In 1830, Eliza Stewart was held in the prison in Washington County, District of Columbia. She was listed as 16 years old, wearing a country cloth frock, linen shift, and coarse shoes.
Burr, the jailor, advertised for her return to her enslaver: Joseph Wilson living near Bladensburg in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
(Daily National Intelligencer, DC, 12 April 1830)
From the age in the advertisement, she would have had an estimated birth year of 1814. Approaching puberty and her child-bearing years, it would have been an anxious time for Eliza Stewart. Enslavers often sold adolescents as the market valued the labor extracted from people aged 14 to 40. And as enslavers valued women who could be breeders to increase their chattel, the likelihood of sexual assault grew as well. While the advertisement omits much about her specific motivations, freedom from a system that reduce her to property and subject to abuse would motivate many to seek liberation.
Three years later in 1833, enslavers in Prince George’s County had their personal property assessed and the names of the people they enslaved were listed in the tax books. Joseph H Wilson had two women who were named with the diminutive “Bet“. One was given the external market appraisal value of $60, the other $120. These values, imposed on the women by men who commodified their bodies as property, allow us to estimate their age in 1833.
Elizabeth (Bet), appraised at $60, is likely either a small child between the ages of 3 and 6 or an elderly woman between the ages of 50 and 60. She was the first female listed which suggests that she was one of the oldest women on the estate. Usually at this age, the enslaved were no longer forced to labor in the fields, rather they took on labor roles that could be considered caretaker roles: cooks, nurses, midwives, seamstresses, caretakers of children. This Elizabeth is unlikely to have been the much younger Eliza Stewart who escaped to the District.
Elizabeth (Bet), appraised at $120, was likely between 6-10 years old, almost a full decade younger than the Eliza advertised in 1830.
This suggests that Eliza may not have returned to Wilson and instead was likely sold with other captured Black people into the domestic slave market, as the District was central to the forced migration of enslaved people from the Chesapeake Slave Society to the Deep South and the cotton plantations.
Joseph H. Wilson, the enslaver of Eliza Stewart, was married to Amelia Virginia Weems in 1825, five years prior to Eliza’s capture in 1830. Her brother, Nathanial Chapman Weems, Jr., owned a cotton plantation in Rapides Parish in Louisiana, after he migrated from Maryland to the Louisiana in the 1830s. While his migration was after the personal property assessment and the advertisement, it suggests the possibility that she was removed from Maryland and sent south.
Eliza Stewart is of interest due to her family name. The slave-holding Wilson family owned property in Prince George’s County near Northhampton, the Sprigg estate as well Marsham Waring and Benjamin Lee’s estates. Marsham Waring and Benjamin Lee both enslaved members of the Stewart family. Waring enslaved James Stewart, born around 1805, as well as Patrick and Notley who were born later in the 1820s. Eliza Stewart, with an estimated birth year of 1814, could be a sister or cousin of the Stewarts enslaved by Waring.
This post explores the possibility that Robert Stewart is the patriarch of branch of the Stewart Family Group enslaved by Marsham Waring near Buena Vista and Woodmore along the border of Bladensburg and Queen Anne Districts in Prince George’s County.
Background Information
Marsham Waring died in 1860 and in the inventory of his estates are three adult males named James, Patrick and Notley. The men are enumerated with round ages of 50, 40, 30, suggesting that the listed ages are not precise ages, rather estimated. After the Civil War, the heirs of Marsham Waring submitted compensation lists to the 1867 Commission on Slave Statistics in hopes of being compensated for the emancipation of their “personal property”. While compensation never occurred, the lists provide the given and family name of people enslaved; the three men are listed with the family name Stewart.
During the Civil War, Patrick and NotleyStewart escaped Prince George’s County for the District of Columbia, where slavery had been abolished in 1862 with their extended kin group. James Waring, the son of Marsham Waring, filed an affidavit seeking the return of the refugees to his captivity in May 1862.
