Abraham (Abram) Henry enlisted in the 1st Regiment of the US Colored Infantry in June 1863, when the regiment was being organized in the District. His service records indicate that he was a free man and as such could receive $100 bounty for enlisting. Alexander Hawkins was another free man who joined the same regimentContinue reading “Abraham Henry | USCT”
Eleanor (Nelly) Crawford
Nelly Crawford was listed in the Benjamin Lee inventory as 33 years old with four living children: Caroline, Louisa, Dennis, and Jerry. The names of the children with their ages allowed for the identification of Eleanor (Nelly) Crawford’s family in the 1870 Census. The family was living with their father, Dennis Green, near the smallContinue reading “Eleanor (Nelly) Crawford”
John and Harriet Crawford
This is one post in a series on the children of David and Kizzy Crawford. John was listed as Kizzy’s son in the 1832 Inventory of James Belt‘s estate. He was four years old when Belt died. Kizzy, his mother, was 27 and she was listed with an unnamed child and John, her son. InContinue reading “John and Harriet Crawford”
James Stewart | Wife
In 1870, a partnerless James Stewart is living with his grown children in Queen Anne District of Prince George’s County. The census allows us to identify George, Mary (Polly), Sarah (Sallie) and Notley. The death certificate for George Stewart in 1904 lists James Stewart and marks his mother as unknown. James Stewart was enslaved byContinue reading “James Stewart | Wife”
James and Martha Wedge
Martha Wedge died in August 1908; her death certificate lists her as a widow and child of C. Briscoe and Olivia Briscoe. Daniel Webster, her brother, served as the informant. In 1900, Martha Wedge is enumerated in the census as an employee in the household of William Underwood in Piscataway District of Prince George’s County.Continue reading “James and Martha Wedge”
Rachel Weldon
Collateral A series of financial transactions between Richard W. W. Bowie and others in the 1850s shows Bowie in debt and using Rachel and her children, whom he enslaved, as collateral for his debt. Richard W. W. Bowie’s father had died in 1839, and his inheritance was controlled by his mother until her death inContinue reading “Rachel Weldon”
William Crawford | Civil War Drafts
In 1863, the US Federal Government began to actively recruit Black men for the Union Army. In the fall of 1863, the War Department authorized the systematic enlistment of enslaved men in the Border States, including Maryland. General Order 329 promised freedom to the soldier and compensation to slaveholders loyal to the Union. The slaveholdersContinue reading “William Crawford | Civil War Drafts”
Samuel and Sophia Crawford
In the 1863 Inventory of Benjamin Lee‘s estate, Sam, age 24, is listed two names below the name of Davy and Kizzy. No other details are recorded for him. The estate’s appraisers noted that “Owning to the unsafe conditions …. produced by the war” that raged on, they could not provide a market value forContinue reading “Samuel and Sophia Crawford”
Davy and Kizzy Crawford
Davy and Kizzy were listed about two-thirds of the way through the 1863 Inventory of Benjamin Lee’s estate. Davy, age 63, and Kizzy, age 58, were among the oldest listed in the inventory. Listed with them were several adults: Jack, age 36, Sam, age 24, Billy, age 21, and Nelly, age 33 and then whatContinue reading “Davy and Kizzy Crawford”
John and Patsy Hamilton
The eruption of the Civil War and the subsequent abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia disrupted social hierarchy of Prince George’s County The Cecil Whig estimated in March 1864 that over 30,000 enslaved people escaped their captivity across the state and found freedom from their enslavers. Census records show the same for PrinceContinue reading “John and Patsy Hamilton”
stories of Then 