Category Archives: Reeder Family

Thomas Reeder, Sr |

Jane Reeder and her children are recorded in the records of the Freedmen’s Bureau, both as residents at Kendall Green, a converted army hospital for refugees from chattel slavery, and as depositors in the Freedmen’s Bank. These records suggests that Jane and her children were among the refugees who came to DC looking for freedom from bondage. None of these records suggest a partner for Jane or father of her children.

In 1873, Jane Reeder is listed in the City Directories as “wid. Thos.” which is the only located record that connects Jane Reeder with Thomas Reeder as partner.

1873 City Directory of Washington DC | ancestry.com

Enslaved by James L Foxwell

Jane and her children escaped from enslavers in District 1 of Saint Mary’s County, Maryland, as documented by the St Mary’s “Slave Statistics”. St. Mary’s County in on the peninsula between the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay; District 1 encompasses the southern tip of the county.

St. Mary’s County, 1866 | davidrumsey.com

In 1867, Maryland created the “Commission of Slave Statistics” for former enslavers to submit enumerated lists of the people they held in bondage on November 1, 1864, when the new Constitution of Maryland emancipated the enslaved people of Maryland. The names of Jane and her children, as well as Thomas, were submitted by enslavers living in District 1 [St. Inigoes’s].

James L. Foxwell submitted a list of 34 names of people whom he enslaved, among them Thomas Reeder, age 45, who left with the Union Army on Dec 28, 1863. In the 1850s and 1860s, James L Foxwell purchased multiple tracts of land along St. Jerome’s Point called “Fresh Pond Neck” and purchased oyster patents.

Annotated Excerpt from 1866 Map of St. Mary’s County | davidrumsey.com

In addition to owning several schooners and purchasing oyster patent, Foxwell ran advertisements for his “Foxwell Wheat”.

Baltimore Sun | 18 Sep 1852 | newspapers.com

This suggests that the people he enslaved were forced to work the land and the water for his profit.

1850 and 1860 Slave Schedules

In 1850, James L Foxwell enumerated 8 people that he enslaved; 6 females and 2 males on the US Federal Census Slave Schedule. The males were under 10. This suggests that Thomas, who would have been 30, in 1850, was not held in bondage by Foxwell, but a different enslaver.

Foxwell most likely purchased the legal authority to enslave Reeder in the 1850s, as the 1860 US Slave Schedule enumerated 20 people, including a 45 year old male, which corresponds with the age of the list submitted to the commission on “slave statistics”.

Escape

Foxwell recorded that Thomas Reeder, with Nellon Biscoe and Moses Cornish, left with the Union Army on Dec 28, 1863. Many of the people enslaved in St. Mary’s County made their way to Point Lookout, the site of a Union Hospital and Prison. Here, the Army had constructed “contraband” quarters to house the refugees from chattel slavery. Often, the sympathetic nurses and other Lookout personnel would help the refugees find boats to take them north to the District.

Moses Cornish, instead of going north to DC, made his way from Point Lookout to Fort Monroe, Virginia. Fort Monroe, a Union Fort, in Confederate Territory, attracted refugees from slavery as it was where the term “contraband” was coined when Maj. Gen. Butler deemed refugees “contraband” so as to avoid returning escaped people back to their enslavers. Butler was not anti-slavery; he simply did not want the Confederates to benefit from the labor the enslaved people were compelled to do, especially as enslavers shifted their duties from agricultural pursuits to fortifications.

Multiple boats traveled the waters between Fort Monroe and Point Lookout, steamboats, schooners, etc. Any of these may have been used to help Moses travel south instead of north.

Once Moses Cornish made it Fort Monroe, he enlisted in the US Army, joining Battery B of the Regiment 2 of the US Colored Artillery. The two other refugees, Nellon Biscoe and Thomas Reeder, do not appear with Cornish in the ranks of the US Colored Artillery, suggesting that they did not follow him to Fort Monroe.

Reeder Children | Escape

Known Information

Thomas, James, John, and Mary Ellen Reeder were enslaved by Edward S Abell; he listed their names on the enumerated list submitted to the Maryland Commission of “Slave Statistics” in hopes of federal compensation in 1867. He submitted the list as guardian of Sarah and George L Smith.

He documented that they left with the Union Army on the list. He recorded that Thomas left first, in Sept 1862, and that this siblings left in Oct 1863.

St. Mary’s Commissioner of Slave Statistics | maryland state archives

1860

Edward S Abell, Enslaver

In 1860, Edward S Abell was recorded in the census as living in the neighborhood of St. Inigioes with real estate valued at $10,000 and personal estate valued at $15,000. He was married to Ann M. Crane (widow of Lewis Smith), the mother of George L and Sarah S Smith, his wards.

The July 22 1866 edition of the St Mary’s Gazette lists the expenses of the Commissioners for St. Mary’s County and demonstrates Abell’s connection with privilege and power: he was a judge, a trustee for the Poor House and a commissioner on the School Board.

In 1858, Abell advertised for sale a tract of land containing 140 acres near Cedar Point; the tract included the improvements of a dwelling, kitchen, barn, stables, and quarters.

Excerpt from 1873 Atlas of Maryland | davidrumsey.com
Map shows District 1 of St. Mary’s County. St. Inigoes PO is in the north half of the District

Hired Out

Abell was required, as guardian to the Smith children, to make accounts to the court for monies received and spent on behalf the children.