The relationship between James [est. 50 | 1810] and the other two men, Patrick and Notley, has been ambiguous due to a lack of definitive records stating a relationship between the men and due to the rounded ages. The thirty year gap between James and Notley leaves open the possibility of a son-father relationship, brother-brother relationship, uncle-nephew relationship, and no doubt other less likely relationships.
Post-Civil War records for Patrick Stewart are ambiguous as there are multiple Patricks with a wide range of birth years. A post seeking to differentiate between the Patricks and connect them with the appropriate branch of the Stewart Family Group is forthcoming.
White Marsh Baptism
Notley Stewart was baptized in 1829 by the Jesuit Priests at White Marsh, a plantation maintained by the Catholic Church near Priest’s Bridge in Queen Anne District, Prince George’s County.
Notley, son of Robert & Ann, his wife slave of Massin [Marsham] Waring, aged 4 months. Sponsor Amelia. JS
April 19, 1829
The baptismal record identifies the parents of Notley Stewart as Robert and Ann and does not mention James. This record removes the possibility that James is Notley’s father leaving open the two possibilities 1. that James and Notley are brothers, or 2. Robert and James are brothers, making Notley the nephew of James.
The baptismal records cover 1819-1833; they do not include James’ baptismal record as he was born prior to the extant records.
1833 Personal Property Assessment
In 1833, the tax assessors for Prince George’s county compiled a list that included the “Proprietors” Name (property owner) with the names of the people they enslaved and the enslaved person’s assessed property value. These values were determined by their gender and age range. For example, males age 50-60 were assessed at $100 and females age 50-60 were assessed at $60.
Marsham Waring’s property list includes the names of Robert, James, Patrick, and Notley.
Name
Value
Age Range
Birth Year Range
Robert (Bob)
$100
50-60
1773-1783
James (Jim)
$400
18-30
1803-1815
Patrick
$250
10-15
1818-1823
Robert
$150
6-10
1823-1827
Notley
$60
3-6
1827-1830
James (Jim)
$350
15-18 or 35-40
1815-1818 or 1793-1798
1833 Personal Property Assessment for Marsham Waring, 2nd District | Maryland State Archives
James Stewart was enumerated in the 1870 and 1880 US Federal Census. In 1870, he was listed as 63 years old, with an estimated birth year of 1807; in 1880, he was 70 with an estimated birth year of 1810. This allows us to reasonably identify James Stewart as the James (Jim) valued at $400.
Notley’s inclusion in the assessment list is consistent with the information recorded in the White Marsh Baptismal Record; he is valued as a toddler who was born around 1830. His father, Robert from the White Marsh record, is most likely Robert (Bob) valued at $100, as this value allows us to estimate his age as 50-60. The other Robert is valued at $150, allowing for an estimated age of 6-10; he is likely a brother of Notley.
Robert (Bob), between 50 and 60 years old, would have been born during the Revolutionary War (1773-1783). He is old enough to be the father of James, Patrick, Robert and Notley.
At 50-60 years old, Robert (Bob) would already be considered an elderly man. He most likely was no longer used in the fields and instead was laboring as a body servant, gardener or caretaker. As one of the older men on the estate, he was likely a source of stability and wisdom for the younger enslaved family and friends. See Daina Ramey Berry, The Price for Their Pound of Flesh for a discussion of the lives of elderly enslaved people.
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 by Marsham Waring and his children were enslaved by Dr. Benjamin Lee. Both slaveholders owned extensive property in Queen Anne District and were brother-in-laws. They also both died during the Civil War, and the inventories of their estate help to identify the family groups.
The 1863 Inventory of Lee’s estate (WAJ 3:127) allows for the identification of other children of James Stewart. As explored in another post, Jim was identified as James Stewart, Jr.
In 1832, James Stewart and Suky had their son, James, baptized by the priests of White Marsh. James (Sr.) was identified as enslaved by Marsham Waring and Suky was identified as enslaved by Dr. Lee.
