiled in the fields, Fanny was described as a “cook and house servant” in the 1862 petition paperwork Stone presented to be compensated for her emancipation. Henrietta Brown was not included in the 1862 petition for compensation from her emancipation. A note was included regarding the 1842 sale “Fanny Brown & Cornelius Digges were valuable Servants (the bill of Sale is for 7 servants)—but the others were not so much so & some of them an actual expense for many years before their services were of any value $2200 was the price for all”. This suggests that Stone may have sold the other five included in the Bill of Sale prior to emancipation as he did not see value in their labor.

In 1850, William J Stone [real estate valued at $250000] enumerated 14 enslaved people in the US Federal Census Slave Schedule, included three adults females, ages 30, 29, 27. Fanny is likely listed among them (she would have been 29 in 1850) and possibly Henrietta as well. In 1854, a William Stone (note no use of middle initial) committed two enslaved people, Simon and Henny, to the DC Jail for “safekeeping” [Hynson, 42-43]. They were released to him nine days later. In “Freedom Seekers: Fugitive Slaves in North America, 1800–1860”, Pargas states that enslaved people were put in the jail for “safekeeping” pending a sale or estate division (110). Henny may have been Henrietta.

1821 Robert Sewall Inventory

Fanny and Henrietta are not listed in the 1821 Robert Sewall Inventory [TT 4:352]. Fanny was likely born around the time of the inventory and therefore born after its compilation, while Henrietta, at 15, was born five years after the compilation of the inventory.

George has an estimated birth year of 1816 calculated from the age of 26 given in the advertisement. If he and his family had been enslaved by the Sewall’s in 1821, his name and age [George, 6] should be expected.

On the second page of the inventory, there is a family group listed that included George, 8. This may be the same George.

folio 354 of the 1821 Robert Sewall Inventory.

There is no documentation located that connects the three, other than the Bill of Sale and Runaway Advertisement that details that they both left “Poplar Hill” in 1842. If Fanny and Henrietta’s forced departure from “Poplar Hill” was connected to George’s escape, it was not detailed in the Bill of Sale.

Sources:

Pargas, Damian Alan. Freedom Seekers: Fugitive Slaves in North America, 1800–1860. United States, Cambridge University Press.

Hynson, Jerry M.. District of Columbia Runaway and Fugitive Slave Cases, 1848-1863. United States, Willow Bend Books, 1999.

Charles Graham

1852-1902

In 1862, the District of Columbia emancipated the individuals enslaved within its borders; it also offered reparations to the enslavers, who could no longer force labor from the freed.

George Washington Young submitted a list of the people he enslaved so as to be compensated. Among the names is the family group of Grahams: Peter and Charity Graham and their children, including Charley Graham, age 9. His height was listed as 4 foot 8 inches. He was of average height for his age.

Young owned a considerable amount of land in Anacostia. He managed two plantations: Nonesuch and Giesborough Manor, both across the river in the area considered Anacostia today. Nonesuch was located north of Good Hope, in a neighborhood now called Hillcrest. His grandfather, Notley Young, had owned plantations in what became the city of Washington, particularly Duddington Pasture, which was located on the southwest waterfront.

View, probably 1833, from Anacostia, showing Navy Yard and Capitol in center | painted by G. Cooke ; engd. by W.J. Bennett. | loc.gov

G. W. Young purchased Giesborough Manor in 1833 and inherited Nonesuch from his father in 1826. In addition to inheriting the land, his father also named several enslaved individuals, among them, Peter and Charity, Charley’s parents in the 1862 emancipation records, in his bequest for George Washington Young.

Peter worked both as field hand and blacksmith. Charity was a field hand. Likely, Charles worked beside his parents in the fields.

In 1870, the Grahams are living near Good Hope (DN 910). The Census records Charity, as a white washer, with her children and Johanna Chase. Charles is working as a farm laborer. Their neighbors are the Paine and Giles household visible on the Hopkins Map, south of Good Hope.

