Hampton's Sixth Annual African American Symposium

Early 19th century slave cabin at Hampton National Historic Site

Hampton National Historic Site hosts an annual African American history symposium at Goucher College each March. It attracts quite a mixed audience, from archivists and historians to members of the general public and sisters of the Oblate Sisters of Providence (the first religious order of women of color). Christopher Phillips, the symposium's keynote speaker and a professor at the University of Cincinnati, spoke about term slavery, an arrangement that was not common in slave states but was largely confined to Maryland. I was familiar with the large number of gradual emancipations from my research, so it was extremely helpful to have Dr. Phillips put this phenomenon into context. Many other states only allowed manumission through a will or by having the slave holder request special permission from the state legislature. However, term slavery through manumission, a legal document and enforceable contract, was unique to Maryland and gave slaves slight access to legal recourse if the manumission was violated. Even though it would have been quite challenging for slaves to muster the funds and legal representation needed to contest a violated manumission in court, Phillips found cases where they did so and the law ruled in their favor. This is another example of Maryland's ambivalent and contradictory attitudes toward slavery. Based on Dr. Phillips’ presentation and the recommendation of one of my colleagues, I’m adding Dr. Phillips’ book, Freedom’s Port: The African American Community in Baltimore, 1790-1860, to my reading list.

Kathryn Deely was another speaker whose research is relevant to my work. Kathryn is a doctoral student in archeology at the University of Maryland. She has been excavating backyards in Annapolis and is looking at the differences in archeological artifacts based on the race and class of the homes’ inhabitants during the 18th and 19th centuries. One of the properties that she has excavated was owned and rented out by William H. Butler, a wealthy, nineteenth century African American that I am researching. I spoke to her after her talk, and she gave me some good ideas for methodologies to use in researching Butler’s property ownership.

Reproduction iron slave collars and chains

After the symposium, the National Park Service provided a tour of Hampton’s slave quarters, which date from the early to mid-1800s. Angela Roberts-Burton, one of Hampton’s park rangers, gave an excellent, balanced tour and used primary sources, reproduction artifacts, and the built environment to support her historical narrative. Although I had visited Hampton before, it was well worth going on the guided tour as well as experiencing the tour as part of a diverse group. Audience questions were indicative of the larger public’s perceptions and misconceptions of slavery in America. Some people knew quite a bit about slavery while others had a hard time believing that sadistic brutality was endemic to the institution.

Cultural Adventures

Last week, I went to the Anacostia Museum for a fascinating lecture by Ida E. Jones, Ph.D., a historian and assistant curator at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, on her new book, The Heart of the Race Problem: The Life of Kelly Miller. Miller was the first African American admitted to Johns Hopkins University, where he studied for a Ph.D. in math, physics, and astronomy. Unfortunately, he was forced to drop out after two years due to an increase in tuition fees. He went on to earn a master’s degree in mathematics and a law degree, both from Howard, where he became mathematics professor and later dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Jones described Miller as a conciliator in the debates between W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington. Miller was a proponent of Washington’s self-sufficiency while also supporting a DuBois’ insistence on a classical education as the path to African American social and economic advancement. Miller also made important contributions to the burgeoning field of sociology, including his establishment of a department at Howard. Later in life, Miller clashed with Howard President Mordecai Johnson who vowed to block any campus recognition of Miller’s contributions to the university. Sadly, Johnson’s efforts were so successful that Miller’s 50 years of service to Howard were forgotten from Howard’s collective memory.  With her book, Jones’ is attempting to rectify this and to complicate the concept of race men and black intellectual history beyond the simple binary of the Washington-DuBois debates. After the talk, I met several interesting people, including some members of the National Association of Black Women Historians, who recommended local happenings for me to see and groups to join.

Hampton Mansion, on a hill overlooking the estate

Restored Slave Cabin

Over the weekend, I visited the Hampton plantation, which is now managed by the National Park Service. Unfortunately, the interpretative tour on the African American experience at Hampton had been postponed so I spent some time exploring the grounds and going on the tour of the mansion. The wealthy and well-connected Ridgeleys owned Hampton for over 200 years, at one time amassing 25,000 acres on the estate where 350 slaves toiled. I was aware of a famous photograph of Nancy Davis, an enslaved woman, pictured with her charge but just discovered that the little white girl was a Ridgeley from this plantation. According to the NPS website, Davis is the only African American buried in the family cemetery. Following Emancipation, Davis remained on the plantation working for the family until her death in 1908. After the Civil War, the family’s wealth, which was rooted in the agricultural output of the plantation, gradually declined until the last resident sold it a non-profit foundation which then donated it to the National Trust. 

Visit to Maryland Historical Society

This is the former home of Enoch Pratt and site of MdHS since 1919. In 1882, Enoch Pratt donated more than $1 million to found a Baltimore City public library system that would be open to everyone, regardless of class, race, or color.

Lion keeping watch outside of MdHS

On September 13, I joined the Legacy of Slavery team members for a meeting with staff at the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS) in Baltimore. MdHS is partnering with MSA on a U.S. Department of Education funded grant to document the Underground Railroad in five counties of the Eastern Shore of Maryland. 

After a productive meeting, we were given a tour of MdHS’ major exhibition, “Divided Voices: Maryland in the Civil War.” For me, a highlight of the exhibition was a newly acquired, beautiful flag of the U.S. Colored Troops, 4th Regiment. Donated by the “Colored Ladies of Baltimore,” it is extremely rare for a silk flag to survive for so long in such great condition. The flag was rescued by a member of the troop, Christian Fleetwood, after both members of the color guard were killed. His courageous actions won him the Congressional Medal of Honor, making him the first African American from Maryland to receive this award. The Library of Congress holds Christian Fleetwood’s papers including his diary, which describes his actions on that day.