In the inventory excerpt, there is a child, Susan, 2 months old, that is likely the daughter of Betty, age 18, and grandchild of James Stewart as they are listed between other children of James Stewart also identified in the 1870 census. The name Susan is also used by Sarah Stewart, the daughter of James Stewart. This repetition suggests that the name is significant to the family and is consistent with what was learned from the 1832 White Marsh Record, namely that James Stewart partnered with Suky, or Susan. Sukey (and numerous variations) was a diminutive of Susan.
In 1854, Susana Steward sponsored the baptism of Christina Johns [Jones], the daughter of Joseph and Barbara Jones, who were enslaved by Marsham Waring.
The names in the inventory give hint to Susana Stewart’s age. The ages range from 29 to 3; though the baptism of James in 1832 suggests that the ages are slightly off. If we estimate that Susana began having children around 1830 and that Notley was her last child in 1860, this would suggest a typical child-bearing range of 30 years when women were approximately 15 to 45 years old, allowing us to estimate that Susana was born around 1815.
In 1929, Patrick Stewart, age 84, died of a stomach ailment. His son, J. T. Stewart, furnished the information for the death certificate for the District of Columbia records.
Patrick Stewart, age 84, was the son of Patrick Stewart and Mary Ridout. He was born around the year 1845, twenty years prior to the emancipation of the enslaved in Maryland, where he and his parents were born into chattel slavery.
Enslaved by John E Berry
In 1867, John E Berry, of Bladensburg in Prince George’s County, Maryland, submitted a list to the Commission of Prince George’s County Slave Statistics of the people he enslaved prior to emancipation in hopes of compensation from the federal government. Among those he listed were Patrick Stewart, age 20 and Mary Stewart, age 38.
While we do not have an age for Mary from the death certificate, the ages of the two Patricks are consistent with each other, both are born around 1845 — and Mary, the other Stewart, is old enough to have borne Patrick as her son.
The identification of Patrick’s mother as Mary Ridout opens up a line of inquiry about whether or not Mary Ridout is connected to the Stewarts of the Waring estates and to the Ridouts enslaved in and around the Waring estates.
The connected posts discuss the details of this diagram more fully
Seat Pleasant
In the post on Barbara Jones’ connection to the Ridout family, we saw that Peter and Priscilla Ridout moved to the boundary between DC and Maryland, near Charles H Hays and we saw that Margaret (Peggy) Ridout and her daughter moved into the household of Geo R Wilfred Marshall, also near the boundary of DC and Maryland. The two families essentially bookend the area where Mary Stewart and her son Patrick are enslaved.
In the 1880s, Patrick Stewart purchased Lot #5 of the Seat Pleasant subdivision. The land contained about 10.5 acres. He paid $350 for the lot.
It sat on the former land of John E Berry, Jr. Berry, Jr., who purchased “Seat Pleasant” from his relative Thomas E Berry. At the close of the Civil War, the land was sold to real estate developers who created the town of Seat Pleasant. Berry’s father, Dr. John E Berry, Sr., had a nearby plantation called Independence, and Berry’s brother, Albert B Berry had a farm called Sunnyside in addition to his other real estate holdings. The survey of Seat Pleasant was completed in 1873. In addition to detailing the lots, it marks what is likely the Seat Pleasant dwelling house and marks several cabins on the land, which may have be slave dwellings occupied by freedmen after emancipation.
In the 1870 census, Patrick and his wife, Lidia, are living with their three daughters: Mary E [1864], Margaret [1866], and Rachel [1868]. By 1880, they have five more children: William [1870], Daniel [1872], John Thomas [1874], Jane E [1876], and Christiana [1880]. The name of their last daughter, Christiana illustrates the connection with the Ridout family. As seen, Barbara Ridout Jones had both a sister and daughter named a variation of Christiana.
Mary Ridout Stewart
Mary Ridout Stewart was living next door to her son, Patrick, in the 1870 census in the household of George and Grace Johnson and their children.
1870 Census for Bladensburg District in Prince George’s County | ancestry.com
This leads us to the suggestion that Grace is Mary’s daughter and Patrick’s sister.
Like Mary and Patrick Stewart, George Johnson was enslaved by John E Berry. The two men likely worked the tobacco fields of Seat Pleasant, first as enslaved men and then as tenant farmers.
