Category Archives: St. Mary’s County

Basil Medley, USCT

Lewis and Beck Medley, enslaved by Carroll family in St. Mary’s County escaped slavery by leaving with the British during the War of 1812. In the post [Lewis and Beck Medley | the British came], I speculated that because the Carroll family were neighbors to the Sewall family and both the Carrolls and the Sewall enslaved family groups with the names Lewis & Beck, that Lewis & Beck Medley may have been related to the Beck family group listed in the 1822 Robert Sewall Inventory of St. Mary’s County Property [TT 5:25].

1814 Claim1822 Inventory
Lewis Medley, 21 [1793]Beck, 45 [1777]
Beck Medley, 17 [1797]Lewis, 16 [1806]
Milley, 13 [1809]
Barney, 11 [1811]
Sam, 7 [1815]

Compensation for “Manumission”

Further documentation has been found to provide more information about the relationship between the two families.

In 1865, the Dangerfield Heirs of Robert D Sewall’s estate filed multiple Deeds of Manumission in Prince George’s County Land Records [FS 3:33-41 | mdlandrec.net]. These manumissions were filed in August 1865, almost a full year after the passage of the November 1864 Maryland Constitution which emancipated all enslaved people in Maryland. The manumissions effectively did not change the status of the named individuals as they had been previously freed by the State of Maryland.

Instead, these manumissions were filed in hopes of compensation for slaves who had been used by the US Army. In 1863, the US Government began to compensate slaveholders for the enlistment of enslaved people if they could prove their status. By filing the deed of manumission, the enslavers hoped to prove ownership of the enslaved people and receive $300 “upon filing a “manumission” or deed of ownership”. [US National Archives]. Multiple enslavers named those they had enslaved who enlisted in the FS Libers of the Prince George’s County Land Records. Some enslavers named the date of enlistment and the regiment within which the enslaved mustered. In the eleven manumissions filed by the Dangerfield Heirs, none stated a date of enlistment or regiment.

Basil Medley was one of the enslaved people named in the manumissions by the Dangerfield Heirs. USCT records have been located for him under the name “Bazil Medley” (fold3.com | ancestry.com)

Basil Medley was described as a 5 foot 6 inches man, 21 years old. He had brown skin with black eyes and hair. His birth (likely 1843) was listed as Prince George’s County, about ten years after Robert D Sewall inherited the St. Mary’s property and three years after Robert D Sewall sold the St. Mary’s property to George Forbes in 1840, consolidating his holdings in Prince George’s County.

Basil Medley enlisted into Company H of the 23rd Regiment in Washington DC in the spring of 1864. He signed his enlistment papers with his mark.

1853 Inventory

In the 1853 Robert D Sewall Inventory [JH 2:699], there is a family group that included the names Lewis and Basil.

It is in the portion of the inventory that lists the people “gifted” to William P Brinham and on the property in his possession. Brinham was a friend of both Robert D Sewall and Sewall’s brother, William HB. William HB Sewall had inherited the St. Mary’s property from his father in 1820 and upon his death in 1832 had devised it to Robert D Sewall. In the 1840s, Sewall had conveyed some of those who had previously been enslaved in St Mary’s county to Brinham [JBB 3:587]. Listed in the deed are “Louis and his wife Maria, and their children, to wit: Mary and John Louis.”

These names correspond with the first two children listed in the Lewis family group in the 1853 inventory.

From 1853 Inventory of Robert D Sewall, Image 380, first column

In the family group, Lewis is listed as the inferred father, at 48 years old. This places his estimated birth year as 1805, which is consistent with the 1822 St. Mary’s inventory which estimates his birth year as 1806. The two inventories alone however did not indicate a surname name for either family. This left it open as to whether or not Beck and her children were related to the Lewis Medley who escaped the Carrolls and his Medleys, or related to his wife, Beck, and therefore related to a different family surname.

The USCT records cite Basil’s last name as Medley, which suggests that Lewis (born 1805/6) was also a Medley.

