Joseph H Wilson (enslaver) – stories of Then

John Woodard (1821-1892)

John Woodard lived most of his life area between Sheriff Road and the current Central Avenue in Prince George’s County.

Prior to the Civil War it was Bladensburg District and after the war the district was divided and he lived in the part was christened Kent District.

He was married twice, first to Rachel Contee and second to Sarah Jones. He was drafted into the USCT and after the war, returned to his family and the land which he continued to labor for the profit of others, his life before and after emancipation connected to the white Wilson family that had been his enslavers.

USCT

He was drafted in July 1864, the Baltimore Sun listing him as “John Woodward, slave of Virginia Wilson“. The enlistment of Black men into the army was a matter of controversy in Maryland, as both slaveholders and non-slaveholders protested various directives and commands that first enlisted free Black men, which appeared to favor slaveholders by exempting the enslaved, and then the slaveholders protested the confiscation of their property. Ultimately, the slaveholders received compensation for their male slaves who enlisted (See Slavery and Freedom on the Middle Ground, Chapter 5).

Woodard’s service records notes that he “failed to report” and in Dec 1864, he was arrested in Prince George’s County and brought to John Woolley, provost marshal for Baltimore. Later in 1866, the charger of desertion was removed due to “Special Order 15” suggesting that Woodard had been prevented from reporting as opposed to actively resisting enlistment.

With the exodus of Black people from Maryland seeking freedom and with the enlistment of able male bodies, the number of men aged 20 to 45 were increasingly scarce and his enslavers may have resisted letting go of Woodard. A superintendent of Black recruitment in Maryland told his superiors “whenever the US gets a soldier, somebody’s plow stands still”. (Slavery and Freedom, page 126-127). John Woodward was one of three adult males (the other two were 18 years) claimed by Mortimer Wilson in the 1867 compensation lists.

*U.S., Colored Troops Military Service Records, 1863-1865*

The records show that William B. Galer was paid $30 for the “apprehension and delivery” of John Woodward to the army. This detail helps to support the idea that Woodward was prevented from reporting to his drafted enlistment.

Galer was a 26-year-old white man living Bladensburg according to the 1860 census. Galer was enumerated living in the household of his inferred mother (DN 681). They did not have listed property (real or personal). Mortimer L. Wilson was enumerated at DN 668 and his widowed mother, Amelia Wilson, at DN 719. Galer’s immediate neighbors were horse traders, hostlers and stage conductor, suggesting that they lived in Suitsville or Brightseat, which was situated between Lawrence and his mother on the 1878 Hopkins map of Kent District. Galer’s father had been listed as a wheelwright in the 1850 census.

After the war, Mortimer L. Wilson claimed $100 for the service of John Woodard in the 4th USCT Infantry Regiment.

Second Wife, Sarah Jones

John Woodard returned to his wife, Sarah, and his children after the war. In 1870, they are living near Philip Hill and Edward Magruder, two landowners connected to the Wilson family through marriages. This places Woodard and his family on Sheriff road which connected the District with Brightseat P.O.

In the 1870 Census they had four children:

Arthur Woodard, age 14
Matthew Woodard, age 12
Ellen Woodard, age 6
Michael Woodard, age 4

Sarah applied for a widow’s pension when John died in 1892. She included affidavits from William W. Wilson, the son of her husband’s enslaver and as well as two people who served as groomsmen and bridesmaid at her wedding ceremony in 1852. Nathan Thomas and Sallie Hickman served as the witnesses to the ceremony. They attested to the fact that she and John were married by Father Dietz at White Marsh, the Catholic Church near Priest’s Bridge and the Patuxent River.

Sallie Hickman and Sarah (Jones) Woodard were enslaved on the same estate by the Marsham Waring family. In 1900, Sarah (Sallie) Hickman was living with her son on Sheriff Road within the District of Columbia.

Although their enslavers allowed their marriage, they were enslaved on different estates. Sarah raised her children at Warington, the Marsham Waring estate while John remained on the Wilson estate with children from his first marriage.