In 1864, Abell submitted his “6th Account” for George L Smith and for Sarah Smith. In this account, he recorded the profit received from hiring out John Reeder in 1862.

6th Account Edward S Abell Guardian, George L Smith | familysearch.org
6th Account Edward S Abell Guardian Sarah C Smith | familysearch.org

The account does not specify to whom Abell hired out the Reeder children. Abell was able to command a higher price for the male Reeders, James and Thomas ($55), than Mary Ellen ($15).

St. Mary’s Beacon, ad ran through 1862 | chronicilingamerica.loc.gov

The economy in St. Mary’s County, while originally based on tobacco, had changed in the antebellum years to also include wheat and therefore milling. Indeed, Thomas Reeder (Sr.), father of the Reeder children, had been enslaved by James L. Foxwell who advertised his new “Foxwell Wheat” in the newspapers.

St. Mary’s Beacon 18 Sep 1962
chroniclingamerica.loc.gov

The geography of St. Mary’s County, i.e., a peninsula situated between the Chesapeake Bay and tidal Potomac River, meant that the maritime industry was also crucial to the economy, including coastal trade and transport as well as fishing and oystering. The men may well have been hired out to a fishery or oysterman. “There is a great deal of evidence that slaved worked seine nets, particularly during spawning runs, and tonged for oysters.” (Marks, 543)

Mary Ellen, due to her gender and race, was likely hired out as a cook, laundrywoman, or domestic servant. As “skilled labor” typically fetched higher rates than “unskilled labor”, it suggests that Mary Ellen was not viewed as “a skilled laborer” by Abell and those who hired her.

1862-1863 Escape

September 1862

Thomas Reeder, age 21, escaped Sunday, 14 Sept 1862. How Thomas Reeder escaped is unknown.

On October 2, 1862, the St. Mary’s Beacon reported that “There has been quite a stampede of ‘contrabands’ from our county during the past two weeks…Most likely, emissaries are amongst us, either itinerant or local, and that gunboats are employed to facilitate escape. Quite a number are reported to be harbored at Point Lookout, by Federal authority and all efforts to recover them have proven futile.” [Chronicling America | loc.gov]

In the same edition of the St. Mary Beacon, the Provost Marshal for St. Mary’s County warned it’s [white] citizens “to lock at night or otherwise secure their BOATS and CANOES of all kinds against probable or possible use of them by deserters,…,fugitive slaves from Maryland”

St. Mary’s Beacon | chroniclingamerica.lov.gov

Thomas Reeder may have travelled to Point Lookout, located on the southern most tip of the peninsula where the federal government had established a hospital on the former grounds of a resort. Abby Hopper Gibbons, a Quaker nurse working at the hospital described in her diary:

“On the same day [Sept 1862], nineteen men and five women came–refugees; and the day after, fourteen men and five women, with some little children. They are making the most of the moonlight nights.”

Abby Hopper Gibbons, p. 373

In the early days of the hospital, the federal authorities were not prepared to provide a safe haven for the refugees who used the hospital as a means of escape from bondage. Gibbons wrote that at the beginning men and women who escaped to the hospital were returned to their enslavers if the enslavers swore an oath of loyalty to the Union (in contrast to the St. Mary’s Beacon article). [Gibbons, page 367]

In mid-1862, the hospital had no means to house the contrabands and a nurse, Sophronia Bucklin, who visited the camp on the edge of the hospital described their shelter in the pine trees north of the hospital:

Amidst the dense, dark pines they burrowed like beasts of the field in half-subterranean dens. A hole from three to four feet deep was dug by them in the black soil, and roofed over with boards, on which turf was closely packed. An opening, which admitted them on their hands and feet, and one for the escape of the smoke, which went up from an exceedingly primitive fireplace, were the only vents for the impure air, and the only openings for light. In these dens men, women and children burrowed all winter

Bucklin, 84

As time passed though, Gibbons described getting more and more refugees on the boats that went north to Washington. It is possible that Thomas was able to get aboard one of the boats to the District.

October 1863

James Reeder, age 19, escaped Saturday, October 17. His brother and sister, John, age 30 and Mary Ellen, age 16, escaped a week and a half later, on Wednesday October 28. Like Thomas, it is likely they made to Point Lookout in search of a boat that would take them north to the District and freedom.

By 1863, the hospital had built barracks for the refugees. The quarters were built near the blacksmith shop and the mechanics quarters, signifying how the hospital and the US Army changed their view of refugees; no longer property to be returned to the enslaver, rather a source of labor for the Army.

Maryland State Archives

Sources

Marks, Bayly E. “Skilled Blacks in Antebellum St. Mary’s County, Maryland.” The Journal of Southern History, vol. 53, no. 4, 1987, pp. 537–64, https://doi.org/10.2307/2208774. Accessed 5 Apr. 2022.

Gibbons, Abby Hopper. Life of Abby Hopper Gibbons: Told Chiefly Through Her Correspondence. United Kingdom, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1896. accessed from Google Books

Bucklin, Sophronia E.. In Hospital and Camp: A Woman’s Record of Thrilling Incidents Among the Wounded in the Late War. United States, J.E. Potter, 1869. accessed from Google Books

Jane Reeder

Question

What information can I find out about Jane’s life prior to her arrival in Washington DC?