The presence of Medley for Basil suggests that Beck’s children and grandchildren are related to Lewis Medley who left with the British in 1812. It is likely that Beck’s partner and Lewis’s father is the Medley.

Lewis and Beck Medley | the British came

Cedar Point sits at the mouth of the Patuxent River as it empties into the Chesapeake Bay in St. Mary’s County.

1873 Topographical atlas of Maryland: counties of Calvert, Charles and St. Marys. | davidrumsey.com

Its location was useful for the British during the colonial period as they established customs official there to collect taxes from the passing ships laden with tobacco. In the 18th century, the land was transferred into the Carroll family by way of marriage to Araminta Thompson, who was the illegitimate daughter of the customs official, and had been bequeathed the manor by her father, John Rousby II. [Collection on the Susquehanna estate, Carroll family, and Rousby family]

Charles J Carroll, son of Henry and Araminta [Thompson] Carroll, lived at the manor house, called Susquehanna, before and during the War of 1812. Its location was useful for the British in 1812 as well. The British navy plundered the estates on the waterways, and the manor on Cedar Point was exposed and the British took 5 of the people enslaved by the Carrolls with them, including Lewis and Beck Medley, husband and wife.

In 1828, the heirs of Charles J Carroll, applied for compensation for their lost chattel. The claim included “A lost of the [enslaved people] belonging to Charles John Carroll of the County of Prince George’s County and State of Maryland which were taken or carried away by the British from the mouth of the Patuxent River during the years 1813 + 1814”. [MSA]

Case #612,

In the claim, it is reported that Charles John Carroll, with Nicholas Sewall and Robert Holton boarded the British ship San Domingo in order to reclaim Adam, Phil and Sandy. Another deposition in the claim, mentions Lewis Medley and Beck Medley, the wife of Lewis Medley. They, too, went with the British and did not return to the Carrolls. In April 1814, the British had issued the Cochrane Proclamation:

To encourage further unrest, on April 2, 1814, Admiral Alexander Cochrane of the British forces issued a proclamation offering immediate emancipation to any person willing to take up arms and join the colonial marines. The proclamation also included the families of any person who joined the colonial marines and settled in British Colonies.”

Maryland State Archives

The claim recorded that Lewis and Beck Medley were on the list for Halifax. The Acadian Reporter issued announcements of ships that arrived in Halifax and it is estimate that 2000 refugees from slavery sailed to Nova Scotia between 1813 and 1816. Having escaped chattel slavery in the Chesapeake, the refugees in Halifax faced prejudice and resentment in Halifax at their arrival. [Nova Scotia Archives]

Lewis Medley, age 25, and his wife, age 21, with a child, is listed in the “Halifax List: Return of American Refugee Negroes who have been received into the Province of Nova Scotia from the United States of American between 27 April 1815 and 24 October 1818. [Nova Scotia Archives]

Halifax newspaper, Acadian Reporter, 13 May 1815 reporting the arrival of ships including Annapolis | Nova Scotia Archives

After the war, Carroll had moved to Prince George’s County, and had settled on the Patuxent River in the neighborhood of Nottingham, away from the British ships. Having escaped from the British, he died in 1815 from smallpox.

Daily National Intelligencer, Mar 9, 1815 | genealogybank.com

His children were raised by their grandmother, Araminta Thompson. His son, Michael B Carroll became a merchant and landowner; his daughter, Araminta Carroll, married John B Brooke, a wealthy lawyer, and settled at “Poplar Neck”, near Cheltenham and near the home of Robert Sewall of “Poplar Hill”.

Carroll-Sewall Connection

The Carrolls owned Susquehanna on Cedar Point in St. Mary’s County and were neighbors to the Sewalls, of Mattapany Sewall. Both families were prominent Catholic families with connections to power in colonial and early National Maryland.

