Known Information
Washington Lee was born in PG County, MD around 1840-1884. He went to DC during the Civil War where he enlisted in the 23rd USCT. He was discharged in 1865. His sister Emily was living in DC during his service.
Information derived from 1880 Census records and compiled military service records.
Sources
1870 Census
1870; Census Place: Queen Anne, Prince Georges, Maryland; Roll: M593_592; Page: 212A & 212B; Family History Library Film: 552091 | ancestry.com
Marriage License
Index of Marriage Licenses, Prince George’s County, Maryland 1777-1886 [database on-line] | ancestry.com
Summary Information
Washington Lee lived in the vicinity of Buena Vista Post Office in Queen Anne’s District of Prince George’s County. The individuals he is living with have a variety of surnames; no one else has the last name Lee. His age is consistent with his service records and the 1880 census.
Community Context Analysis
On Sept 10 1870, Washington Lee married Sallie Stewart; the ceremony was performed by McDonald. The Stewart family were Washington Lee’s neighbors in the census records. Sallie Stewart, 23, lived in the household of James Stewart.
T. McDonald is also listed in the 1870 census as a priest from Ireland. He is living in the vicinity of the Upper Marlboro Post Office, which suggests they were married at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Upper Marlboro. There was also a Catholic Church in Woodmore, which was a nearby Post Office.
Landowners Maps
Simon Martenet was a mapmaker and surveyor who published an atlas of Maryland in the 1860s. His maps of Maryland Counties lists landowners on them. G.M. Hopkins created an Atlas of the fifteen miles around Washington DC including the County of Prince George, Maryland in 1878, which also lists landowners. Both of these maps allow us to approximate the location of a household by comparing the names in the census record with those on the maps.
In the census records, two post offices were listed. On the page with the Stewart households, Oak Grove PO was recorded. On the page with Washington Lee, Buena Vista was listed. This excerpt from the County Map shows the location of both post offices. Analysis below will show that they lived halfway between both post offices in the western “bulge” of Queen Anne’s District, west of the Western Branch along the border with Kent District.
Nearby landowners include: Wm Berry (p. 211B); Violetta Harden (p. 212A); Ellen Belt (p. 212B); J.C. Fairfax (p.212B); Norman Hill (p. 213A)
The following can be located on Hopkin’s detailed map of Queen Anne’s District. The path of the census taker can be traced along the road that formed the boundary between Queen Anne’s District and Kent District.
- Wm. Berry’s Residence is west of Oak Gove PO in the southern part of Queen Anne’s District.
- Violetta Harden was in C. A. Harden’s household, represented by Dr. Chas. Harding on the map, further west of Wm. Berry’s Residence.
- Dr. Jno Fairfax is the next landowner as you follow the road as it curves north.
- Norman Hill is at the road that intersects with the road that also serves as the border.
The records for both the Stewarts and Washington Lee were listed between Harding and Fairfax on the map, suggesting that they were living on the curve of the road.
This is in the approximate area of modern Kettering, MD, which is roughly east of the interchange of Central Ave and I-495.
The landowners owned large parcels of lands with hundreds of acres and worth tens of thousands of dollars. This suggested that they needed a considerable labor force to plant and harvest crops. Scanning the census records, most of the Black households are listed as farm hands suggesting that they engaged in tenant farming after the Civil War and their emancipation.
Further Research Needed:
- Identify the members of Washington Lee’s household and possible connections to either the Lee or Stewart family
- Identify the relationships between the members of the two Stewart households in the 1870 census
stories of Then 