Known Information

  • Jane Reeder is listed in the 1873 City Directory for DC at 17 14th NE. This is a couple of blocks east of Lincoln Park.
  • Jane is listed as the widow of Thomas.
  • Jane is also listed in the Freedmen’s Bank Records for James Reeder and Mary Fountain.
DetailJames Reeder’s
Bank Records		Mary Fountain’s
Bank Records
BirthplaceSt. Mary’s Countynot listed
Jane Reedermothermother
John Reederbrother
Thomas Reederbrother
James Reederborther
Walter Reederbrother
Mary Ellen Fountainsister

Source 1: St. Mary’s Slave Statistics

“The Slave Statistics consist of lists of slaves owned as of 1 November 1864, the date when the Constitution of 1864, which abolished slavery in Maryland, took effect. In the hope that the federal government would compensate former slaveholders, the General Assembly in 1867 authorized the compilation of records to establish slave ownership and the value of slave property. The governor appointed a commissioner of slave statistics for each county with a term in office of two years. Former slaveowners furnished the commissioner with descriptive information on each slave for whom they claimed ownership. The commissioner then recorded the lists and filed the records with the clerk of the circuit court of his county. (Ch. 189, Acts of 1867; Ch. 385, Acts of 1868). Entries give date of registration, name of the owner, and, if applicable, name of person acting for the owner. For each enslaved person, the records show his or her name, sex, age, physical condition, term of servitude, date of emancipation, and, if applicable, information on and compensation for military service.”

Source: Maryland State Archives

Agnes Kane Callum indexed the slave statistics for St Mary’s County and her index can be found on the Maryland State Archives website.

Her index includes the Reeder family on page 170.

Jane102
John121, 124
Thomas121, 124, 136
James121, 124
Mary Ellen121, 124
Walternot listed
Jane Reeder

Jane Reeder is listed as the sole enslaved individual by Ann Chiveral. Ms. Callum indicates that she is unsure of the spelling for Chiveral with a question mark. The entry also indicates that Jane escaped Ms. Chiveral enslavement in February 1863.

Excerpt from Slave Statistics, page 233
Jane’s Children

John, James, Mary Ellen, and Thomas are listed in the index for Edward Abell as owner, and for Edward Abell as guardians of George L Smith and Sarah C Smith.

Excerpt from Slave Statistics, page 283

Source 2: Ann E. Chiveral Documentation

The intent here is to track Ann E Chiveral through the available documentation: marriage records, census records, slave schedules and probate records in order to identify how Ann enslaved Jane and what labor Jane may have performed.

Marriage to William Chiveral

Ann E Tarlton married William Chiveral on 17 Sept 1861 (ancestry.com) and they share a household in the 1870 census (Roll: M593_594; Page: 546B). William is listed as an oysterman and she has three children, including Virginia and Mary Tarlton. The household is listed in District 2, near the Great Mills post office with no personal estate or real estate.

In the 1860 Census (Roll: M653_479; Page: 14), Ann E Tarlton is listed with three children, including A. Virginia and Mary Tarlton. No adult male is listed in her 1860 household. She is living in District 1, St. Mary’s, near the St. Inigoes Post Office. She has personal estate worth $500. In comparison, her neighbors have personal estates worth thousands. In 1860, the personal estate included value of property, possession, or wealth and included estimated values of enslaved individuals.

Ann Tarlton is not listed in the 1860 Slave Schedule which would list her name and the gender and age of the individuals she enslaved. This suggests that either Ann E. Tarleton/Chiveral enslaved Jane after 1860, or failed to report her in the 1860 slave schedule. However, as William is not listed as the owner in the Slave Statistics, despite being alive, it suggests that Ann E Chiveral was the enslaver, not William, and that she brought Jane with her to her new household when Ann and William married in 1861.

William Chiveral is listed in the 1860 and 1850 Census with his mother, Ann Maria Chiveral in District 2, near Great Mills. His mother was a seamstress and William was a sailor. When Ann married William, she moved away from her residence to join William near his family.

Virginia Tarlton is indicated as an invalid in the 1870 Census and has the comment “idiotic” written on her record in the 1860 Census. This raises the possibility that Ann needed help taking care of Virginia and that Ann enslaved Jane to assume the role of caretaker.

Marriage to Basil Tarlton

Prior to her marriage to Chiveral, Ann E Wheatley married Basil Tarlton in 1853, who died by 1857, when his inventory and account of sales were listed in the probate records of St. Mary’s County (familysearch.org). Among his probate records is the distribution of the estate to his family: Ann as his widow got 1/3 of the estate, around $980, and his 9 children received an equal sum, around $220. Ann V(irginia) Tarlton and Mary E Tarlton are among the children listed.

His estate records named four enslaved individuals who were sold: two men, Lewis and John, and an unnamed woman and child. Records indicate that William M. Moore paid to enslave the unnamed woman as part of the estate sales. (St. Mary’s County, Account of sales 1851-1857 vol GC3, p 517 | familysearch.org). William W. Moore is the son of John T Moore, Ann’s neighbor in the 1860 Census.

Sister-in-law to John T. Moore

Ann Tarleton’s dwelling number is 86 in the 1860 census. Dwelling number 85 contains individuals with the last name of Moore and Tarlton. John Moore heads the household with a personal estate worth $4000. He employs and/or houses several young adult/children with the surname Tarlton. Their given names are similar to the list of children on Basil’s estate distribution record: William, James P, and George. Both John T Moore and William W Moore had an account of sales for their estate recorded in spring of 1865 (Account of sales 1857-1865 vol GC4), suggesting they died near the end of the Civil War.

