Mary Sampson (Patterson) Langston (abt. 1837 - 1915)

Born about 1837 in Fayetteville, Cumberland, North Carolina, United States

Wife of Lewis Sheridan Leary — married 1857 in Oberlin, Ohio, USA

Wife of Charles Henry Quarles Langston — married about 7 Feb 1869 in Oberlin, Lorain, Ohio, United States

Descendants

Died 8 Apr 1915 at about age 78 in Lawrence, Douglas, Kansas, United States

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Biography

Mary (Patterson) Langston is Notable.

Mary Sampson Patterson was an American abolitionist.

Mary Sampson Patterson^[1] was born about 1837 in North Carolina in the United States of America.^[2] Her parentage is unclear, but it seems most likely that her mother was Joanna (Sampson) Calvin and that she was raised as a ward of John E Patterson, a brick mason and plasterer, and his wife Mary Jane Walden. See research notes below.

Mary seems to have been enumerated twice in both the 1850 census and the 1860 census - once with her mother Joanna Calvin^[3][4] and once with the John E Patterson family.^[5][6] Both families lived in North Carolina in 1850 and in northern Ohio in 1860.

In his autobiography, Mary's grandson Langston Hughes said that Mary's side of the family had French and Native American heritage through her grandparents - a grandfather who was a French trader that came down the St. Lawrence then had a child with a Cherokee woman in North Carolina.^[1]

Mary married Lewis Sheridan Leary in the 1850s and they had a daughter, Louise Leary. Lewis was killed during John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry in 1859.^[6][4][7]

Mary then married Charles Henry Langston in 1869. ^[8] By 1870, they had moved to Wakarusa Township, which surrounds Lawrence, Kansas. They had two children together: Nathaniel Turner Langston and Carolina Mercer (Langston) Hughes. Mary's mother Joanna moved to Lawrence as well, and was living with them in 1870 and 1880.^[9][10] Mary's husband Charles died in 1892. She later lived in Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas with her children^[11][12] and eventually helped to raise her grandson Langston Hughes.^[13][14] He wrote about her and his childhood in his autobiography The Big Sea.^[1]

Mary died on 8 Apr 1915. She was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas.^[7][15]

