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.
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.
Joseph and Barbara had several children and lived on the Waring estates.
A White Marsh baptism record from 1854 gives a clue to her family before her union with Joseph. The priests recorded her family name as “Reyder”. Given the phonetic spelling of the priests who were not English, it suggests the possibility of Barbara being related to the Ridout family.
Peter and Priscilla Ridout, Inferred Brother
In the 1867 Commission on Slave Statistics, the estate for James Waring (dec.) submitted a compensation list that included other Ridouts:
Family Name
Given Name
Age
Ridout
Priscilla
37
Ridout
Eliza
22
Ridout
Henny
2
In the 1870 Census, Priscilla can be found in a household with Peter Ridout, which suggests that Priscilla’s family name is not Ridout, but adopted upon her union with Peter. Peter appears on a compensation list submitted by Violetta Sprigg, the widow of Samuel Sprigg, the former governor of Maryland. In 1870, Peter and Priscilla are living in Bladensburg, next door to Charles H Hays. They are also living within the vicinity of Alex McCormick, Barbara Jones’ neighbor in 1870.
1870 Census for Bladensburg District, Prince George’s County | ancestry.com1861 Martenet Map of Prince George’s County with annotations marking McCormick, Hays, the Waring estate and the Sprigg estate | loc.gov
In 1880, Peter and Priscilla have moved into the District along Central Avenue, just as Joseph and Barbara have moved from McCormick’s farm to Central Avenue. Joseph and Barbara Jones are enumerated at household 169, while Peter and Priscilla are enumerated at household 171.
The likelihood of Peter and Barbara being siblings is based on a few things.
Joseph and Barbara named one of their sons Peter, who would continue to live in the District near Central Avenue into the 20th century. It would appear they named Peter after Barbara’s brother Peter.
Peter and Barbara’s estimated birth years: Barbara has an estimated birth year of [1829] based on the 1870 census, while Peter has an estimated birth year of [1817]. They are approximately 12 years apart; this difference falls within the range of a woman’s typical child-bearing years of 15-45 (or 30 years).
Their geographic proximity to each other both prior and after emancipation. They resided on neighboring estates and left the immediate vicinity of the estates after emancipation and lived near each other after emancipation.
Ridouts of Sprigg’s Northampton Estate
Violetta Sprigg submitted not only the name of Peter Ridout to the 1867 Commission on Slave Statistics, but also the names of other Ridouts.
Family Name
Given Name [Name]
Age
Ridout
James
50
Ridout
Peter
48
Ridout
Peggy [Margaret]
66
Ridout
Hanson
18
Ridout
Christianna [Christina]
25
Based on her age, Margaret (Peggy) Ridout is assumed to be the mother of the family group. The chart below was created to evaluate the likelihood that Margaret (Peggy) is the mother of the other Ridouts.
Using Margaret’s birth year, we can estimate her child-bearing years as when she was 15-45. In the 1870 census, Margaret (Peggy) Ridout is listed as 80 years old, which indicates it’s likely an estimated age, though it places her birth year as 1790. In the 1867 Prince George’s County Slave Statistics, she is 66, giving her an estimated birth year of 1801, a full decade later; while in Samuel Sprigg’s 1855 inventory, she is listed as 63, giving her an earlier estimated birth year of 1792, closer to her 1870 census age. For purposes of the chart, we will use the ages in the 1855 inventory, as it appears that the compiler of the compensation lists for the Prince George’s County Slave Statistics used the ages in the inventory.
Margaret is shown with her birth year mark and a line drawn to represent her child-bearing years, and her children’s estimated birth years are plotted as well. James and Peter appear to have been born toward the beginning of her child-bearing years while Christina was born later in her years. Henson falls outside of the 15-45 year range, though within a margin of error of five years.
In 1870, Margaret has also left the Sprigg estate and moved closer to the District. She is living in the household of [Geo R] Wilfred Marshall, a neighbor of Robert W. Brooke.
Annotated Excerpt of 1861 Martenet Map of Prince George’s County marking the Sprigg Estate and household of Robert W Brooke | loc.gov
Also living in the household is Christy Ann [Christina] Beall. She is 35 years old with an estimated birth year of 1835, which suggests she is Christina (Christianna) Ridout, the inferred granddaughter of Margaret (Peggy) Ridout and is confirmed by her son’s death certificate. In 1911, Daniel Bell (Jr.) died in New York City, where he had migrated and was working as a driver. His death certificate lists his parents as Daniel Bell and Christina Ridout.