In the 1850 census, Ann E Wheatley is living in the household of John T. Moore. He is 43 and his wife, Mary, is 28. Ann is 25. Marriage records show that John Moore married Mary Wheatley in 1843 in St. Mary’s County (ancestry.com).

Initial Conclusions

Ann was living with her sister in her brother-in-law’s household until her marriage to Basil Tarlton, a widower with several children. Ann Virginia Tarlton was born the same year he married Ann and had some sort of condition that resulted in the census taker indicating her status as invalid. The year of her birth, 1853, was the same year he married Ann. It is a possibility that his previous wife had had a difficulty delivery and died while giving birth to Ann Virginia, and that she became an invalid due to the complications during birth. Ann Wheatley/Tarlton continued to care for her step-daughter while the older step-children lived with her sister. This proposed one possibility for the labor that Ann expected from Jane, especially as Ann had no real estate and limited personal estate.

Ann enslaved Jane prior to 1862, possibly when William W Moore purchased the unnamed woman from the Tarlton estate in 1857. Ann remarried again, this time to a modest sailor who did not have property. Shortly after Ann’s marriage and move out of District 2, Jane escaped, making her way to DC.

This conclusion does not account for Jane’s children and how they came to be enslaved on the Abell estate. Additionally, this theory does not demonstrate with any documentary evidence that the enslaved woman was transferred from William W Moore to the Tarlton/Chiveral household.

Mary E Reeder | attends school

Known Information

Mary Elizabeth Reeder was born in 1870 to Thomas and Martha Reeder

Sources

1880; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Roll: 123; Page: 147B;Enumeration District: 050

Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. (1880). City of Washington, statistical maps Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/8415c030-0053-0135-53d1-0a7dead16a1b

Asch, C. M., & Musgrove, G. D. (2019). Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation’s Capital. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

    Mary Reeder, age 10, attended school in 1880 while living with her parents in Jackson Alley. She most likely attended School No. 5 in the second division based on its geographic proximity to Jackson Alley.

    Education in post Civil War Washington

    In 1862, Congress directed ten percent of tax money toward primary schools for Black students, and an independent Board of Trustees was established, which included S. J Bowen, who later became the mayor of DC in 1868. By the 1870s, the Board of Trustees was replaced by a superintendent of schools. Advocates demanded parity between both school systems schools and “the haphazard postwar collection of semiprivate black schools had solidified into a stable system of black public schools run by the Board of Trustees.” (Chocolate City)

      related posts

      Joseph D Reeder | son of Thomas Reeder

      Known Information

      Joseph is listed in the 1880 and 1900 Census for Thomas Reeder.

      Sources

      Newspapers

      Evening Star 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      14 Sep 1887, Wed  •  Page 2

      Evening Star 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      07 May 1889, Tue  •  Page 2

      Evening Star 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      21 Jan 1904, Thu  •  Page 5

      The Washington Times 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      22 Jan 1904, Fri  •  Page 6

      Evening Star 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      13 Feb 1908, Thu  •  Page 19

      The Washington Post 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      29 Jul 1915, Thu  •  Page 14

      Evening Star 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      22 Oct 1915, Fri  •  Page 9

      Maps

      A complete set of surveys and plats of properties in the city of Washington, District of Columbia, 1887 | DC Public Library

      Baist, G. Wm, Wm. E Baist, and H. V Baist. Baist’s real estate atlas of surveys of Washington, District of Columbia: complete in four volumes. Philadelphia: G.W. Baist, -<1911 >, 1909. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/87675120/

      • 1872 | Estimated Birth Year

        based on ages given in the 1880 and 1910 Census.

      • 1880 Census

        Living with parents, Thomas and Martha (Colbert) Reeder in Jackson Alley, the heart of Swampoodle. He is eight years old living with two sisters, Mary and Georgiana.

      • 1891-97 | 809 N Capitol

        The 1891, 1892, and 1897 City Directories list his address as 809 N Capitol street. This address is a block north of the Government Printing Office and within a stone’s throw of Jackson Alley. North Capitol is the N/S road on the right side of the map excerpt. 809 N Capitol is lot 34 on the block opposite DeFrees Street.

        In 1887, the Evening Star ran an advertisement for the sale of the property as a grocery store

        In 1889, the Evening star ran an advertisement for a laborer to help in the grocery store.

      • 1900 Census

        He is living at 50 Jackson Alley, with his parents and his brother, Charles. Both he and his father are working as day laborers while Charles has a job as a photographer. The census reports that he and his father haven’t been able to work in six months. The census enumerator indicated he had been married for 5 years, but doesn’t list a wife.

        The Evening Star lists a marriage between Joseph Reeder and Josephine Lucas in 1895. She is living with parents in the 1900 Census and lists her status as a widow. She is living on Adams Express Alley. There is no death records in the index for a Joseph Reeder between 1895-1900 and a search of the newspapers does not return one either. However, the lack of a death record is inconclusive as one may not have been filed.

      • 1904 Marriage

        The Evening Star runs the list of marriage licenses, including Joseph D Reeder and Abbie Nelson. When he applied for the license, he expressed worry for the cake, as he had purchased it from a Seventh Street confectionary and was having it delivered to 809 North Capitol and it had yet to appear.

        This article has him living back at the 809 North Capitol address suggesting he works again for the grocery story.

      • 1907-1908 City Directory

        He and his wife are living at 54 Pierce Street NW. Pierce Street was undeveloped in the 1887 Plat Book. In the 1907 Baists Real Estate it was block of row houses. It has since be redesigned. It is one block over from where the Hodcarrier’s Association had their building in the 1880s and where James Reeder lived.

