Woman on the auction block
In 1838 Maryland estate owner John Ridgley bought pregnant Lucy Jackson in Baltimore. Her son Henry was born soon after she came to live at Ridgley’s Hampton plantation in Towson, Maryland.
Two Maryland gentlemen, buyer and seller
Auctioneer Samuel Owings Hoffman began as a dry goods merchant, then specialized in auctioneering. People in bondage passed through his auction service, which was quite lucrative. The 1850 census shows him with property worth $70,000. He was also a politician.
1897 photo of a tenant farmer at Hampton with the old stone slave quarters
Lucy became head housekeeper, a position of importance. She reportedly married a free man and gave birth to another son George in 1842, who died young.
Library of Congress/Hampton, photo by Frances Benjamin Johnson, early 20th century
Once Civil War began son Henry in his early twenties left Hampton with three other enslaved young men seeking freedom. They might have gone to Baltimore, a good place to vanish as the city had the largest population of free Black people in the country. Lucy herself soon showed her rebel nature, disappearing from Hampton. Recent researchers at Hampton have traced her to Washington City.
Library of Congress Washington City, 1865. Maine Avenue, Capitol top left corner
After the war Lucy hired lawyer William Boyd to write a letter to John Ridgley demanding the return of her personal property, 19 dresses left at the house when she ran away: “6 common dresses, 9 good dresses, 4 silk dresses, furrs and Muff... and other articles of great value.” Ridgley replied those items of clothing were no longer in the house, probably appropriated by her fellow enslaved women after she left.
The inspiration: Block from a sampler quilt in the
Art Institute of Chicago collection.
No comments:
Post a Comment