First Wife, Rachel Contee

The affidavit by William W. Wilson names John’s first wife. He states in his message that “John Woodard was married before to one Rachel Contee and died in June 1848 on “Baltimore Manors” in Kent District, Prince George’s County, Maryland.”

Baltimore Manor was the name of the estate owned by the Wilsons for generations. It sat on the land that FedEx field currently sits on. William Wilson was the father of Washington Wilson, Margery Wilson and Joseph H Wilson and other children. When he died around 1817, portions of Baltimore Manor were bequeathed to Washington Wilson and Margery Wilson and other lands (among them Beall’s Pasture) was bequeathed to Joseph H Wilson, the father of Mortimer L. Wilson and William W. Wilson. Joseph H Wilson acquired portions of Baltimore Manor after the death of his brother, Washington Wilson, in 1825 and a chancery suit. (MHT)

Children of Rachel Contee and John Woodard

In 1867, Mortimer L Wilson claimed John Woodard along with Jeffrey and Eveline/Emeline Woodard, who were about two decades younger than him. Their position in the list and their ages suggests they are his children. The two additional children: Charles and Peggy are children of Eveline as evidenced by later census records.

Compensation List for Mortimer L Wilson | MSA

In 1858, Eveline/Emeline was listed with a William, age 12, and a Jeffrey, age 11 in the inventory for Joseph H. Wilson’s estate. Their grouping would bolster the suggesting that they are siblings. Based on the omission of William in the compensation lists, it would suggest that William was separated from his family by death or sale.

Inventory of Joseph H Wilson (1858 | WAJ 1:681) | MSA

Jeffery Woodard died in Jan 1907 and his death certificate names his parents as John Woodward and Rachel Contee. His estimated birth year of 1847 from the inventory suggests he was born shortly before the death of his mother.

In 1880, Arthur and Matthew Woodward are living with Emily [Emeline] and her husband, Edward Hamilton, and children in the District at 910 Delaware Ave. They are listed as her husband’s brother-in-laws.

Rachel Contee

Rachel Contee died around 1848 and before the inventory of Joseph H Wilson in 1858. She is not listed in the 1833 Personal Property Assessment for Joseph H Wilson, suggesting that he acquired her after 1833.

In 1841, Joseph H Wilson became indebted to Levi Sherrif for over $5000 dollars. Levi Sheriff was married to Joseph’s other sister, Matilda. As was common, Wilson used the people he enslaved as collateral for the loan. This was recorded in the land records (JBB 1:413). He listed John, age 20, [est BY 1821] which is consistent with John Woodward. He also listed Rachel, age 19, [est BY 1822]. Since Wm Wilson notated that she died on “Baltimore Manor” in the pension affidavit and since her age is similar to John’s in the indenture, this would suggests that this is Rachel Contee.

The Baltimore Sun |Tue, Mar 3, 1874 | Page 2 | newspapers.com
Death notice for the widow of Joseph H Wilson names Baltimore Manor.

William Wilson, the patriarch of the Wilson family, died in 1817 conveying the main tract of land to his son, Washington Wilson. In 1825, less than a decade later, Washington conveyed the tract to his son, James A Wilson, while Joseph H Wilson was named estate executor and guardian of his nephew. After the death of his nephew, he acquired the property which passed to his son, Joseph K Wilson.

Jane Colbert | Kendall Green

In May 1862, shortly after the emancipation of enslaved people in the District of Columbia, a large groups of enslaved people made their way to the District in order to be free. The newspapers are filled with reports with descriptions of men carrying and baggage from Loudoun County, Virginia, and armed groups coming for the District carrying weapons. On May 7, 1862, the Evening Star reported “the first arrests under the emancipation law were made this morning” when police arrested “two slaves who had run away from their masters in Prince George’s County, were on their way to the city and had crossed the District Line”.

Jane Colbert‘s husband, Daniel Colbert (Calvert) was named in affidavit seeking his return by James Waring, along with others from his estates. The people named, like Daniel had wives and partners living on other estates who were not named, and were likely part of the group that sough freedom in the district.