Nicholas Sewall, who boarded the ship with Charles J Carroll, was a cousin of Robert Sewall, who had inherited “Poplar Hill” from the Darnalls. The Sewall’s owned land on Cedar Point throughout the 1700s.

When Robert Sewall died in 1820, he had land in both Prince George’s County and St. Mary’s County. As a result, he had two inventories. In the inventory for St. Mary’s County, he included the names of the enslaved people on the property [TT 5:25]. Among them was a family group including an inferred mother, Beck (45), and her children, Lewis (16), Milley (13), Barney (11), and Sam (7).

1822 Inventory of St. Mary’s Property | family search.com

This raises the question, as often names repeat across generations, if Beck and her son Lewis were kin to the Lewis and Beck who went with the British. Their enslavers were connected to each other politically, religiously and geographically.

1814 Claim1822 Inventory
Lewis Medley, 21 [1793]Beck, 45 [1777]
Beck Medley, 17 [1797]Lewis, 16 [1806]
Milley, 13 [1809]
Barney, 11 [1811]
Sam, 7 [1815]

Based on the given ages of the people in the two documents, estimated birth years can be given and from that, possibilities for kinship emerge. The Medley’s may be cousins to Beck’s children, either of their parents would have been in the same generation of Beck. Both Beck and the unknown parents could have used family names for their children. Or, Beck Medley, may be the daughter of Beck, as Beck would have been 20 when Beck Medley was born.

Alternatively, the reappearance of “Lewis” in both family groups could be because Lewis was a family name used by the Sewalls (see Nicholas Lewis Sewall, from whom Robert Sewall bought Mattapany Sewall) and the enslavers provided their own name to their enslaved.

Note on Plantation Size

Charles J Carroll died in 1815. His inventory was submitted to Prince George’s County County and included 11 names [TT 5:9] . Unlike Sewall’s inventory which appeared to be organized by family groups, Carroll’s is organized by age.

1815 Inventory of Charles J Carroll’s estate | familysearch.org

Carroll enslaved far fewer people than Sewall, which suggests that family groups were not sustained. In “Tobacco and Slaves”, Allan Kulikoff describes how enslavers with fewer people in captivity were less likely to sustain family groups. [See Chapter 9: Beginning of the Afro-American Family] He describes how [enslavers] would keep “women and small children together but did not keep husbands and teenage children with their immediate family” and that enslavers with small farms [enslaved less than 11 people] separated enslaved people “more frequently than those on large plantations” to pay debts or through bequeathals. This may explain why Sewall’s inventory was organized by family group and Carroll’s was not.

Of the five people who escaped with the British, there were four different surames: Barnes [Adam], Jackson [Philip], Lewis [Sandy], and Medley [Lewis]. This suggests Carroll bought enslaved people from other plantations and brought them to Susquehanna for labor. Kulikoff’s research into Chesapeake enslavers and the people they enslaved suggests that “cross-plantation” kin groups were established as often the enslaved were sold to and by neighboring enslavers.

The British took the four adult men with them, when they raided Susquehanna, as the 1815 inventory only lists males who are children: George, 10, Lewis, 6, Davy, 5.

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.

Nancy | Sold

The legal authority to enslave Nancy passed from Lewis Smith, when he died, to his heirs, including his children, George L and Sarah C Smith. Nancy, age 7, was listed in his 1853 inventory of goods and chattel. Her estimated birth year is 1846.

Parentage

It is unclear who her parents were.

Nace, age 45, likely Ignatius Gough, is the sole adult male listed on the page. His wife, Sarah and other children are held captive by an unknown enslaver as they do not appear in the 1867 lists submitted to the Commission of Slave Statistics and they are reunited with him in the 1870 census.

Louiza, age 20, could be her mother, as Nancy and Mary Ellen are listed below her in the inventory list.

Other records, however, indicate that Mary Ellen is Mary Ellen Reeder, the daughter of Jane Reeder, who was enslaved by Ann M. Chiveral during the Civil war. Mary Ellen and her mother are reunited after the war in the District of Columbia.

