Washington Lee and Sallie Stewart

Over the decades through census records

Known Information

Washington Lee & Sallie Stewart were married in 1870 and raised their family in and around Queen Anne’s District of Prince George’s County, Maryland

Sources

1880 Census

1880; Census Place: Marlboro, Prince George’s, Maryland; Roll: 513;Page: 75B | ancestry.com

1900 Census

1900; Census Place: Election District 1, Anne Arundel, Maryland; Page: 25 | ancestry.com

1910 Census

1910; Census Place: Election District 1, Anne Arundel, Maryland; Roll: T624_550; Page: 12A | ancestry.com

The slideshow has the records for Washington and Sallies family from 1880, 1900 and 1910. The 1890 Census was burned in a fire and generally unavailable. The individuals and their ages are recorded in the table.

Note on census locations

Marlboro District is located directly south of Queen Anne’s District within Prince George’s County.

District 1 is located in the western part of Anne Arundel County, opposite Queen Anne’s District in Prince George’s County

Excerpt from Hopkins Map of 1878

Name1880
Marlboro District, PG
1900
District 1, AA
1910
District 1, AA
Washington Lee406073
Sallie356070
12 Children Born
8 Children still living
Jane7
Susan6
Benjamin5
Sallie3
Peterinfant
Lizzie2
Catherine14
Rosa10
Louisa7
Edwardgrandson, 3

1880 Census | Community Context

Washington and his family were recorded in Marlboro District; the location of their home can be approximated by comparing the names of their neighbors with the Hopkins’ Map of 1878. They did not live very far from their 1870 home which was northwest of Oak Grove in Queen Anne’s district.

A review of the page immediately preceding and following Washington Lee’s record shows that they lived near town. There are at least three carpenters, a bricklayer, storekeeper and hotel keeper listed among the occupation.

Geo. W Brooke and Upton Brooke are listed on the next page. They can be identified on the Marlboro District detail map from Hopkin’s Atlas as being near the Oak Grove Post Office and Brick Church Station. St. Barnabas Episcopal Church was well known for its brick construction and the station on the railroad was later renamed Leeland. It is at the intersection of the modern roads Oak Grove Rd and Leeland Road.

Hopkins created an Atlas of the fifteen miles around Washington DC including the County of Prince George, Maryland in 1878, which also lists landowners.

Hopkins, Griffith Morgan, Jr. Atlas of fifteen miles around Washington, including the County of Prince George, Maryland. Philadelphia: G.M. Hopkins, 1878.

1900-1910 Community Context

In the margin of the 1910 Census is written Governor’s Bridge to Queen Anne, which suggests that the Lee family lived near the Patuxent river between Governor’s Bridge to the north and Queen Anne’s Bridge to the south.

The Paul Sharps family is a relative neighbor of the Lee family in both the 1900 and 1910 census. In 1900, Paul Sharps is listed on page 22 of the census, while the Lee family is listed on page 25. In 1910, Paul Sharps is on the same page as the Lee family.

Washington Lee is listed as the owner of the land in the 1910 Census, while Paul Sharps rents the land he is working.

The Selman family is listed on page 26. There are two Sellman families located near Governor’s Bridge on the 1878 map of District 1 of Anne Arundel. This suggests that the Lee family lived closer to Governor’s Bridge than to Queen Anne.

This area is roughly southeast of the modern day exchange of US Highways 301 and 50.

In both census records, the Parker family has numerous households in close proximity to the Lee family, prompting the research question if they are connected.

Hopkins, Griffith Morgan, Jr. Atlas of fifteen miles around Baltimore, including Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Philadelphia, 1878. Map. 

Further Research Needed:

  • What connections exist between the Parker family and the Lee family?
  • What records exist corroborate the census record that Washington Lee owned his property in 1910?
  • Where did the children live in the 1900 census?

Washington Lee | 1870 census

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