        In 1908, there was a reported case of smallpox. No name was provided in the news report. It is unclear if it was in the Reeder household or another household residing in the house.

      • 1910 Census | 1909-1912 City Directories

        He is living on 17 Fenton St NE, where his aunts and uncles lived in the 1890s. He is living with his wife and son, Abbie and Frank Reeder. The census enumerator lists this as his first marriage and that they have been for 6 years. Frank is 4 years old.

        Joseph is working as a teamster at a grocery store according to the census; the city directories list him as a clerk.

        The map excerpt shows the block with the 809 North Capitol Street Grocery store, as the bottom block, with the RR Terminal property on the back side of the block. Two blocks north was Fenton Street, with townhouses packed in tightly.

      • 1914-1915 | 809 N. Capitol

        In the 1914 City Directory he is listed as living in rooms above the grocery store. A 1915 Washington Post article that calls him Joseph Reed states his residence as 809 N. Capitol; he was arrested at the rear of 18 L Street northwest and taken to Washington Asylum Hospital, a consolidated hospital, poorhouse and workhouse.

        In the 1920 Census, Frank Reeder, Joseph and Abbie’s son, are living in the rear of L Street with Abbie’s parents, Kate and Thomas Simms. Kate died the next year, in 1921 and their address is listed as 13 L Street NW (rear). It lists her daughter and grandson, but not Joseph.

        It is likely that Joseph was visiting his in-laws when he was arrested. In October, an Evening Star article states that he was acquitted for his perceived role in a robbery.

      • Unknown

        Joseph and Abbie Reeder have yet to be located in the 1920 or 1930 census. Frank is recorded marrying in Detroit, Michigan in 1935. His parents are listed on the license. He lives there until his death in 1982. It is unclear if Joseph and Abbie also went to Michigan.

      Further Research Needed:

      • Locate a death record for both Abbie and Joseph Reeder
      • Locate them in the 1920 and 1930 census (if living)

      related posts

      the Fountains, Ben and Mary | north of 7th

      Known Information

      Mary Ellen (Reeder) Fountain lived with her husband on 7th north of Boundary in the 1871 City Directory. Fountain has been appointed lamplighter in 1868 & 1869

      Sources

      Newspapers

      Evening Star 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      08 Aug 1873, Fri  •  Page 4

      Evening Star 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      05 Jun 1871, Mon  •  Page 4

      Evening Star 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      19 Oct 1871, Thu  •  Page 3

      Evening Star 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      01 Mar 1878, Fri  •  Page 3

      Photos

      Moulton, J. W, and John S Moulton, photographer. Howard University. Washington D.C, None. [Salem, mass.: j. w. & j. s. moulton, publishers between 1867 and 1920] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017657067/

      Maps

      Boschke, A, D McClelland, Hugh B Sweeny, Thos Blagden, and Blanchard & Mohun D. Mcclelland. Topographical map of the District of Columbia. Washington: D. McClelland, Blanchard & Mohun, 1861. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/88694013/

      Hopkins, Griffith Morgan, Jr. Atlas of fifteen miles around Washington, including the County of Prince George, Maryland. Philadelphia: G.M. Hopkins, 1878. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/76354156/.

      Real estate directory of the city of Washington, D.C. suburbs of Washington city, serial number 50, 1874 (25 objects) | DC Public Library

      1867 Photograph of Howard University

      Howard University was chartered by Congress near the site of a former refugee camp on Seventh Street NW in order to support the educational opportunities of freedmen. Named after its trustee and third residence, O. O. Howard, the university was a comprehensive school providing different types of education for both the newly freed who had been denied access to education under slavery and the free people of color who were seeking higher education. For those who needed basic education, it established the Model School with four classes (A-D) which were organized around skill level. In 1868, B. F. Franklin, living in the Wisewell Barracks, attended the Model School, class C.

      Howard University was established just north of Seventh and Boundary, in and around the farmlands of John A Smith.

      1861 Topographical Map of the area that would become Howard University
      1878 Map of the area around Howard University

      Fire!

      In June of 1871, the Evening Star reported a fire at the home Benj. F. Fountain, on 7th street above Abner Park. The house was destroyed and damage was estimated to be $1000. The fire department “responded promptly, but not in time to save the building”.

      Abner Park is the property “situated on Seventh Street, just beyond Boundary street and the terminus of the Seventh Street railway, and is improved by a large commodious hotel with stables, outbuildings, &c.” as described in an 1871 Trustee Sale Ad run in the Evening Star.

      Real Estate Transfer

      In 1873, the Evening Star listed real estate transfers in the County, and listed the transfer of property between C. C. Caruthers and Mary Fountain in Effingham, is part of the Howard University subdivision of John A Smith’s farm, “Effingham Place”. She sold the south one-third of lot 1 of section 2 of Effingham for $124. This shows her place as being on Seventh Street, and north of the Abner Park Hotel and connected to Howard University.

      Based on her Freedmen’s Bank Records, Mary Fountain moved to 13th and O Street NW, immediately south of what was then known as Iowa Cicle. She did not list her husband on her depositor slip. She listed her occupation as sewing. The 1874 City Directory lists Mary E Fountain, dressmaker, living at 818 10th Street NW.