1870 Census for Bladensburg District, Prince George’s County | ancestry.com
In 1822, the priests of White Marsh recorded a baptism of Richard, the son of Richard Ridout and Margaret Brockx [sic]. The transcriber proposed the family name Briscoe in brackets. However, based on the family names of other people enslaved by the Spriggs in the 1867 Prince George’s County Slave Statistics, I suggest the surname Brookes. This will be explored further in a different post.
Patterns in Given Names
When looking at the given names of the enslaved, it is ambiguous who gave the name. Was it the parents, or was it the enslaver?
When looking at names of those born within the 18th century, and especially earlier in the century when Maryland planters were importing larger numbers of Africans to labor on their fields, it is more likely the names were imposed on the Africans by the Marylanders. In later generations, especially after the abolishment of the international slave trade in 1808, the names originally given by the Marylanders to the first generation of African appear to be given to their African-American descendants by their parents and grandparents as a way of marking kin groups within a world that cared little for their families and relationships.
The identified generations of Ridouts have names that repeat across the generations, suggesting kin groups.
Generation 1
Two white-generated source documents allow us to identify the first generation of Ridouts living in the vicinity of the Waring/Sprigg estates along the Western Branch of the Patuxent River:
the White Marsh baptism record that identifies Margaret’s (Peggy) partner as Richard
a War of 1812 claim for two enslaved people (more about War of 1812 claims in general can be read about on the Maryland State Archives site)
In 1828, Tilghman Hilleary, a neighbor of Marsham Waring, sought compensation for the Andrew and Peter Ridout, who runaway from the Hillearys during the War of 1812.
Born before 1808, it is possible that Richard, Andrew and Peter were forced to migrate from Africa to Maryland as laborers. However, due to a common family name, it is likely that Peter, Richard and Andrew are born in Maryland to enslaved Africans or African-Americans. Their exact relationship to each other is unknown; the common family name suggests brothers or cousins. Given the few number of Ridouts identified in the Prince George’s County records (e.g., the Prince George’s County Slave Statistics, the White Marsh Baptism records, the 1870 census), it seems more probable that they are brothers, rather than cousins, from a father brought to Prince George’s County by his enslaver (either by the Hilleary or Sprigg families, who appear to be an intertwined family themselves in previous generations).
Peter’s name gets repeated in later generations.
Generation 1 Names
Peter
Andrew
Richard
Generation 2
Shifting to the second generation, or specifically the children of Richard Ridout and Margaret (Peggy), we can identify the children from the Samuel Sprigg Inventory, the Prince George’s County Slave Statistics and the White Marsh records. No doubt there are as yet unidentified children of Richard and Margaret.
Of note, Richard and Peter are repeated. Richard (Jr.) is mostly named after his father, while the use of Peter for their other son, suggests that Peter (Sr.) was a close relative. The use reinforces the idea that Peter, Andrew and Richard of Generation 1 were brothers.
Generation 2 Names
Peter
James
Richard
Henson
Christina
Barbara
Possible Generation 2
One of the possible unidentified children of Richard and Margaret may be the partner of Sophia Ridout, claimed by John Contee’s administrator in the Prince George’s County Slave Statistics. She may also be partnered with either James or Richard. No other records related to Sophia and her children have been identified. Contee’s list did not name an adult male Ridout, suggesting that he may have been enslaved on another estate, leaving open the possibility that he was James, Richard, and Henson.
She uses the name Richard (Dick) for her son, likely named for either his father or uncle.
Contee’s estate was in the same neighborhood of Waring and Sprigg.
Generation 3
This generation brings us to Barbara (Ridout) Jones, who initiated the line of inquiry. She was identified in the White Marsh record as Barbara Reyder. The names of her children reinforce the idea that she was a Ridout descended from Richard and Margaret.
The use of White Marsh Baptism Records, the Prince George’s County Slave Statistics, and the 1870 & 1880 Census records allows us to identify the following children for Barbara (Ridout) Jones:
Four out of six of Barbara’s children share the names of her inferred siblings. The fifth child, Sophia, shares a name with the inferred sister-in-law, Sophia, who lived with her children on the neighboring Contee estate.