Unlike the Patrick and George who were held in bondage on a large tobacco estate, Grace and her children were enslaved by a farmer, Charles H Hays, who likely grew produce for the Washington markets. Hay’s farm was north of Seat Pleasant, along the DC border, where Peter and Priscilla moved after the war.
When large estates were often valued above $10,000, Hay’s farm was valued at $2000. Farms were smaller in this part of Prince George’s County and often grew other products instead of tobacco. In 1864, Charles Hays advertised a reward of $5 for a cow that had strayed. Upon his death, his farm of 105 acres was advertised for sale; the soil was described as well adapted for grazing and market gardening. The land had a dwelling of six rooms and a tenement house of three rooms.
The 1860 Slave Schedule lists 8 enslaved people for Hays, and Hays submitted the names of 10 people whom he enslaved. In addition to Grace and her children, Hays enslaved Letty Hanson, age 25. Her first name is phonetically similar to that of Lidia, Patrick’s wife.
By 1880, Mary Ridout Stewart and her husband, Patrick Stewart, are living together in the household of Patrick Stewart and Lidia with their children. Patrick (Jr.) has yet to buy the land in Seat Pleasant. From neighboring houses, it appears that they are living near Buena Vista near the Waring Estates, in the newly created Kent District along the boundary with Queen Anne District and near close and extended family.
Dwelling Number
Relative
Relationship to Mary Ridout
253
Patrick Stewart (Sr.)
Husband
253
Patrick Stewart (Jr.)
Son
258
Grace Johnson
Daughter
247
Michael Jones
Son of Barbara’s brother-in-law
244
Bettie Fletcher
Barbara’s sister in law
92
Geo Stewart
Inferred Nephew, as he is son of James Stewart
The table lists the dwelling numbers of people related within the extended kin group of Mary Ridout. Dwellings 253 & 258 are members of her immediate family and include her children. Dwellings 247 and 244 are members of the Jones family that Barbara Ridout, Mary’s inferred sister, partnered with. Elizabeth (Bettie) Fletcher was the daughter of Richard and Mary Jones. And dwelling 92, which can be identified as being in the geographic vicinity as it is neighboring Jos. K Roberts house is the household of George Stewart, the son of James Stewart.
James Stewart was listed in Marsham Waring’s 1860 inventory with Notley Stewart, who fathered Barbara Ridout Jones’s grandchild, Augustus Jones. Also listed with James and Notley was Patrick Stewart. During the Civil War and shortly after the abolition of slavery in the District, Patrick and Notley fled to DC with many others from the Waring estates. James Waring, as administrator of his father’s estate, went to the District to seek their return, swearing an affidavit that they were from Maryland and therefore subject to his enslavement. Records of Patrick Stewart are not found, though records of the others in Camp Barker and Camp Springdale have been found. Likewise, Patrick in the 1870 census has yet to be identified. However, it appears he reunited with his family by 1880.
What connection if any does James Stewart have to the enslaved of Notley Young of Prince George’s County?
After emancipation in 1864, James Stewart and many of his children, including Notley Stewart, stayed on the lands of Dr. Benjamin Lee in Queen Anne District in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Annotated Excerpt from 1861 Martenet Map of Prince George’s County | loc.gov
Prior to emancipation, Stewart had been forced to labor for Marsham Waring’s estates, while his children labored on the estates on the Lee. Waring and Lee were brother-in-laws. Inventory records for Marsham (WAJ 2:321) and the post-emancipation records of the 1870 and 1880 records suggests that James was born a few years after 1800, and about a decade after Marsham Waring.
The name “Notley” has been used by multiple generations of the Stewart family — and one possible source for the given name is from the enslaver Notley Young. Other members of the Stewart family used names that were aligned to their (former) enslaver. For example, James’ son and daughter-in-law, George and Rebecca Stewart had daughters named Violetta and Eleanora, both names in common with the wives of Waring and Lee. Sarah (Sallie) Stewart and her husband Washington Lee named one of their sons, Benjamin, giving him both a given and surname that matches Sarah’s former enslaver, Dr. Benjamin Lee. The use of Notley in the family suggests a connection with a (former) enslaver named Notley, i.e., Notley Young.