Louiza can be identified as Louise Demine, age 38 in the 1867 list submitted to the Commission of Slave Statistics. She and her children (Peter, 7, Teresa,5, Alexander,3, Cecilia,1) are listed. She and her children escaped from Abell’s estate in May 1864, most likely headed to Point Lookout.

Hired Out

Abell hired out Nancy and the other people the Smith children enslaved. In 1858, he recorded receiving $18 for her hire in the Guardian Accounts. In contrast, Abell received $60 for John’s labor and $30 for Stephen’s labor. This suggests that he hired her out for “unskilled” tasks such as a laundry or other domestic tasks.

Sold

She was sold in 1859 to Wm T. Campbell, affording the Abell family a $700 gain on the Smith estate. For Nancy, the sale of her body most likely meant a removal from St. Mary’s County and proximity to her kin.

Account of Sale, 1859 | familysearch.org

In 1860, William T Campbell is enumerated in the federal census as a trader who lived in Allens Fresh, Charles County, Maryland in the neighborhood of Port Tobacco, the major trading port of Charles County.

Year: 1860; Census Place: Allens Fresh, Charles, Maryland; Roll: M653_473; Page: 21 | ancestry.com

In 1860, Peter W. Crain, a landowner in Charles County, advertised the self-emancipation of Rose, who had fled her captivity on Crain’s farm in lower Charles County. He advertised for her return to his captivity: “I will give the above reward to any person who will deliver her to me, or to William T. Campbell, at St. Thomas’ Manor, Charles County, Md.” [Port Tobacco Times and Charles County Advertiser, May 24, 1860] This suggests that Campbell had the means to “store” Black people while waiting for enslavers. Evidence from Alexandria slave pens other slave trader sites suggests that Campbell had a store with cells and shackles to restrain Rose and others he held captive before selling.

Port Tobacco and Charles County Advertiser | chroniclingamerica.loc.gov

In 1860, William T Campbell is enumerated as enslaving seven people at the time of the census. Among them, a 25 year old female. This age is consistent with Nancy. Campbell did not submit a list to the Commission of Slave Statistics.

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.

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

Reeder Siblings | marriages

Known Information

James, John, and Thomas Reeder and Mary Ellen (Reeder) Fountain lived in DC after the Civil War.

Sources

Census

1870; Census Place: Washington Ward 3, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: M593_124; Page: 475A

1870; Census Place: Washington Ward 3, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: M593_124; Page: 475B

1870; Census Place: Washington Ward 3, Washington, District of Columbia;Roll: M593_124; Page: 449B

Marriage Records

District of Columbia, Marriage Records, 1810-1953 | ancestry.com


United States, Freedmen’s Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872 | familysearch.org

City Directory

District of Columbia Birth Returns, 1874-1897 | familysearch.org

Birth Certificates

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

Reeder, Baby, 28331, 16 Jan 1882 | DC Archives

Reeder, Baby, 36254, 15 May 1882 | DC Archives

Three Reeder brothers, James, John, and Thomas were recorded in the 1868 Washington City Directory as living at M and 6 NE, which is near the Kendall Green Barracks. Bank records also list them as the brothers of Mary Ellen Fountain.

James Reeder

James was living with Emeline, his wife, and their sone Henry J. in 1870. Walter Reeder, age 11, is also living with them. Based on the bank records of Mary Ellen Fountain, Walter is James’ younger brother.

DC Marriage records lists a marriage for James Reeder and Emeline Dorsey on 13 Aug 1868. A birth record for a daughter born in 1876 lists both James Henry Reeder and Emeline Dorsey Reeder as the parents, and that they both were born in St. Mary’s County, MD. A birth record for a daughter born in 1883 lists Emeline’s last name was West, but provides the mother’s birthplace as St. Mary’s County

John Reeder

John Reeder is living with his wife, Cora, and their son, Willie, who was born in DC in 1868; Cora collected rations in January 1868 due to “sickness”, it is possible that in addition to any number of illnesses suffered by freedpeople as a result of malnourishment, exposure from poor shelter and clothing, that she was pregnant and sick with morning sickness.