Generation 2 Names
Generation 3 Names
Peter
Peter Jones
James
James Jones
Richard
Richard Henson Jones
Henson
Richard Henson Jones
Christina
Christina Jones
Barbara
Tentative Conclusion
The use of repeated given names across generations; the proximity to other Ridouts on neighboring estates, along with proximity after emancipation as they congregated toward Seat Pleasant and Lincoln suggests that Barbara was a child of Richard and Margaret Ridout.
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.)
This post explores the possibility of Amelia (Emilia) Jones Calvert as a daughter for Richard and Mary Jones. She was first found in a White Marsh baptism record with the surname Jones and a documented connection to the Waring estates, which is where Richard and Mary Jones were enslaved, suggesting she was a relation.
White Marsh Baptism
In 1831, Amelia (Emilia) Jones, wife of George Colbert [Calvert], had their daughter Mary Rachel baptized by the White Marsh priests. The priests recorded George as property of James Belt, Marsham Waring’s father-in-law, and recorded Amelia (Emilia)Jones as property of Marsham Waring.
George Calvert [1794]
James Belt had purchased Chelsea, a tract of land from another branch of the Belt family and conveyed it to his two daughters, Violetta Lansdale Belt and Eleanor Belt. Violetta married Marsham Waring and Eleanor married Dr. Benjamin Lee.
Most likely James Belt purchased the legal authority to enslave George from Cornelia Lansdale, his sister-in-law, in 1826, when he satisfied two mortgages. (see Prince George’s County Land Records, AB 4:308; accessible through mdlandrec.net).
George is also listed in James Belt’s 1832 Inventory (PC 2:20) as 38 years old [1794]. At 38, George had outlived the expectancy of most enslaved people and would be roughly 70 years old by the time of Benjamin Lee’s death in 1863 and Marsham Waring’s death in 1860; he is not listed in either inventory.
Indirect clues from Waring’s Inventory
In Marsham Waring’s 1860 Inventory, George (II) Calvert, age 38 [1822] and Daniel Calvert, age 25 [1835] are listed. When enslaved adults were partnered, any children usually stayed with the mother and the estate she was held captive on, until the enslaver chose to sell the child and/or the mother. As Amelia was indicated property of Waring, it is probable that George (II) and Daniel are Amelia and George’s sons living with her on Waring’s estate. Additionally, their birth years bookend the baptism of Mary Rachel. The identification of George (II) and Daniel as probable sons, allows us to begin to identify a likely age range for Amelia along with the identification of George (I) Calvert.
To begin, George’s ages in Belt’s inventory provides us with an upper limit to her age. Taking into consideration the life expectancy rates of enslaved people and its impact on the age of the partners in the union, then we can also predict the likelihood that Amelia was younger than George. She was likely not older than 38 (George’s age in the 1832 Inventory) and was more likely to be 5-10 years younger, suggesting an upper age of no more than 28-33 years old.
Her child-bearing years suggest a lower limit for her age. Women’s child-bearing years are roughly between the ages of 15 to 45, meaning that Amelia was most likely between 15 and 45 years old when she had the three identified children. If she was the father of George (II), then she would have been at least 15 years old in 1822, and therefore no younger than 24 in 1831, suggesting that she was between 24-33 at the time of birth for Mary Rachel.
As a result, this allows for an estimated birth year range of 1798-1807, which in turn places her within Mary (Polly) Jones’ child-bearing years, which places her as a likely daughter of Richard and Mary Jones.
Amelia is possibly listed in the 1860 Marsham Waring Inventory as Amelia, age 50 [1810]. 50 may be an estimated age (allowing for a few years either way, this places the age on the upper limit of range.
In the inventory, she is listed near Daniel Calvert, her son, and Michael Jones, her likely brother, reinforcing the possibility that she is Amelia Jones Calvert of the 1831 baptism.
In the summer of 1900, two horses were stolen. One from the pasture of Dorsey Jones and one from the home of Washington Lee. Both men lived in Leeland, Maryland, a small community built up after the Civil War along the Pope Creek Railroad. It sits on the boundary between Queen Anne District and Marlboro.