There are three Notley Youngs in three successive generations:
Notley Young (I) who died in 1802. His estates and property were located within the parts of Prince George’s County that would become the District of Columbia.
Notley’s (I) son, Notley Young (II), a priest with connections to the Jesuits, Georgetown University and the White Marsh plantation along the Patuxent.
Notley’s (I) grandson, Notley Young (III), son of Benjamin Young. Notley Young (III) married Eleanor Hall, his second cousin, and lived in Queen Anne District, before dying in 1846.
In the 1828 Tax List for Prince George’s County, Notley Young (III) owned practically 735 acres of land in the Collington & Western Branch Hundreds, from which part of Queen Anne District would become. Both Waring and Lee owned property before the Civil War along the Western Branch, which divided the two hundreds.
Map of part of the city of Washington shewing the situation of the mansion house, grave yard & buildings belonging to Mr. Notley Young : original proprietor of that part of the city. | loc.gov
View of the city of Washington in 1792. | loc.gov
Inheritance
There are three ways to acquire an enslaved person: 1. purchase, 2. inheritance/gift, or 3. natural “increase”, i.e., claiming ownership of the children of enslaved women.
James Stewart was born prior Marsham Waring acquiring his father’s estate, who died in 1813. On his inventory, there was a child called Jim (James) age 12 with an estimate birth year of 1801, which is consistent with calculated birth years from the later documents. This suggests that Marsham Waring (Sr.) conveyed James along with his other property to Marsham Waring (Jr.) of the 1860 Inventory, and opens the line of inquiry of how Marsham Waring (Sr.) acquired him.
Purchase from Notley Young, Sr.
Notley Young’s grandfather died in 1802. Included in his inventory is a James age 3, who would have been born in 1799. This is within two years of the age on the 1813 inventory of Marsham Waring (Sr.) After making some specific bequeathals to his wife and for his real estate, Young’s grandfather divided his personal estate (including his chattel) to be equally divided among his five identified children/grandchildren.
As noted on the family tree, a cousin of Notley Young (II) is George Washington Young, who inherited his father’s estate Nonesuch along the Eastern Branch (what would become known as Anacostia) and within the District of Columbia. When the District abolished slavery in 1862, G. W. Young filed a claim for compensation for his “loss” that included a “Stuart” family group.
This suggests that the Young family had enslaved members of the Stewart/Stuart Family group, perhaps even the one that James Stewart came from.
It is possible that the heirs of Notley Young sold James and separated him from his family, sending him to Marsham Waring (II) and his estates. Both Marsham Waring (II) and Notley Young were involved in the creation of the District of Columbia and engaged in business together. In the 1830s, their heirs were sued as together they had put up sureties for Thomas S Lee and a loan he had taken from Charles Carroll of Carrollton (Charles Carroll of Carrollton vs. Marsham Waring, et al June 1832).
White Marsh Baptism Record
In 1832, the enslaved population of Waring and Lee grew through “natural increase”, the term enslavers used to conflate the language they used to talk about their livestock and their enslaved people, dehumanizing the latter. James “Stuart” and Susan (Suky) had their son, James, baptized by the priests of White Marsh, the Jesuit Catholic plantation near Priest’s Bridge which also enslaved numerous people.
The baptism record notes that James (Sr.) was enslaved by “Master” Warring and that Susan (Suky) was enslaved by Dr. Lee in Marlborough. The record also notes the sponsor/godmother as a person enslaved by Notley Young, mostly likely Notley Young (III) based on the year of the baptism. The name was transcribed as “__rvelide?”.
“Content” | wikipedia.com Dr. Benjamin Lee lived in this house in Upper Marlboro from 1821-1844 before moving to his estate in Queen Anne District. This is where Suky and her children most likely labored.