      The 1873 City Directory lists Calvin C. Caruthers as living at the corner of Trumbull and Seventh Road which is consistent with the subdivision plat book. In the 1871 City Directory, his residence is listed as the Wisewell Barracks, suggesting that the Fountains and the Caruthers knew each other, as both had passed through Wisewell.

      Calvin C. Caruthers was one of the first African-Americans appointed to the DC police force in July 1869.

      Wisewell Barracks

      The Third Ward Republican Club met frequently at the Wisewell Barracks which was situated near Seventh and O Street. This gave both Caruthers and the Fountains access to the party and allowed them to make connections, providing both with economic opportunities in their appointments. A separate post discusses Fountain’s appointment as lamplighter in 1868 and 1869. It likely that this appointment provided the couple the nest egg they needed to purchase the land near Howard University

      Further Research Needed:

      • Locate death certificate for Benj Fountain who disappears from the records after 1871.
      • Locate land records for their property in the DC archives

      related posts

      Benjamin Franklin Fountain | Republican lamplighter

      Known Information

      Benj. Franklin Fountain is listed as a lamplighter in the 1870 City Directory.

      Sources

      Newspapers

      Evening Star 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      26 Mar 1870, Sat  •  Page 4

      National Republican 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      03 Dec 1868, Thu  •  Page 3

      National Republican 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      20 Jul 1869, Tue  •  Page 4

      Evening Star 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      07 May 1870, Sat  •  Page 2

      Evening Star 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      05 May 1870, Thu  •  Page 1

      Lamplighters worked at dusk and at dawn, walking the streets of their ward. At the top of the pole, under the lamp, was a bar where they would lean their ladder allowing them to climb to the lamp. In the 1860s, there were two appointed lamplighters for each ward, though bills were proposed that if there were more than 200 lamps, additional lamplighters would be appointed. In 1869, an act was introduced setting the salary of a lamplighter to $600 per annum and separating the appointment of lamplighters from the geographical boundaries of the Wards. They had been receiving a salary of $40 a month ($480/year).

      Mayor Sayles J. Bowen, Radical Republican

      In 1868, Sayles J. Bowen was elected mayor of DC. He was a Radial Republican who supported educational and economic opportunities for the Black citizens of the District, including the thousands of refugees who had come to the District during and after the Civil War. Bowen Road, in Anacostia, (now Alabama Ave) was named for him. Upon his election in 1868, he filled 30 percent of his administration with Black individuals. Additionally, Bowen inaugurated massive public works projects in the city, building sewers, sidewalks, smoothing roads, etc. This was critical for economic opportunities for working class Washington as there wasn’t an industrial base and unskilled and skilled laborers relied on public works project for employment. His work was criticized by the Democrats and white supremacists who saw his spending and support of Black citizens as wasteful. In actuality, the employment opportunities provided by his administration allowed for a “nest egg” and “modest little homes”.

      Among Bowen’s appointees were lamplighters for the wards and he appointed Benj. F. Fountain as lamplighter for the Third Ward in 1868 and again in 1869.

      1868
      1869

      To read more about race and politics in DC, I highly suggest the book Chocolate City by Chris Myers Asch and George Derek Musgrove.

      Asch, Chris Myers, and George Derek Musgrove. 2019. Chocolate City A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation’s Capital. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

      1870 Mayoral Campaign

      In 1870, the mayor’s seat was once again up for election, and the Republicans met in May 1870 to determine their candidate. Among the delegates for the Third Ward, was B. F. Fountain.

      Further Research Needed:

      • Identify if the Fountains were able to purchase property

      related posts

      Reeders | St. Mary’s County

      Known Information

      Multiple documents connect the Reeders to St. Mary’s County.

      Sources

      ST. MARY’S COUNTY
      COMMISSIONER OF SLAVE STATISTICS
      (Slave Statistics)
      1867-1869
      C1698 | Maryland State Archives

      The following documents suggest St. Mary’s County as a place of research for the Reeder family:

      • James Henry Reeder listed St Mary’s County on his service records and the Freedman’s Bank records
      • John Reeder listed St Mary’s County on his USCT service records and his marriage records in the Freedmen’s Bureau Records
      • James Henry Reeder and Emeline Dorsey Reeder listed St. Mary’s County on a birth return for two children
      • John and Cora Key Reeder listed St. Mary’s County on a birth return for two children

      Slave Statistics

      Emeline Dorsey, wife of James Henry Reeder

      John Milburn reported enslaved nineteen people, including a Dorsey family group.

      Enslaved IndividualsAge
      Mary Dorsey45
      Emeline Dorsey25
      Catherine Dorsey23
      William Dorsey19
      Josiah Dorsey16
      Susan Dorsey 11
      Philmore Dorsey8
      Mary Dorsey4

      In 1867, the Maryland General Assembly ordered that enslavers provide lists the individuals they enslaved in 1864. These lists were to be submitted to the federal government in hopes of federal compensation the enlistment of enslaved individuals into the Union Army. No compensation was provided. The records however, include the enslaver’s name, the first and last name of the enslaved as well as their age and gender, allowing the researcher to go past the 1870 census to track family groups and households. Slave statistics survive for Anne Arundel, Dorchester, Frederick, Howard, Kent, Montgomery, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s counties.

      Cora Kee/Key, wife of John Reeder

      The Freedmen’s Bureau records indicate that Cora and John were married in 1861 by a priest with the last name Moore. This suggests that both Cora Kee and Cora Reeder should be used as search terms in the Slave Statistics. Cora Kee/Key is not listed. Cornore Reeder is.