1899 Top Map of Patuxent River | accessed from topoview
They alerted the authorities in Washington that their horses were stolen and the police were on the look-out for the thieves in the District. They arrested two men for trying to sell the horses near Centre Market in downtown DC near 11th and Louisiana, just north of the map about mid-point between the Eclipse and the Capitol.
According to the articles, the men arrested were their sons, Augustus Jones and Benjamin Lee.
21 Aug 1900, Evening Star | newspapers.com
22 Aug 1900, Evening Star | newspapers.com
Relatives
The two horse thieves, Augustus Jones and Benjamin Lee were distant cousins of each other. The first article says that Augustus was the son of Dorsey and the second article claims that Benjamin was the son of Washington Lee.
Reconstructed tree using a mixture of records. Subject to change to as more records are located.
Benjamin Lee
Washington Lee with his wife, Sarah (Sallie) Lee are enumerated with Benjamin Lee in the 1880 census. They were enumerated in the Marlboro district near Upton Brooke who was enumerated at DN 243. This places them in the vicinity of Brick Church Station which is where Leeland would grow over the next few decades.
Marlboro District, Prince George’s County 1880 Census | ancestry.com1878 Hopkins Atlas of Prince George’s County, Marlboro District | loc.gov
Augustus Jones
Augustus Jones is not found in the census with Dorsey Jones. In 1880, Dorsey Jones, age 30, is living with his father and mother, Michael and Amelia (Milly) Jones in Queen Anne’s District, likely near Woodmore P.O as they are enumerated a few pages from Jeremiah Duckett, who owned land near Woodmore. He does not have any children living with him in the 1880 census.
Queen Anne District, Prince George’s County 1880 Census | ancestry.com1878 Hopkins Atlas of Prince George’s County, Queen Anne District | loc.gov Note: North is to the right, not up like in most maps.
Neither Dorsey nor Augustus Jones have been located in the 1900 census. Dorsey died in July 1905, his death certificate indicated he was single, which is consistent with the 1880 Census.
Maryland State Archives
In the 1870 and 1880 Census, Augustus Jones was listed with Joseph and Barbara Jones in the District of Columbia. In 1870, they are enumerated near Alex McCormack who lived near the District/Maryland boundary. (In fact, the Wedge family had to petition for their freedom from McCormack during the Civil War when DC abolished slavery as McCormack sought to maintain their captivity by claiming they lived on his Maryland land and not his DC land. )
East of Seventh Street, District of Columbia 1870 census | ancestry.com1861 Martenet Map of Prince George’s County | loc.gov
In 1880 they are enumerated near Daniel Stewart and Joseph Coven [Covington] which places them near Pleasant Grove and Benning’s P.O. and still near A. McCormack
Central Avenue, District of Columbia 1880 Census | ancestry.com
Augustus Jones is listed at the son of Joseph and Barbara Jones. However, based on other records, I would suggest that Augustus Jones is their grandson, and the son of Elizabeth (Lizy) Jones and Notley Stewart.
Reconstructures Family Tree with identified direct and indirect sources | Subject to Change
The Jones and Stewart family were enslaved primarily by Marsham Waring and also by Benjamin Lee, his brother-in-law in Queen Anne District prior to emancipation in 1864. Waring died in 1860, and among his probate records is an inventory that lists the people he enslaved. Lee died in 1863 and his probate records also include an inventory. Additionally, Waring’s children, Elizabeth L. Bowie, M. Virginia Mackubin [sic] and James Waring had compensation lists submitted to the Commission of Slave Statistics which lists both the first and last name of the people the Waring’s enslaved.
The Warings were Catholic and some of the people they enslaved had their children baptized by White Marsh Priests. Among them, Lizy Jones and Notley Stewart had their son Augustus baptized in 1861. A year later, Notley Stewart and Joseph Jones, Elizabeth’s father, are named in an affidavit, among others that they had fled to the District after the abolition of slavery there. Notley and Elizabeth Jones have not been located, though their son is living with Joseph and Barbara Jones, Elizabeth’s mother, in both the 1870 and 1880 Census.
Incidentally, Peter Jones, the son of Joseph and Barbara Jones, and uncle of Augustus (assuming my theory is correct), lived on Benning’s Road in 1900 and he worked at as a laborer in a stock yard, and his son Peter (Jr.) worked in a jockey house, suggesting the family worked with and knew horses.