It is probable that the sponsor for the baptism of James and Suky’s son is a relative of either James or Suky, as godparents are usually chosen from within a kinship group, and therefore suggesting a connection between the Notley Young estates and James Stewart’s kinship group.
Reconstructing the Transcribed Name
My source document provides the typed transcription without access to the handwritten record of the priest, leaving the reader to guess at how the the transcriber interpreted the name. To complicate matters, the priests of White Marsh were not also fluent with Anglo-American names or the diminutives used by the enslaver and so there is often non-traditional spelling. With that in mind, the following three items helped to narrow the possibilities.
The transcriber noted it was a godmother, therefore looking for women’s names
The index to White Marsh Book 4 provides three plus page list of names of given names used by the priests, providing a sampling of names used during this time period by enslavers and enslaved.
The final syllable “-ide”
These three items helped to identify Adelaide and its variations as a probable given name for the godmother. Another possibility includes names like Emeline and its variations, though Matilda and Cornelia are also likelihoods.
Of note, on the same page, a Adelaide was noted as a person enslaved by Benjamin Young, likely Notley Young’s brother. She had a son, Alexander who was baptized the same year as James. In 1818, Sandy [Alexander] and Adelaide were married at White Marsh with the permission of their enslaver, though the record does not note their enslaver. That said, the repetition of Alexander and Sandy in both records suggests that Adelaide and Alexander married and had a son, named for his father, Alexander.
A 1821 records provides more insight into the Alexander + Adelaide family group. Francis and Moses Sandy were baptized in 1821, as one-day old sons of Sandy and Adelaide Cosy, servants of Mr. Benj. Young. In 1817, Peter Corsey escaped from Notley Young, he may be related to the Cosy’s of Benjamin Hall.
A review of the 1809 Inventory (TT 1:321) for the estate of Benjamin Young (the son of Notley Young (I) and the father of Notley Young (II) and Benjamin Hall Young provided a possible family group for Adelaide. The Inventory appears to be groups in families, as a few adults will be named then children, then adults and children again. The group identified occurs near the beginning of the inventory. The list includes a Suck, a name variation for Susan; though Susan was an extremely common name for the enslaved communities of Prince George’s County.
Name
Age in Inventory
Estimated Birth Year
Dolly
32
1777
Eliza
21
1788
Suck
15
1794
Louisa
12
1797
Adelaid
10
1799
Harry
12
1797
John
10
1799
Billey
10
1799
Maria
4
1805
Chrissy
5
1804
Edward
3
1806
Ned
4
1805
Robert
2
1807
Tentative Conclusion
The circumstantial evidence suggests that James Stewart came to the Waring family from the Young family.
The use of Notley as a given name within the Stewart Family
The presence of a James on the 1802 Notley Young (I) Inventory
The inclusion of other Stewart family groups on the Compensation List for G. W. Young
The presence of a White Marsh baptism record which indicates a godmother from the Notley Young estate for James Stewart’s son, James (Jr.)
Did James (Jim) Stewart (b. about 1800) have a son named James Stewart?
James Stewart, Senior
James Stewart (Sr.) was living in Queen Anne District of Prince George’s County after emancipation in 1864. He was residing near the estate of Dr. Benjamin Lee who had died during the war.
He lived with his inferred children, George, Mary (Polly), Sarah (Sallie), and Notley as well as Peter Laxson (Blackstone), and is neighbor to Philip Hanson and Beckie Stewart. The 1870 census record for James Stewart is best understood when compared to the 1880 census record for James Stewart, which identifies the relations between the households.
1870 Census with overlay of 1880 Census
Not present in the 1880 Census record are Sarah (Sallie) Stewart, who married Washington Lee in 1870 and established a separate household nearby and George and Rebecca (Beckie) Stewart who also established a separate household nearby.
The comparison of the two census records show however, that James Stewart was the head of a family with several adult children.
James Stewart, prior to Emancipation
In the 1870 Census, James Stewart and his children are enumerated directly after the heirs of Dr. Benjamin Lee and an overseer, suggesting that they lived near “Oak Hill”, the Lee estate.
