Eliza Wood is the daughter of John Wood; both are listed in the 1853 Inventory of Robert Darnall Sewall [JH 2:699].
Eliza’s Children
In the 1853 Inventory, Eliza is 38 years old and listed with six children. Her children are about two years apart. She is not listed with a partner, unlike other family groups. This suggests that her partner was likely enslaved by another. If Martha Ann is her oldest, then she began to have children when she was 26.
| Name | Age | Est BY | Identified Name Connections |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martha Ann | 12 | 1841 | |
| Henny | 10 | 1843 | |
| John Robert | 8 | 1845 | John is the name of Eliza’s father |
| Mary Jane | 6 | 1847 | |
| Fanny | 4 | 1849 | Fanny is the name of Eliza’s grandmother |
| Phillis | 1 | 1852 | Phillis is the name of Eliza’s mother |
After Emancipation
Eliza and some of her children are identified in the US Federal Census as still living in close proximity to Poplar Hill after emancipation in 1870 and 1880. I have yet to locate John Robert and Mary Jane.
“Poplar Hill” can be identified on the 1863 Martenet Map of Prince George’s County by the name H(enry) Dangerfield, the guardian of Sewall’s nieces who inherited land from Sewall. Immediately south of Woodyard in the north part of Surrats District, the road leading south to Surratsville (present-day Clinton) cut the land into two pieces.
Martenet labeled a Mill near Henry Dangerfield and the Woodyard intersection. This mill can be identified in the 1870 Census as dwelling number 21, with Head of Household Henry Tarman who was identified as a Miller. Immediately enumerated after him is Annie Marshall in dwelling number 22. She is the mother of WH Marshall who is named on the map and who had moved out of state after the Civil War.
Households 23-32, 35-42, 47-49 are freed Black families who have names with connections to the 1853 Inventory. The enumerator appears to have followed the road south from Woodyard and then turned right [northwest] onto the road to the Jenkins property.
Members of the Eliza Wood family are enumerated among these households.
Eliza & ‘Feles’ with grandchildren
In the 1870 census, Eliza is listed as the head of household with her occupation listed as “keeping house”, a phrase usually reserved for a woman taking care of her own house (as opposed to “domestic” which indicated work as a servant). There is no indication of a partner. She is living with ‘Feles’, age 19, likely to be Phillis who was one in the 1853 inventory, and two children: Susanna Johnson, age 7, and Fannie Johnson, infant.
They are listed in dwelling number 26.
Phillis was married in 1870; the officiant McDonald, was a priest for the Catholic Church. She married James Clarke in September. James was listed in dwelling number 25 of the 1870 census.
Martha Ann & Charles Johnson
In 1870, Martha and Charles are not found in the US Federal Census, though to of their children are listed with Eliza (Susanna and Fannie). This suggests that they either lived separated from the Wood family, or the enumerator only listed those “at home” at the time of the record, rather than asking about additional family members.
In 1880, Eliza is living with the Charles Johnson household (dwelling number 173). She is listed as a “Cook”. She likely worked for a private family. She may work for the same private family as her granddaughter, Christiana, age 16, who is listed as a servant. They are living adjacent to the Tenley family and Walters Family, both white. James Walters is indicated on the 1878 Hopkins map of Surratts District, allowing us to identify their residence in 1880.
On the same Census page, James and Phillis (Wood) Clarke are listed. They are listed with three grandchildren: Rose, James, and Agustus.
James Wood
Between the two Wood families in the 1880 census, sits James Wood, age 45. He is living with his wife, Annie, and their children: Eliza, Catherine, Edward, Nancy, Susanna, and Martha.
| Name | Age | Est BY | Identified Name Connections |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eliza A | 16 | 1866 | Possibly named after Eliza Wood, subject of post |
| Catherine A | 13? | 1867 | Possibly named after Eliza’s sister, Kitty |
| Edward H | 9 | 1871 | [Not discussed in this post and “Ned” is a name that will repeat in generations of Woods] |
| Nancy | 7 | 1873 | |
| Susanna | 4 | 1876 | [Not discussed in this post and “Susanna” is a name that will repeat in generations of Woods] |
| Martha | 2 | 1878 | Possibly named after Eliza’s oldest identified daughter. |
The relationships of James Wood with Eliza Wood is unclear. The names of his children and his geographic proximity suggests a kin relationship.
If he is Eliza’s son, he would have been born around 1835 and he would have been older than the children listed in the 1853 Inventory. She would have been 20 when he was born which is within her child-bearing years.
It is possible, that he was sold as a teenager to a local enslaver, when Sewall needed ready cash. He was a reputed drinker and gambler. Berry, in The Price for Their Pound, describes how the teen years were when most separations from families occurred, as the children were older and able to perform heavy labor. “Most of the [enslaved people] sold in the Upper South were teenagers and young adults”. [p. 66]
In 1870, James and Ann are living in the Marlboro District with his two daughters, Eliza and Catherine and other freed people who appear unrelated (John King, Robert Smith, Henry Harley, Washington Marlow, Catherine Beall).
Henny
Henny, Eliza’s second oldest daughter, is listed with as the head of household of dwelling number 23 in the 1870 census. The enumerator records her as living with Lewis Brown, age 45.
Based on her listed occupation, “Domestic”, and that females were rarely listed as head of household if there was an older male, I propose the possibility that the enumerator miss identified the household. I suggest that Henrietta Wood, Domestic, age 28, should have been listed with the previous household, and Lewis should be head of household of his own house. If this is the case, then she would have been working the household of Annie Marshall, who lived in a dwelling house adjacent to the “Poplar Hill” tract of land.
Three years later, she married John H Jackson, in a ceremony officiated by Walsh. She and John moved to Rosaryville, nearby, and lived there with her children. They are living near the children of Charles and Susan (Wood) Brown, discussed in the post on William Hannibal Gantt Brown. Susan is like Henrietta’s great-aunt, as identified in the 1821 inventory [TT 4:352].
Sources
Berry, Daina R. The Price for Their Pound of Flesh: The Value of the Enslaved, from Womb to Grave, in the Building of a Nation. United States: Random House Inc, 2018. Print.
stories of Then 