Afterwards
The local papers reported that “Gus Jones, Ben Lee, and Frank Matthew” were indicted for horse-stealing and that they were acquitted.
26 Oct 1900, Prince George’s Enquirer and Southern Advertiser | newspapers.com
And, in 1903, Benjamin Lee was arrested again for stealing a horse in August of 1900. This time from William Wilson, who also lived near Marlboro and again, Lee is alleged to have sold the horse in the city. Wilson was a Black man who worked on the railroad.
27 July 1903, Washington Times | newspapers.com
23 Oct 1903, Prince George’s Enquirer and Southern Advertiser | newspapers.com
The Evening Star described his day in court as multiple days due to multiple technicalities. It was first delayed to a legal technicality, then a new jury had to be impaneled as his brother-in-law sat on the jury, then finally he was tried and found not guilty. The judge sentenced him to seven year. The paper reported he tried to escape and assaulted officers. His head was injured and he required bandages. The paper described hi as barely recognizing him the final time in the court, though if this referred to a change in demeanor or a multitude of bruises, or both, it doesn’t specify. Considering how the criminal system treated and treats Black men, it was probably a submission by force. This seems reflected in the Judge’s comment, “you got all that was coming for you.”
20 Oct 1903, Evening Star | newspapers.com
In the 1910 Census, a Benjamin Lee is listed as a prisoner in Baltimore working in the foundry.
One Final Note
The Washington Times seems to have been ahead of the police. While the Evening Star reported that “Gus” Jones and accomplices had been arrested for stealing horses from their family, and the Prince George’s Enquirer reported that they had been acquitted, and the thief of Wilson’s horse was not identified until 1903 for stealing William Wilson’s horse and not tried until October 1903, the Washington Times reported their arrest in 1900. They even knew Benjamin’s alias of Will.
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.
Thomas J Nicholson moved to Queen Anne District in Prince George’s County from Anne Arundel County in the 1850s. Living as a teenager with his father, Joseph Nicholson who was a farmer with real estate valued at $1000 in the 1850 Census; in the 1860 census, Thomas J Nicholson was a planter with both real estate and a personal estate each valued at $4000.
On the 1861 Martenet Map of Prince George’s County, he is living at the very north end of Queen Anne District along the Patuxent River and Bealmear’s Bridge. He enumerated six people in the 1860 US Census Slave Schedule.
Gender
Age
Male
53
Female
40
Male
21
Female
17
Male
14
Male
4 months
1860 US Census Slave Schedule
In 1867, Thomas Nicholson and his wife submitted three lists to the Commission on Slave Statistics for Prince George’s County.
Thomas submitted the name of one person under his name: Mary Helen Headley, age 14
Sophia submitted the names of three people under her name: Louisa Hall, age 23, and two inferred children: Alfred, age 7, and Anne, age 4.
Sophia submitted another list “acting for the heirs of Mrs. Eleanor Sanford” with three people: Anne Lee, 45, Isaac Ennis, 35 and John Hall, 17
A comparison of the two lists suggests the following.
Gender
Age
Possible ID
Male
53
Female
40
Anne Lee, 45
Male
21
Isaac Ennis, 35
Female
17
Louisa Hall, age 23
Male
14
John Hall, age 17
Male
4 months
Alfred, age 7
(born after 1860)
Anne, age 4
(not listed)
Mary Helen Headley, 14
1860 US Census Slave Schedule
The 53 year old male does not appear in the Prince George’s County Slave Statistics. This suggests that he either died or emancipated himself during the Civil War. Prince George’s County nearness to the District of Columbia, Nicholson’s proximity to the Patuxent River and the fact that over 30,000 enslaved individuals in Maryland self-emancipated themselves during the Civil war suggests the possibility that the male may have escaped. Barbara Jeanne Fields in Slavery and Freedom on the Middle Ground reminds us that those that escaped were more likely to be young as the flight to freedom endured slave patrols, exposure and physical punishment which was more difficult for the old and the very young. Diana Ramey Berry in The Price for Their Pound of Flesh that the enslaved people who lived beyond the age of 40 were considered elderly. (The average life expectancy of the enslaved was 25 while in the average life expectancy of the white population was thirty-nine). As a 53 year old, the male had exceeded the expectancy for an enslaved man.