1870 Census
Dr. Benjamin Lee was the brother-in-law of Marsham Waring. Both owned considerable amounts of property in the area. They married the daughters of Captain James Belt, who had bought parts of Chelsea from another branch of the Belt family and who conveyed the tracts to his daughters. Lee also acquired tracts of land from Northhampton, Partnership and other parcels. Waring also acquired land from nearby families, purchasing land from the Hillearys and the Bowies.
Lee and Waring died within a few years of each other. Marsham Waring died in 1860, and his wife in 1863. His probate records include an inventory (WAJ 2:323) with the names of the people enslaved on four separate estates. Benjamin Lee died in 1863 and also includes the names of those he enslaved (WAJ 3:127). Waring heirs, (his two daughters and son) had compensation lists submitted to the Commission on Slave Statistics which provided both a first and last name with an age for many. This allows us to identify the people on the Waring Inventory and which estate they were forced to labor on. Lee does not have a similar compensation list, and so identifying the people he enslaved requires more records to ensure identification of them.
James (Jim) Stewart is included in the Waring Inventory and in the list made by Waring’s daughter, Mrs. M. Virginia Mackubin [sic] for the Commission on Slave Statistics. In both documents he is listed as 50 years old. He labored for the Warings on the Warington Estate . He is the only James Stewart listed on the three compensation lists. The children in the inventory are not listed in the Waring inventories or compensation lists, rather they appear to be included in the 1863 Lee Inventory .
Lee’s inventory includes the names of James Stewart’s children as well as Mary’s oldest son, with ages that are comparable to the ones in the census. (As always there is some variability with ages for those enslaved, as the exact birth year is not always known by the enslaver or the person enslaved.)
Lee Inventory with overlay of 1870 Census
The Warings were Catholic and many of the people they enslaved were baptized by the priests of White Marsh, the Jesuit Plantation in Queen Anne District. The Early Records of White Marsh, Book Three contain baptismal records from 1853-1872.
In 1858, John Henson was baptized, the son of Nancy (Ann) Fletcher and James Stewart. The priests marked them “property of Marsham Waring.” Notley Stewart acted as a sponsor/godparent; this Notley Stewart is an older Notley, not the child in the 1870 Census. In the 1860 Inventory of Marsham Waring, listed two below James (Jim) Stewart, is Notley, age 30. He is also on the list submitted by M. Virginia Mackubin [sic].
In 1860, George Antony was baptized as James and Nancy Steward, with Elizabeth (Bezzie) Fletcher as sponsor/godmother.
Ann (Nancy) Fletcher was enslaved by the Warings on the estate “Heart’s Delight”, which was inherited by James Waring. She was included on James Waring’s compensation list, as was “child of Nancy” [George Antony] and John. Above her is Betsy, who may be the same Elizabeth (Bezzie) who stood as sponsor at the baptism of the infant.
Marsham Waring Inventory
With only the census record, it was an assumption that the James Stewart mentioned in these records was James Stewart (Sr.). However, a registration list from the Freedmen’s Bureau with an 1870 Census record from the District of Columbia suggests that the James Stewart of the baptismal records is not James Stewart (Sr.), rather James Stewart (Jr.).
Flight to the District of Columbia
After slavery was abolished in the District of Columbia in 1862, the people enslaved in the neighboring jurisdictions saw an opportunity to grab freedom for themselves. Despite the fact that the roads toward the District were monitored by constables and private patrols, many of the people forced to labor fled their captivity and made their way to the District. Barbara Jeanne Fields wrote in her book, Slavery and Freedom on the Middle Ground that “Many an ex-fugitive later reported having left Maryland for the District during or after the spring of 1862. Families packed up such of their possessions as could be compactly assembled and departed, sometimes appropriating means of transportation from their owners.” (111)
As such camps were built in and around the District to house the incoming refugees from chattel slavery. One such camp was Camp Springdale which was made up of tents on the grounds of the “Arlington Estate”, owned by Robert E Lee’s wife. At the start of the Civil War, the Union Army occupied the site and the soldiers gave protection to fleeing refugees. Other camps were built in and around the District.
