Slaves and the Underground Railroad

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.

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) — A Maryland city has cleared what could be the last obstacle to its plan to rid the City Hall courtyard of a statue of the man who wrote the 1857 Dred Scott decision affirming slavery.

Frederick's Historic Preservation Commission voted 4-1 Thursday to allow the removal of the bust of Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney (TAW-nee), and a nearby bust of Maryland's first governor, Thomas Johnson, who owned slaves. City officials say both will go to nearby Mount Olivet Cemetery, where Johnson is buried.

Frederick officials consider removing Taney statue from City Hall

By Nancy Lavin

The bronze bust of an iconic “pro­slavery” figure with ties to Frederick could be removed from its post outside Frederick City Hall under a proposal from Alderwoman Donna Kuzemchak.

Kuzemchak detailed Thursday a plan to relocate the bust of Roger Brooke Taney from outside City Hall to a museum or other location.

Balancing history — Dred and Harriet Scott plaque dedicated at City Hall

More than 150 years after the U.S. Supreme Court issued the notorious Dred Scott decision affirming slavery, Frederick marked the dedication Tuesday of a plaque to Dred and Harriet Scott in front of City Hall.