Research Notes

• Parents: Some online family trees and other sources say that Mary's parents were James Patterson, a stone mason, and Joanna Simpson. Though not conclusive, the information below suggests that it is most likely that Joanna (Sampson/Simpson) Calvin was Mary's mother and that she was raised as a ward of John E Patterson and his wife Mary Jane Walden.
  • James Patterson: Her father being James Patterson, a stone mason, seems to come from the article "Langston Hughes of Kansas," by Mark Scott,^[16] which cites research done by a volunteer researcher at the archives of Oberlin College for this information. Perhaps there are records there that indicate that this is true, but it also seems possible that somewhere along the way the information got confused with John E Patterson, a brick mason, and possibly also with James Calvin, who was married to Joanna Simpson/Sampson and whose death record gave his occupation as mason, although earlier census records indicate he was a painter.
  • 1850/1860 census: As stated in the biography, Mary seems to have been enumerated both with her mother and with John E Patterson's family in both the 1850 and 1860 census.
  • 1870/1880 census: Joanna Simpson is listed as Charles Langston's mother-in-law in the 1880 census (which would make her Mary's mother).^[10] Joanna also appears to be in their household in the 1870 census, under her married name Joanna Calvin.^[9]
  • Rampersad's Langston Hughes Biography: One Langston Hughes biography says that Mary grew up as "the ward of a prosperous colored mason and his wife in Fayetteville",^[17] which seems to refer to John E Patterson and his wife. The source of this information is not specified.
  • Birth: Although Mary's exact birth date is not known, she is likely to have been born before Joanna's marriage to James Calvin, indicating that he's probably not her father.
• Sources (like her Wikipedia page as of 2 Sep 2023) sometimes state that Mary was the first black woman to attend Oberlin College. This does not seem to be the case. Mary Jane Patterson (abt.1840-1894), who was the niece of John E Patterson, is said to be the first African-American woman to graduate with a B.A., and the two women seem to have been confused. In the Oberlin College catalogue published in 1908 which lists all alumni, the Mary of this profile seems to be the Mary S. Leary listed on page 581, where it says she was enrolled in the college's preparatory program from 1864-1868 and at the time of publication lived in Lawrence, Kansas.^[18] Meanwhile, Mary Jane Patterson is listed on page 746 which says she was enrolled in the preparatory program in 1857-1858 and the college program from 1858-1862.^[19] So Mary Jane Patterson attended Oberlin College earlier than the Mary of this profile.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Langston Hughes, The Big Sea, an autobiography, (New York: Hill and Wang, 1967); image copy, Internet Archive, (https://archive.org/details/bigseaautobiogra00hugh/page/12/mode/2up : accessed 9 Jan 2023) (borrowable with a free account).
2. ↑ See census records.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1850", Northern Division, Randolph County, North Carolina, USA; page 214a-214b, family 745, Mary Calvin in James Calvin household; Ancestry, Ancestry Sharing Link, Ancestry Record 8054 #12948347; FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-698W-1PZ?i=260 (not indexed).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} "United States Census, 1860", Ward 6, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA; page 76, family 604, Mary Leary in James Calvin household; FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GBSZ-KQS?i=75.
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina, USA; page 116b, family 223, lines 6-14, Mary S Patterson age 15 in John E Patterson household; FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-67DS-CYX?i=181 (not indexed); Ancestry, Ancestry Sharing Link, (Ancestry Record 8054 #12675825 : accessed 9 January 2023.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} "United States Census, 1860," Oberlin, Lorain County, Ohio, USA; page 83, family 602, lines 2-14, Mary S Leary in John E Patterson household; FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9BSH-973W?i=49 (not indexed); Ancestry, Ancestry Sharing Link, Ancestry Record 7667 #41628796 : accessed 9 January 2023.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Mary S. Langston obituary, Topeka [Kansas] Plain Dealer, 30 Apr 1915, p. 2, col. 2; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69890086/ : accessed 9 Jan 2023).
8. ↑ Marriage of Charles Langston and Mrs. Mary L Leary, Galveston Daily News [Texas], Feb 11 1869, page 2, column 4; image copy, Newspapers.com, (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90809657/ : accessed 9 Jan 2023).
   "At Oberlin, on Thursday of last week, Charles Langston married Mrs. Mary L Leary the widow of Lewis Leary, one of the John Brown raiders..."
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} "United States Census, 1870", Wakarusa Township, Douglas County, Kansas, USA; page 19, family 294, lines 11-18, Mary S Langston in Charles Langston household; FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCJK-2KX.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} "United States Census, 1880," ED 75, Wakarusa Township, Douglas County, Kansas, USA; page 5, family 40, lines 14-19, Mary S Langston in C H Langston household; FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFPY-GHT.
11. ↑ "1895 Kansas State Census," Lawrence ward 1, Douglas County, Kansas, USA; page 16, family 119, lines 28-31, Mary Langston household; "Kansas State Census, 1895", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL8J-D8TL : accessed 9 Jan 2023).
12. ↑ "United States Census, 1900,"ED 58, Lawrence city Ward 1, Douglas County, Kansas, USA; sheet 8A, line 45, Mary Langston; FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMTF-GF4.
13. ↑ "1905 Kansas State Census," Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, Kansas; Roll: ks1905_45; p. 12, family 570, dwelling 405, Line 9; Mary A Langston age 69 in household with Langston Hughes age 4; https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPZT-KVJ7
14. ↑ "United States Census, 1910,"ED 64, Lawrence city Ward 1, Douglas County, Kansas, USA; sheet 9B, family 223, Mary S Langston household; FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M2C7-3Y8.
15. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images, memorial page for Mary Patterson Langston (1836–1915), Find A Grave: Memorial #35607401, citing Oak Hill Cemetery, Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas, USA; Maintained by Leslie (contributor 50417291).
16. ↑ Mark Scott, "Langston Hughes of Kansas," The Journal of Negro History, Volume 66, Number 1, Spring 1981; image copy, Kansas State Historical Society, (https://www.kshs.org/publicat/history/1980spring_scott.pdf : accessed 9 Jan 2023).
17. ↑ Arnold Rampersad, The Life of Langston Hughes, Volume I (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986), page 5; image copy, Internet Archive, (https://archive.org/details/lifeoflangstonhu00arno/page/4/mode/2up : accessed 9 Jan 2023) (borrowable with a free account).
18. ↑ “Catalogue Record of Students, All Departments of the College, 1833-1908,” General catalogue of Oberlin college, 1833-1908, page 581, entry for Mary S. Leary; image copy, HathiTrust, image 934 of 1380 (https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t4nk3cf81?urlappend=%3Bseq=769 : accessed 2 Sep 2023).
19. ↑ “Catalogue Record of Students, All Departments of the College, 1833-1908,” General catalogue of Oberlin college, 1833-1908, page 746, entry for Mary Jane Patterson; image copy, HathiTrust, image 934 of 1380 (https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t4nk3cf81?urlappend=%3Bseq=934 : accessed 27 Nov 2021).

See also:

• Wikipedia: Mary_Sampson_Patterson_Leary_Langston
• http://www.geni.com/people/Mary-Patterson/6000000014517494098
• Ancestry Family Tree: http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=88444411&pid=368