A registration list for Camp Springdale lists its residents and their former residence along with whether or not they are married.
In March 1864, James Stewart appears to have been registered with a group of male refugees. On March 17, James is listed with other men with the surname Jones and a Dennis Fletcher. Dennis Fletcher also appeared on the 1860 Marsham Waring Inventory, after Nancy and her children. This suggests he is a younger brother of Nancy, and therefore brother-in-law of James. James is 33 years old.
Then, on March 19, a 33 year old James Stewart is listed with Nanny Stewart, and the children, John, George, and Francis. The ages of John and George are consistent with the ages in the baptisms. This suggests that James of the baptismal record is not James (Sr), rather James (Jr.)
The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC; Records of the Field Offices For the District of Columbia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1870; NARA Series Number: M1902; NARA Reel Number: 21; NARA Record Group Number: 105
A review of Benjamin Lee’s inventory shows a Jim, age 27, above the identified area that contained the other names of James (Sr.)’s children. His age is consistent with that of James (Jr) who gave his age as 33 to the registrar at Camp Springdale.
Lee Inventory
1870
After the war, James and Nancy stayed in the District of Columbia. They lived in Ward 5, with James working as a scavenger. They are living with Elizabeth Fletcher, age 23, who has a son, Louis.
Update
The White Marsh Baptismal Records Book 4 contains earlier baptism records than Book 3 (1819-1833) and contains a baptism record for James, born 1832, son of “James Stuart, slave of Master Warring” and “Suky, slave of Dr. Lee in Marlborough”. This would be consistent with the 33 year old James Stewart who escaped to the District of Columbia.
Washington Lee married Sallie Stewart in 1870. They were neighbors prior to their marriage. Sallie was living in the household of James Stewart.
Sources
1870 Census
Year: 1870; Census Place: Queen Anne, Prince Georges, Maryland; Roll: M593_592; Page: 212A; | ancestry.com
1880 Census
1880; Census Place: Queen Ann, Prince George’s, Maryland; Roll: 513;Page: 157A & B; | ancestry.com
1880; Census Place: Kent, Prince George’s, Maryland; Roll: 514; Page: 258A | ancestry.com
Summary Information
James Stewart is 63 years old, with an approximate birth year of 1807. He is living with four other Stewarts: Polly, age 29, Sallie, age 23, Geo, age 21, Notley, age 10. He has a lodger named Peter Laxton who is 38. He is living near two other households: the Henson household and the household of Beckie Stewart who has two children under the age of 10.
1880 Census
In 1880, James is living in the household of his daughter, Mary Hanson, who is most likely recorded as Polly Stewart in the 1870 census.
The 1880 Census suggests the Polly Stewart, age 29 is the same as Mary Hanson in the 1880 census and that she was the partner of Phillip Henson. Based on her children’s ages, it suggests that her husband died recently. It also confirms that Mary Hanson/Polly Stewart, Peter Blackston/Peter Laxson, and Notley Stewart are siblings, suggesting that they are siblings with the other adult children listed in the 1870 census.
Name
1870 Census Age
1880 Census Age
Notes
Polly Stewart | Mary Hanson
29
40
Polly is a diminutive for Mary The age is consistent
Wm. Henson
10
not listed
Catherine Henson
6
not listed
James
4
12
The age is consistent Same name as maternal grandfather
Louisa
2
10
The age is consistent
Philip
1
9
The age is consistent Same name as father
Thomas
infant
Annie
2
In the neighboring district, Kent’s, George Stewart is recorded with his wife and children. George Stewart, age 45, is married to Beckie Stewart, and their son Patrick, with their children born since 1870. This is consistent with the 1870 Census, in that Geo. Stewart was living in James’ household, and in a neighboring household was recorded Beckie with two children, including a toddler named Patrick.
Further Research Needed:
Review PG Slave Statistics for James Stewart and his children
Review PG Freedom Papers for individuals with Stewart, Blackstone and Hanson
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 