His brother, Robert Graham, is living nearby with his own household, also working as a farm laborer (DN 929). Robert is a neighbor of Jos. Worthington who is shown on the Hopkins 1878 map of Good Hope. GWJ Hatton, a blacksmith, lives in the Robert Graham household. Thomas Anderson (1792-1882) was a blacksmith as well, and grew produce he sold at Center Market. (East of the River) Anderson’s daughter married Jerome Hutton in 1871.

Excerpt from Hopkins Map | loc.gov

In 1875, Charles Graham and Johanna Chase applied for a marriage license. Two death records: one for an infant girl and one for Johanna Graham show that she died giving birth in Mar 1877.

Johanna Chase is listed in the 1870 Household of Charles’ mother, Charity. She may be the same Johanna Graham that is listed in the family group of Peter and Charity in the emancipation records of George Washington Young. She is listed in the census as 25 with an estimated birth year of 1845.

Her birthplace, unlike the Graham’s, is listed as Maryland. There are Chase households in Hyattsville, Collington and Upper Marlboro in Prince George’s County in the 1870 Census. It is possible that she connected to these.

In the 1880 Census, Charles is still living with Charity and several of her grandchildren: Mary, Sally, Robert and Edward. It is unclear if the four children listed in Charity’s household are the children of Charles and Johanna. Edward, the youngest, if age 4, suggesting that they were all born prior to 1877.

In 1881, Charles married Alice Dent, a widow with three children, Charles, Georgiana, and William.

Alice’s first father-in-law, Bruce Dent had been a huckster at Centre Market, and was able to purchase land on Bowen Road, near the plantation of Nonesuch. Dent’s second wife continued to be a huckster, while he was a gardener. The map excerpt shows Good Hope on the left, and Bowen road leading northeast to the lands of Nonesuch. (Mary B Denham and Washington A Young were heirs of G. W. Young.). To the right of the Denham and Young land are small parcels. Dent owned 5 acres on the MD border; in 1875, he was delinquent on his taxes and the land description was included in the National Republican: “Beginning at the intersection of the DC Lin with the boundary of IF Young’s part of ‘Nonesuch’ and the Trimble tract…”

Excerpt from Plate 44 of Hopkins Plat Book of DC } Washingtoniana Map Collection

Alice’s children, Charles, Georgiana and William list Anacostia and/or Oxon Hill as their birth place on records, suggesting that she had been living near Dent and therefore near the Grahams.

Charles’ brother, Robert Graham, moved to the City of Washington in the early 1870s, moving to B st se, near where Alice was working as a domestic servant in 1880.

In 1882, Charles is recorded living in Pleasant Alley, which is behind G street SW, two blocks south of where Bruce Dent had owned property on 3d Street between E and F. I

By 1886, the family had moved to southeast DC and Capitol Hill. Charles and his step-children are listed living at 301 G Street SE. In 1887, Georgiana married Frank Winters and moves to 427 2d SE. They are close to Eastern Market.

By 1900, Charles is living with his step-son, William Henry Graham at 303 7th St SE. He dies in 1902.

Maria Dent | Domestic

Known Information

In 1840, Susan Dent had two younger Free Black individuals living in her household. One was a female whose age is consistent with Maria Dent’s in the 1850 & 1860 Census.

Sources

Year: 1850; Census Place: Washington Ward 3, Washington, District of Columbia;Roll: 56; Page: 170a | ancestry.com

Year: 1860; Census Place: Washington Ward 3, Washington, District of Columbia; Page: 717 | ancestry.com

Evening Star | Washington, District of Columbia | 07 Jan 1862, Tue  •  Page 3

1853 City Directory of Washington DC | fold3.com

Maria Dent is listed in the household of J. S. Williams in both the 1850 and 1860 Census. No occupation is listed for her in either census.

1850 Census
1860 Census

J. S. Williams was a clerk with the Naval Department who lived on H Street between 9th and 10th. Born and married in Connecticut, he moved to DC in 1848 and died during the Civil War from Small Pox. His wife moved back to Connecticut after her husband’s death.