Anne Lee, age 45, appears to be one of the women enumerated by Nicholson in the 1850 US Census Slave Schedule. In the 1870 US Census, she is enumerated immediately after the Nicholson family with Sophia, age 14.
Mary Helen Headley, 14, is possibly Mary Hadley, 23 living in the District of Columbia in the 1870 US Federal Census. She and Dennis Williams are working as black servants in the household of O. A. Dailey and Oliver Ambrose, dentists in Ward 4.
Thomas and Ellen Sanford
In 1818, Thomas Sandford and Eleanor Clarke were married in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
In 1840, Thomas Sanford is enumerated in the Prince George’s County in the US Federal Census. His neighbors include names of people living in and around Collington as evidenced by the 1861 Martenet Map of Prince George’s County.
In 1840, Thomas Sanford is enumerated with 8 enslaved people. By 1850, he is not longer listed in the household of Eleanor Sanford. She and Sophia are living in the household by themselves, neighbors with Richard Isaac of Joseph and Joshua T Clark, still in the neighborhood of north Colllington. She is enumerated in the 1850 US Census Slave Schedule with six enslaved people.
1850 Gender
1850 Age
1860 Gender
1860 Age
Male
43
Male
53
Female
30
Female
40
Male
11
Male
21
Female
8
Female
17
Male
3
Male
14
Male
4 months
Male
9
1860 US Census Slave Schedule
The continuity of ages and genders between the two slave schedules is remarkable considering the life expectancy of enslaved people and the documented likelihood that smaller households would often need to sell their enslaved as economic hardships hit.
George Washington Wedge and Mary Elizabeth Sharps were married in 1872 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’, Maryland; Roll: 513;Page: 73B | ancestry.com
1900 Census
1900; Census Place: Queen Anne, Prince George, Maryland; Page: 3;Enumeration District: 0098 | ancestry.com
1910 Census
1910; Census Place: Election District 3, Prince George’s, Maryland; Roll: T624_567; Page: 7B| ancestry.com
1920 Census
1920; Census Place: Marlboro, Prince Georges, Maryland; Roll: T625_674;Page: 4A| ancestry.com
The table summarizes the household of George and Mary Wedge from 1880-1920. 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.
Excerpt from Hopkins Map of 1878
Name
1880 Marlboro District, PG
1900 Queen Anne, PG
1910 District 3, PG (Marlboro)
1920 Marlboro, PG
George (Washington)
35
60
60
75
Lizzie
28
55 (10 children, 6 living)
55 (10 children, 6 living)
70
Edward/Eddie J
5
24
George W/Willie
1
21
Martha
16
35
Robert
15
Bennie
12
22
29
Ernest
10
Mary, (grand)mother
60
80
John, brother
21
40
Mary, sister
16
Berry Young, grandson
13
Benjamin, grandson
1
10
Julia, daughter in law
24
Robert Asbery, lodger
20
William Brice, lodger
35
1880 Census | Community Context
Scanning names on either side of the 1880 census listing for George Wedge allows the identification of neighbors, which used in conjunction with landowner maps provides an approximate location for their residence.
The white text on the map excerpt indicate the individual’s dwelling number and page in the 1880 Census. Mordecai Plummer and Wm. B Hill were large white landowners. Walter Harrison and John Quander were Black landowners.
Plummer owned a large tract of land called “Spring Hill” that was partitioned in 1873 with some land being given to his daughter and her husband John Bowling. Henry W. Clagett, the nephew of Plummer, is listed south of the Mount Pleasant Ferry Road.
George Wedge was on page 73B, which suggest that the family lived slightly north of the Quander and Harrison house and on the east side of the road to Florenceville.
George and his family members, as well as his neighbors are listed as laborers, while Plummer and Hill are listed as farmers. In 1875, John Henry Quander purchased an acre from Clagett and worked a tenant farmer for John Bowling according to the Maryland Historical Trust Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties Form for his home. This suggests that George Wedge and his neighbors worked on the Plummer, Bowling, and Clagett properties, as well, as tenant farmers after the Civil War.