They are living with is likely the younger siblings of Cora, suggesting that her last name is Key.

The Freedmen’s Bureau recorded marriages for freedmen that had not been formally recognized before. In 1867, John Reader and Cora Keys had their 1861 marriage in St. Mary’s County, MD, recorded in the DC Bureau They listed that they had one child, which suggests that they had an older child prior to Willie. A priest named Moore married them.

Thomas Reeder

Thomas is living with his wife, Martha, and their daughter Mary E. They do not have any other family living with them.

DC Marriage Records lists Thomas Reeder’s marriage to Martha Colbert in June 1867. An 1882 birth certificate for their son lists her maiden name as Calbert and that she was born in Prince George’s County.

Mary Ellen Reeder

Mary E Fountain is living near her brother, Thomas Reeder, just a few households away in the census. She is living with her husband Benj. F. Fountain.

DC Marriage Records lists Mary Ellen Reeder’s marriage to Benj Franklin Fountain in June 1866. No children have been located for them.

Further Research Needed:

  • Research the Key, Dorsey and Reeder family in St. Mary’s County
  • Research the Colbert family in Prince George’s County
  • Research the Fountain family in Virginia

related posts

James Reeder | USCT

Known Information

James Reeder had an account in the Freedmen’s Bank. He identified his wife and child and mother on the depositor slip. Additionally, he identified St. Mary’s County as his birth place.

Sources

Plan of Fort Monroe

Sneden, Robert Knox. Plan of Fortress Monroe, Virginia, March 6. [to 1865, 1862] Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/gvhs01.vhs00203/.

Service Records

The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Compiled Military Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served with the United States Colored Troops: 1st through 5th United States Colored Cavalry, 5th Massachusetts Cavalry (Colored), 6th United States Colored Cavalry; Microfilm Serial: M1817 | ancestry.com

Service records show that James Reeder served in Company K of the 1st US Calvary of Colored Troops, which was attached to Camp Hamilton at Fort Monroe in Virginia.

Fort Monroe

Stampede of slaves from Hampton to Fortress Monroe. United States Fort Monroe Hampton Virginia, 1985. [? from a Print In1861] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/92515012/.

His services records indicate that he enlisted in February of 1864. One sheet indicates Camp Nixon which was north of Georgetown near District of Columbia, and the second sheet indicates Fort Monroe. It is possible that he made his way to DC from St. Mary’s and then was dispatched to Fort Monroe once he enlisted, as his arrival in Fort Monroe is recorded as Mar 1864.

Fort Monroe sits near Hampton Roads and guards the harbor at Old Point Comfort. In 1861, three enslaved men escaped their bondage and asked Gen. Butler to harbor them rather than return them to their enslavers. Butler contended that since the enslavers were in open rebellion against the US, the enslaved were “contraband of war” and did not need to be returned. As a result, the enslaved made their way to Fort Monroe to free themselves from slavery, the media calling it a “stampede”. The Fort became known as “Freedom’s Fortress”. Gen. Butler helped to establish camps for the freedpeople, providing clothing and food, and finding jobs and training for them. Several of the refugees joined the military. This cartoon from the 1860s (drawn with racist tropes in its imagery and language) depicts the “contraband” policy that Butler established.

He was nineteen when he enlisted. His service records do not document any injuries or illness, suggesting that he stayed with his company throughout the war. During May of 1864, it indicates that his company was dispatched to guard cattle, a common duty when the US Army first starting enlisted Black men into the US Army during the Civil War, especially along the James River and the road up to DC from Richmond.

He died in 1897 and was buried in section 27 of Arlington National Cemetery.

Further Research Needed:

  • Research the 1st Regiment of the US Colored Calvary

related posts