Though no occupation is listed for her, it is likely that Maria served as a domestic servant in the home. Williams’ property was valued at $3000 with personal property valued at $1000, suggesting means to hire Maria, a free Black. While the Williams and therefore Maria lived in Ward 3, “by 1860, one-eighth of the most prosperous families in the First Ward employed live-in servants, either white or black.” (Civil War Washington)

As a domestic in the household, it is possible that Maria’s work ranged across the spectrum of “women’s work”. Taking care of the Williams’ clothing alone would require sewing, washing, and ironing. Preparing meals may have meant cooking and serving.

In 1850, Maria is listed with a child, E., who is 7 years old. By the 1860 census, the child is no longer listed in the household. It is possible that the child by 1860 had either died, or had left the Williams household, apprenticed to another. The 1860 census does not enumerate an E Dent in other households, raising the likelihood of death. The Williams had a child, Thomas, who died in 1859 from consumption. It is possible that they both caught the same disease and passed away.

The 1870, 1873 and 1876 City Directories list a Maria Dent. In 1870, she was working as a cook in a nearby household, at 815 6th Street NW

Susan and Isaac Johnson | Freedom

Known Information

Susan and Isaac Johnson are the parents of Cassandra Johnson who married Bruce Dent in 1830.

Sources

Provine, D. S. (1996). District of Columbia free Negro registers, 1821-1861. Bowie, Md: Heritage Books.

Rogers, H. H., & District of Columbia. (2007). Freedom & slavery documents in the District of Columbia. Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press..

Land Record, Elizabeth Stump to Margeret Robertson, HD R 547 | mdlandrecs.net

A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature 1635-1789 by Edward C. Papenfuse, et. al., pg 483 | Maryland Sate Archives

 Maryland Genealogical and Memorial Encyclopedia, pg. 644-645 | ancestry.com

Maryland Historical Trust | Stafford Farm | John Stump House

Race & Slavery Petition Project, Petition 20981106 | Digital Library on American Slavery

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Swansbury

The Baltimore directory and register, for the year 1816 | archive.org

Susan and Isaac Johnson registered their children, Jacob and Charles Johnson, as free in the District of Columbia on 15 September 1827. In Provine’s Book, she indicates that the Susan (Suckey) Johnson was manumitted in 1804 by Elizabeth Stamp [sic] of Harford County, MD, and that she is the wife of Isaac Johnson who was manumitted in 1818, two years after Archibald Johnson purchased him from Samuel Jay. The record also lists her children: Archibald (1810), Isaac (1812), Cassandra (1817), Mary Ann (1819).

Susan Johnson

Susan Johnson was enslaved by the Stump family, a large commercial family in Harford County, Maryland. The patriarch of the family had come from Prussia in the early 1700s and purchased land in Cecil County, Maryland (across the Susquehanna River) and his sons came to Harford County, MD.

Elizabeth Stump of Harford County, Maryland

Harford County is located 25 miles northeast of Baltimore along the Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay. It is between Philadelphia and Baltimore, both port cities during the Colonial and Federal period. Originally, the European Colonists created tobacco plantations, similar to southern plantations, however, the crops shifted so that by the end of the 18th century, the farms had shifted to growing wheat and corn, which was shipped to Europe and the West Indies from Baltimore and Philadelphia.

Excerpt from The states of Maryland and Delaware, from the latest surveys [1796] | Norman B. Leventhal Map Center Collection

In the 1790s, Elizabeth, the daughter of Josiah William Dallam, a wealthy landowner who enslaved people, married Herman Stump, one of the grandsons of the original patriarch. Her husband, Herman, was engaged in trade with his brothers, including John Stump, and they shipped flour produced at Stump Mills in Harford and across the mid-Atlantic to England and the West Indies. The map shows the location of one of these mills on Deer Creek along the Susquehanna, upstream from Havre de Grace.

Excerpt from Havre De Grace 1799 Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay, Maryland 1799 | historicmapworks.com

Herman Stump died in 1801, leaving Elizabeth Stump a wealthy widow. By 1804, she married again, to Abraham Jarrett. Prior to her marriage, she put her land and wealth into a trust held by her friend Margaret Robertson/Robinson. At the same time, she legally freed the people she enslaved, including Susan (Suckey) Johnson. In the petition, she that did so “believing freedom to be the inalienable right of all human beings”. While she stated this, her husband continued to enslave people. Despite her stated lofty ideals, it is possible to have a more cynical view of her actions. Prior to her second marriage, she placed her own wealth into a trust, suggesting that she was financially savvy, as her soon-to-be husband had debts that she wanted to protect her fortunes from. It could be, with the shift in economy, it was not longer economically viable for her to enslave people, as she would be taxed and she no longer had the lands on which to compel their labor.