Their marriage was recorded by agents working for the Freedmen’s Bureau in 1867. They noted along with hundreds of other freedmen marriages and partnerships. Daniel Colbert and Jane Dorsey were married in 1859 by a Jesuit Priest named Bague and had two children. In 1862, 5 months prior to their escape, they had their son, George W Colbert, baptized by the Jesuits at White Marsh.

Daniel Calvert was most likely born enslaved to Marsham Waring in Prince George’s County, the son of George Calvert and Amelia Jones. He was enslaved on Waring’s Chelsea estate and while Jane Dorsey was likely enslaved by the Hall family on their nearby estate. Both slaveholding families were Catholic and multiple people they enslaved were married by Jesuit Priests and had their children baptized.

On 20 January 1868, “Jane Colbert” is recorded in the Freedmen’s Bureau records as living in the Kendall Green Barracks and receiving supplies. Her age and relationship to others is not noted in the document. The Barracks had suffered a fire in mid January, as reported by the Daily Morning Chronicle.

The names Mary Dorsey and Malvina Jones are also recorded on the list, suggesting the possibility that there may be a connection between Jane Colbert and the larger Calvert-Dorsey-Jones kin group. While Mary Dorsey has an extremely common given name, Malvina is a more unusual given name and may be used to show a connection between the individuals at Kendall Green and the kin group.

Malvina Jones, age 34, was claimed by Miss Mary Cornelia Wilson, the daughter of Joseph H. Wilson, in the 1867 Compensation Lists. The Wilsons owned land near Marsham Waring, who enslaved Daniel Calvert. Waring and Wilson enslaved other people who partnered, e.g., John Woodward and Sallie Jones.

Two children of Malvina Jones were baptized in the 1850s. In 1854, Cornelia “Johns”, daughter of Will. Johns and Livana “Ahlens”, “property of Jos. Wilson”, was baptized by the priests of White Marsh. In 1859, Richard Jones, son of William and Livinia Jones, was baptized by the priests of White Marsh; no enslaver was noted. William Jones, named in the baptismal records, is a brother of Amelia Jones, Daniel Colbert’s sister.

Like Daniel, Waring listed him in the 1862 affidavit. In 1864, William Jones, age 45, is listed in the Freedmen’s Bureau Records as a refugee from Prince George’s County living in Camp Springfield with multiple other names from the 1862 affidavit. In 1870, William Jones and his wife Malvina Jones were enumerated living in Ward 6, which is on the eastern side of the City near Kendall Green. While the 1870 Census does not lists specific street addresses, the Jones family was enumerated at DN 1533; Ignatius Tabbs was enumerated at 1538 and was also listed in the 1871 City Directory as living at 324 15th NE, near Howard’s Row and Tennessee Avenue. This connects with an 1872 address for Daniel Colbert. Daniel Colbert is listed in the City Directory (66 Howard’s Row NE), living close to William and Malvina Jones’ inferred address. Daniel Calvert is not listed in the 1870 census in their neighborhood.

Both Sallie Jones Woodward and William Jones are inferred siblings of Amelia Jones, the mother of Daniel Calvert and were enslaved by the Warings, like Daniel. The presence of both Malvina Jones and Jane Colbert on the same list suggests that Jane may be Daniel Calvert’s partner, and suggesting that she too escaped to DC.

Eliza Stewart

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.

Elizabeth Jones & Sally Woodard | Runaway

On August 29, 1858, Elizabeth Jones and Sally Woodward were committed to the DC Jail as runaways by S. W. Chipley. They were released to “Marshall Warren” two days later, on August 31.

In Chocolate City, the authors details that the Jail was built in 1839 and sits where the National Building Museum now sits. In the decades before the Civil War, the DC Jail was in the northeast corner of the block, near 4th and G, with the Tiber Creek trickling behind it. The building was known as the “Blue Jug” for the color of its walls and was three-stories of barred windows and stone cells and iron cages.

