African Americans History

Emma Jean Banks, 1949-2010

The following obituary for Emma Jean Banks was published in the March 13, 2010 edition of the Cumberland Times-News. Among her other activities Emma Jean was a mentor of youth in the community:

INWOOD, W.Va. — Emma Jean Banks, 60, of Inwood, died Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010 peacefully at the home of her daughter after a brave battle against brain cancer. Born Feb. 18, 1949 in Cumberland, Md., Mrs. Banks was the daughter of Theodore Method and the late Agnes Elizabeth (Hurt) Banks.

CARTER E BANKS
March 20, 2000

Carter Edward Banks Sr., 80, of 444 Pine Ave., Cumberland, passed away Monday, March 20, 2000, at Sacred Heart Hospital.

ALAN R ASHBY
October 17, 2003

Alan Richard Ashby, 62, of Cumberland, died Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2003, at Lions Manor Nursing Home.

Jane – 1 Cent Reward

Note the use of the term, “bound girl” in the advertisement. This could have several meanings during this era. Sometimes it refers to taking in an orphan or someone to serve as an apprentice to learn some type of skill, or a servant “bound to” service for a period of time. Or, the subscriber might have simply used it to infer “Jane” was a slave. The reward of “1 Cent” is also unusual when compared to other notices.

1 CENT REWARD

William Ward, 1812 - 1877

William Ward grew up on the Old Boston Mine farm near Frostburg and at 15 began hauling coal from his father's farm to Cumberland. In 1841, he purchased 625 acres of what was to become known as Borden Shaft Mines. In 1858 he sold the property to a coal company while retaining use of the land for farming purposes. The 1860 census lists him as a farmer, living with his wife, four children, and possibly his mother. His worth in real estate was listed at $25,400 and in personal property, $57,600, which included slaves.

Luther Martin, 1748 - 1826

Luther Martin is considered one of America's Founding Fathers. He served as Maryland's Attorney General, as well as in the Maryland House of Delegates. Most significantly, Martin was also a Maryland Delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia at which time the United States Constitution was adopted. Although a supporter of American independence and an active participant at the Convention, he refused to sign the document. Martin felt that the proposed Constitution gave the federal government too much power over the states.

Jane Gates
Circa 1819 - 1888

It's a mystery. Jane Gates is the great-great grandmother of Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Born in Piedmont, West Virginia, Gates is the W.E.B. DuBois professor of the Humanities and chair of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. For many years Henry Louis Gates, along with his cousin John Gates of Cumberland, have wondered about their great-great grandmother and their own heritage. Was it true Jane's white owner, one Samuel Brady, had fathered her children? Was it he who later purchased a house for her in Cumberland?

Executor’s Sale - Tomlinson’s Mill, Grantsville

The following information is in large part taken from and courtesy of an article appearing in the 2018, Volume LVIII Issue of The Casselman Chronicle entitled, “African-Americans’ Lives in the Grantsville District” by Beth Page:

Boonsboro church pays tribute to former slaves

All eight founding members of St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Lappans Road were slaveholders, and members of the church in the 1800s profited from slave labor. And it is believed that slaves might have helped construct the church.

Slave history of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Washington County, explored

BOONSBORO — Emilie Amt remembers it was about four years ago when she learned about the first marriage to take place at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, where she is a member.

The marriage was between Jeremiah and Malinda James, two slaves who were owned by one of the church’s founders.

Amt, a history professor at Hood College in Frederick, Md., began to study the church register and explore the stories of the people whose names were recorded there.