William Taylor, of Havre de Grace

Havre de Grace was situated on the mouth of the Susquehanna. Built in the late 1780s, it came very close to be chosen as the national capitol. Built to be a booming trade town, it never grew to compete with either Baltimore nor Philadelphia. William Taylor lived in Havre de Grace, where he engaged in manufacturing. A 1818 court case names William Taylor as a blacksmith.

In 1820, he vouched for Susan’s freedom, saying that he knew her “from his first knowledge of things”. The 1810 Census lists Wm Taylor living on page 826 where many of the names on this and the following pages indicates that he lived in a neighborhood with a large population of Black families with free status. Susan (Suckey) is not listed among the heads of households. However, his testimony suggests that she lived in Havre de Grace for a period of time before moving to DC.

Isaac Johnson

In the meantime, while Susan was released from captivity in 1804, Isaac Johnson was enslaved until 1818. In 1818, Archibald Johnson, in consideration of one dollar, manumitted Isaac Johnson, whose he purchased from Samuel Jay about two years ago (1816).

Samuel Jay

Samuel Jay, like the Stumps, was engaged in commerce in Harford County. He owned 1000 acres near Swan Creek and in addition to a nail factory and other property. He married into the prominent Griffith family of Harford and served on the Board of Commissioners in the early 1800s with a Roger Boyce.

Jay and Boyce were also business partners; in 1799, Boyce and Jay entered into a partnership that revolved around a nail and anchor manufacturing factory in Havre de Grace. This partnership resulted in Boyce taking on a $3000 debt, and Jay controlled the promissory note. When Boyce died intestate without having repaid the debt, Jay asked the courts to compel Boyce’s widow to sell property to cover the debt.

The Chancery Court documents for this case name the people Boyce enslaved and whose captivity was transferred to Jay. The list not only includes an Isaac who is roughly the right age to be the Isaac Johnson married to Susan, but also the some of the names of the other individual slaves are names used by Isaac and Susan to name their children: Abraham, Charles, Jacob. This suggests a familial relationship between the people enslaved by Boyce and Isaac Johnson.

The Chancery Case was settled around 1815-1816 which is consistent with the timeline that Archibald Johnson purchased Isaac from Samuel Jay two years prior to 1818, when he manumitted him.

The Bill of Sale is documented in the Freedom and Slavery Records of DC:

Isaac Johnson (half brother to Archibald Johnson) Bill of Sale was recorded 16 January 1816, Samuel Jay sells to Archibald Johnson a free Mulatto of Baltimore, Harford County, Maryland, for $200 a slave and half brother of Archibald Johnson, named Isaac Johnson age about 45 years, Signed on 30 Dec 1815 by Samuel Jay

NameAge
Abram/Abraham*14
Charles*16
Denbugh45
Dick35
Frank15
Harry15
Isaac*15
Isaac*35
Jack*22
Jacob/Big Jacob*35
Jacob*17
Thomas
Will45
William

Archibald Johnson

In the late 1700s, two Archibald Johnsons lived in Harford County. Yet, by 1810, while an Archibald isn’t enumerated in the Harford County census, there is a Archd Johnson living in Baltimore Ward 1. The Baltimore directory and register, for the year 1816 lists Archibald C. Johnson living as a tailor at the corner of St. Paul’s Lane and Chatham street.

In the 1820 census, two years after Archibald purchased Isaac’s freedom, both an Archibald Johnson and an Isaac Johnson are enumerated in Washington DC, in Ward 4. Archibald Johnson is over 45 years old and lived with a free Black male 14-25, a free Black female age 14-25, 1 female under 14 and 2 enslaved females; living nearby, is Isaac Johnson.