Secrets of the prison-house–the black hole of Washington, D.C. / from sketches made on the spot by our special artist, Mr. A. Lumley | loc.gov

In 1861, The Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper ran an article entitled “Persecution of Negroes in the Capitol-Astounding Revelations” (28 Dec 1861). One of the people quoted in the article describe the conditions of the jail:

“I find incarcerated in the city jail in this city, in the midst of filth, vermin and contagious diseases, on a cold stone floor, many without shoes, nearly all without sufficient clothing, bedding or fire, and all in half-starving condition, 60 colored persons, male and female, confined because — in the language of their commitments — they were suspected of being runaways, and no proofs had been adduced that they were not runaways.

The man who captured Elizabeth Jones and Sally Woodward was a police officer who likely patrolled the Island. This suggests that Elizabeth and Sally had made it across the Eastern River from Prince George’s County and into the District near the southern side of the Mall.

Samuel N. Chipley was recorded in the 1860 Census as a policeman living in Ward 7, who had been a County Constable in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1850. He was elected for County Constable for several years in Alexandria. By 1858, he is working in the District. The Daily National Intelligencer announced his commission as a police officer in the Seventh Ward in July 1858. The 1858 City Directory lists the address for Samuel L. Shipley as 124 C South, on the Island and southwest of the Capitol. He died in 1887, and was buried in Alexandria, Virginia.

The women were released after two days in the DC Jail to “Marshall Warren” which is likely an error and reference Marsham Waring.

Elizabeth Jones was likely the daughter of Joseph Jones and Barbara Ridout. In 1858, she would have been twelve years old. She escaped the Warings again in 1862 with her family when they fled to the District. They were listed in the Camp Barker registrations. In 1861, Lizy Jones and Notley Steward had her son Augustus baptized by the priests of White Marsh. No record of her after the 1862 escape has been found.

Sally Woodard was claimed by M. Virginia Mackubin, the daughter of Marsham Waring, on the compensation list submitted to the 1867 Commission on Slave Statistics for Prince George’s County. Mackubin had inherited the legal authority to enslave Sally when her father, Marsham Waring, died in 1860. Sally was listed in Waring’s Inventory as one of the people enslaved on the main estate, Warington. In the inventory, she had three children: Maria, age 8, Arthur, age 7, and an infant child.

In the 1870 Census, Sally is living in Bladensburg District of Prince George’s County, near the Zachariah Berry and Edward Magruder, and so along the boundary between Bladensburg and Queen Anne District and near the estates of the Warings.

She is living with her husband, John, and four children: Arthur (14), Matthews (12), Ellen (6), and Michael (4).

Mathew is likely the infant child based on a 1860 White Marsh record which records the baptism of Mathew, son of John and Sarah Woodward. Edward Wood sponsored the child.

John Woodard was claimed by Mortimer L. Wilson, on a compensation list submitted to the 1867 Commission on Slave Statistics. Mortimer was the eldest son of Joseph Hickman Wilson, who lived in Bladensburg District, near the border of Queen Anne District in Prince Geore’s County, Maryland in the antebellum years, before his death in 1857. He was the stepson of Amelia Violetta (Weems) Wilson, Jospeh Wilson’s second wife.

This contrasts with records related to the Civil War. In 1864, John Woodard was drafted and called into service with the USCT. His selection is announced in the 12 July 1864 edition of the Baltimore Sun, “John Woodward, slave of Virginia Wilson” (Amelia Virginia Wilson, was Mortimer’s step-sister). Woodard’s USCT Service records show that he did not report as order and was arrested; the charge of desertion was removed by Special Order #15. Additionally, the army considered him free as they did not receive papers for him on some muster rolls; others cited him as a slave. Mortimer Lawrence Wilson submitted an oath sewing that he was the master and owner, and that he was loyal to the United States in order to claim compensation for the enlisted slave. In 1892, Sarah Woodard filed a claim for a widow’s pension for her husband’s service in the A Unit of the 4 USCT Infantry.