      John A Crane enslaved twenty two individuals, including Cornore Reeder, age 20 and Mary Alice, age 2. John and Cora Reeder listed one child on their marriage report; it is possible that Mary Alice is that child. In the 1880 Census, they list another daughter named Alice who was born in 1877 suggesting that Alice is a family name.

      In the 1870 Census, Cora and John Reeder have three individuals with the surname Key living in their household: Mary, Caroline and James. George H. Morgan reported enslaving 24 people, including a family group of Keys.

      Enslaved IndividualAge
      Cecelia Key25 (Left, Nov 11, 1863)
      Jack Key6 (Left, Nov 11, 1863)
      Elizabeth Key8 (Left, Nov 11, 1863)
      Sarah A Key23
      James Key5
      Mary Key10

      Jane Reeder, mother of the Reeders

      Mrs. Ann E Chiveral listed enslaving one individual: Jane Reeder, age 46.

      She left with the Union Army on 20 Feb 1863.

      the Reeders

      Edward L Abell listed 28 enslaved individuals under his own name, and six as guardian for the Smith children. The six individuals appear on both lists, and include James (19), John (30), Thomas (21), and Mary Ellen Reeder (16).

      He noted that they left with the Union Army:

      • Thomas Reeder left first: 14 Sept 1862
      • James Reeder left: 17 Oct 1863
      • John and Mary Ellen left: 28 Oct 1863

      Thomas Reeder

      James L Foxwell reported enslaving thirty individuals, among them Thomas Reeder, age 45. This Thomas is too old to be Thomas Reeder in DC, and is of a similar age as Jane Reeder, suggesting he may be a brother or spouse of Jane.

      Further Research Needed:

      • Identify the land of the enslavers: Milburn, Foxwell, Chiveral, Smith and Abell
      • Locate inventories related to the enslavers and their family which may contain names of family members and/or the family groups.

      related posts

      Thomas Reeder vs. James Thomas Reeder

      Known Information

      Two Thomas Reeders lived in DC after the Civil War.

      Sources

      Freedmen’s Records

      District of Columbia, Freedmen’s Bureau Field Office Records, 1863-1872,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8937-FP18?cc=2333782&wc=9J3J-SPX%3A1069293302%2C1069293906 : 3 August 2016), Assistant inspector general > Roll 1, Letters sent, Mar 21, 1866-Sep 7, 1868 > image 41 of 146; citing NARA microfilm publication M1902 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

      City Directory

      Washington, District of Columbia, City Directory, Various

      There were two Thomas Reeders who lived in DC after the Civil War. James Thomas Reeder, who alternatively went by James and Thomas, married Clara Woodland and they had one son, John V. Thomas Reeder, married to Martha, lived in Jackson Alley for the bulk of his life in DC.

      • Freedmen’s Records

        Clara Reeder claimed that she and Thomas Reeder had selected two lots in Barry Farm and was inquiring in the case.

        James Reeder, from Anne Arundel County, and Clarissa with their son John V, are living in Freedmen’s Village.

        Thomas Reeder, with John and Benjamin Fountain, received goods from the Superintendent at the Kendall Green Barracks.

      • 1870 Census

        James T. Reeder is listed in the household of Mary Woodland and her daughters, including Clara Woodland. He is listed as Thomas Reeder. John V. Reeder is listed as his son. They are living in Ward 3. Other surnames in the household include Chesley.

        Thomas Reeder is living with his wife, Martha and his infant daughter Mary E. Reeder. They are living in Ward 3.

      • 1871 City Directory

        James T. Reeder is living at 1214 3d NW.

        Thomas Reeder is living at 1417 1st NW.

        This address is consistent with the tax records in the newspapers addressed in a different post.

      • 1873 City Directory

        Thomas Reeder is living at 813 L NE. He is a porter

        Thomas Reeder is living at 811 L NW. So is James Reeder.

      • 1877 City Directory

        James T Reeder is living at 1622 2d Street.

        Thomas Reeder is living at 1419 1st NW.

      • 1879 City Directory

        James T Reeder is living at 43 Pierce.

        Thomas Reeder is living at Pierce Street Alley NW

      • 1880 Census

        James T. Reeder is listed as head of a household that includes Mary Woodland. His wife is named a Clarissa Reeder and his son, John V is listed. He is also living with his niece, Mary Reeder, age 24. They are living on N Street NW. Other surnames include Chisley

        Thomas Reeder is living with his wife, Martha and his three children, Mary, Joseph and Georgiana. They are living on Jackson Alley.

      • 1883-4 City Directory

        James T & Thomas Reeder is living at 418 N NW. He is working as a laborer. His son is also listed as living here.

        Thomas Reeder is living at 71 Jackson Alley. He is working as a laborer

      • 1885 City Directory

        James T Reeder is living at 418 N NW. He is working as a laborer.

        Thomas Reeder is living at Jackson Alley. The address is unnumbered. He is working as a laborer

      • 1893 City Directory

        J Thomas Reeder is living at 444 Ridge NW. He is working as a laborer. His son is also listed as living here.

        Thomas Reeder is living at Jackson Alley. The address is unnumbered. He is working as a laborer

      • 1894 City Directory

        J Thomas Reeder is living at 444 Ridge NW. He is working as a laborer. His son is also listed as living here.

        Thomas Reeder is living at 34 Jackson Alley. He is working as a laborer

      • 1895 City Directory

        J Thomas Reeder is living at 462 Ridge NW. He is working as a laborer. His son is also listed as living here.