1910 Community Context
In 1910, George Wedge is listed on page 7b as John W Wedge. His wife, Lizzie, and son, Benjamin, are consistent with previous records, as is his middle initial, suggesting it was an error on the part of the census enumerator, recording John instead of George.
Their two neighbors, James Ireland and Benjamin Galloway, have the phrase “club house” listed in the notes about their occupation and in the margin of the Census page is written, “Marlborough Hills Landing Road”. This is the road on the east side Upper Marlborough that leads from Chas. Ridgeley past Wm. B Hill’s residence to a store and Boat Landing on the 1878 Hopkins Map.
The club house most likely refers to the Marlboro Hunt Club, which began in 1880. It operated as a sportsman’s club, with president’s like FDR and Teddy Roosevelt visiting. It was called the Patuxent Gun and Rod Club in the early 1900s.
Baltimore Sun, 15 Mar 1899, p. 3
On the preceding page is the record for Reverdy Sasscer. According to the documentation included in the application for House at Hills Landing to be Maryland Historic Property, the Anne Brooke, the daughter of Wm Hill, conveyed the property to Sasscer in 1901. The address given is 5802 Green Landing Road, very near to the location of the Marlboro Hunt Club.
This suggests that George Wedge and his family were living in the Hill’s Landing Community, working as a tenant farmer on the lands that historically have been owned by the Hill family.
1920 Community Context
In 1920, George Wedge is listed on page 4A. In the margins of the page, the enumerator lists North Side of Marlborough to Wells Corner Road, and the locality at the top is listed as outside town limits.
“Sugar Hill” was the name of a small African-American community that lived outside of Upper Marlboro, near the railroad lines. It had been established when several African-Americans labored on the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad after the Civil War. (Approved Historic Sites and Districts Plan) On page 3B, several of the residents are laborers for the Steam Railroad, suggesting that the Wedge family lived in vicinity of the Sugar Hill neighborhood.
George Wedge is the neighbor of Robert L Hall who married the granddaughter of Mordecai Plummer. Hall’s son was a businessman at the tobacco market, also located in vicinity of Sugar Hill.
Further Research Needed:
Locate records that better identify possible locations in Queen Anne’s District for the 1900 census.
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT (Marriage License Applications) 1886-1984 T757
1900 Census
1900; Census Place: Election District 1, Anne Arundel, Maryland; Page: 25
Emma M. Lee and Jas. Edward Wedge applied for a marriage license in Prince George’s County, Maryland in 1900. They married in Upper Marlboro on 27 Jun 1900. Eddie Wedge applied for the license.
Catherine Lee and Robert Wedge also applied for a marriage license in Prince George’s County in 1904. They married in Upper Marlboro on 28 Dec 1904. George Wedge applied for the license.
1900 Census
Both Robert and James are listed in the 1900 Census with their father, George Wedge in the Queen Anne’s District of Prince George’s County. The census was enumerated at the beginning of June prior to the marriage of Emma and James at the end of June.
This suggests that Robert and James are brothers and it is likely that they married sisters from a Lee family living in the vicinity.
Emma Lee | possible census records
A search for Emma Lee in both Prince George’s County and Anne Arundel County does not return a census record that is overtly consistent with what is known about Emma Lee.
A possible record is of an Emma Lee, age 24, who is living as a boarder in a household in Annapolis. Other household members include Susan Wright.
Catherine Lee | possible census records
A search for Catherine Lee in both Prince George’s County and Anne Arundel County returns a possible record in District 1 of Anne Arundel County.
Catherine Lee is living in the household of Washington and Sallie Lee. Two sisters, Rose and Louisa are also listed in the household. Emma is not present.
Emma has several children recorded in the 1920 census, including a daughter named Catherine and Rose L(ouise). The names of her daughters suggests a connection to Washington and Sallie Lee.
In a previous post, a review of Washington Lee’s census records listed his children. Among these children were a Peter, Benjamin, Susan. Emma also has children named Peter Benjamin and Susanna in the 1920 census.
The similarity in names, as well as the proximity of Washington Lee in Anne Arundel County to the Wedge family across the river in Queen Anne’s District of Prince George’s County, suggests that Washington and Sallie Lee are Emma’s parents.
Further Research Needed:
What other connections can be made between the Emma Lee/James Wedge household and the Washington Lee household and or Catherine Lee/Robert Wedge household?
stories of Then 