        Thomas Reeder is living at 36 Jackson Alley. He is working as a laborer

      • 1898 City Directory

        James T. Reeder is living at 462 Ridge NW. He is working as a laborer. His son is also listed as living here.

        Thomas Reeder is living at 50 Jackson Alley. He is working as a laborer

      • 1900 Census

        Thomas Reeder is listed as head of a household with his wife Clara, their son John and his wife. John is a musician. They are living on Ridge NW

        Thomas Reeder is living with his wife, Martha and his two children, Joseph and Charles. They are living on Jackson Alley.

      • 1901 City Directory

        James T. Reeder is living at 462 Ridge NW. He is working as a laborer. His son is also listed as living here.

        Thomas Reeder is living at 50 Jackson Alley. He is working as a laborer

      • 1910 Census

        James T and Clara W are living in the household of of John V on Ridge St NW. It indicates that John V is their only child.

        Thomas Reeder is the Home for the Aged and Infirm. He is living as a widower.

      • 1920 Census

        James T and Clara W are living in the household of of John V on Ridge St NW.

        Thomas Reeder is the Home for the Aged and Infirm. He is living as a widower.

      • Death

        The Evening Star ran the obituary of James Thomas Reeder. It names his son, John V, and his daughter in law as well as their home address on Ridge NW. His death record lists his parents: Barnes Reeder and Henrietta Reeder. He was born in St. Mary’s County, MD.

        A Thomas Reeder, without identifying information died in 1929. This is consistent with a death in an institution where there is little information about his background.

        Another Thomas Reeder is listed with a death in 1924, however, an obituary lists family members not consistent with either Reeder and his age places his birth year in the 1880s. His death records lists his address as 2nd Street SE which is not consistent with City Directories or Census Records.

      related posts

      the Reeders | hod-carriers

      Known Information

      James Reeder is listed as living on in Pierce Street Alley in the 1880s.

      Sources

      Birth Return

      Reeder, Baby, 9236, 20 Nov 1876 | DC Archives

      Map

      A Complete Set of Surveys and Plats of Properties in the City of Washington, District of Columbia is a real estate atlas published by G. M. Hopkins and Co. in 1887.  | DC Public Library

      Newspapers

      National Republican 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      06 Jul 1881, Wed  •  Page 2

      Evening Star 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      01 Dec 1876, Fri  •  Page 2

      The Critic 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      27 Aug 1881, Sat  •  Page 3

      National Republican 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      04 Mar 1884, Tue  •  Page 6

      Evening Star 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      15 Mar 1884, Sat  •  Page 1

      Evening Star 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      22 Mar 1884, Sat  •  Page 2

      The Critic 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      20 Mar 1889, Wed  •  Page 4

      Evening Star 
      Washington, District of Columbia
      04 Apr 1889, Thu  •  Page 1

      Print

      Mydans, Carl, photographer. Untitled photo, possibly related to: Hod carriers at Greenbelt, Maryland. , 1936. [July] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017715805/.

      The hod-carrier’s song. Air.- Villikens and his Dinah. H. De Marsan, Publisher, 60 Chatham Street, N.Y. Monographic. Online Text. https://www.loc.gov/item/amss.as201350/.

      In the 1880 Census, James H Reeder is listed as living at 141 Pierce Street, with his family including his wife Emeline. His occupation is listed as a junk dealer. There are six families living in the home. This suggests that it was a larger apartment style home.

      The map shows Pierce Street in 1887 and its alleys.

      The 1876 birth return for the daughter of James and Emeline lists James’ occupation as laborer “hard career”, or hod-carrier.

      Hod-Carriers

      Hod-Carriers were tradesmen who supported bricklayers in the construction of buildings. They brought the supplies to the site. Details from an Evening Star article about a Hod-Carrier Strike in 1884 describes the work as strenuous. They carry the hod with bricks which can weigh up to 116 pounds. In the 22 Mar 1882, article, the Evening Star reported that six brick-layers with four hod-carriers could lay 9,000 bricks a day.

      In 1881, James H Reeder and J. T. reeder, in connection with others, established “the Hod-carriers’ Society” for the mutual benefit of each other and to stop interference from their bosses. The 1887 Plat Book shows the Hod-Carrier’s Association building on Pierce Street, where James Reeder was living in the 1880s.

      In 1884, there are numerous articles detailing tension between union and non-union hod-carriers and the strikes for better wages (from $2.00 to $2.50 a day). Thomas Reeder was charged with assault of a non-union man and charged $5 for hitting him on the back of his head with his open hand.

      Due to the nature of their work (outside), laborers only worked for seven months of the year. There was competition between Irish laborers, “colored” laborers and “imported” laborers for the work. The National Republican ran an article in 1884 in which their sources described Northern Cities already paying $2.50/day and southern laborers as being “slow and uncertain”.

      In 1889, there was a split in the Hod-Carrier’s Society. J. T. Reeder and others were charged with using the corporations name, banner and other insignia. Some of the articles names him as John T Reeder, others as J. F. Reeder. In May, Thomas Reeder (at times cites as James Thomas Reeder) filed suit claiming that the hod-carriers committed conspiracy by preventing him access to work as he was non-union. It is unclear whether this refers to Thomas Reeder, brother of James H Reeder, or James Thomas Reeder who lived on Ridge NW and unrelated to the Reeder brothers.

      related posts