Slaves at the Ridgely Compound

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Hampton, Baltimore County, Maryland
Surnames/tags: slaves Black_Heritage

Contents 1 Biography of Ridgely Compound 1.1 Slaves Mentioned in Charles Carnan Ridgely's Will 2 Fugitives 3 Sources

Biography of Ridgely Compound

• Charles Carnan Ridgely died in 1829. An inventory of Ridgely's holdings at the time of his death in 1829 listed 303 persons enslaved by Ridgely at various sites. Further research has raised the final number of enslaved blacks to 311. In his will he freed all his slaves and put the care of elderly Slaves (who could not legally be freed) onto his family^[1]

• Because his father left him no slaves, John Carnan Ridgely, the new Master of Hampton, had to assemble a workforce quickly. He doubtlessly had some slaves of his own, but too few to run the plantation. Records show a good deal of activity in purchasing slaves for eleven months beginning September 1829. Over that span, Ridgely purchased twenty-seven men, women, and children, at a cost of six thousand dollars. John Ridgely or his agents acquired enslaved blacks from estate sales, from holders, and from slave dealers, like Hope Slatter. Some of the new Hampton slaves were identified as coming from Kent, Harford, and Frederick counties. Altogether, fifty-five, forty-one, and sixty-three blacks were enumerated as enslaved under John Ridgely at the Hampton Plantation in census schedules for 1840, 1850, and 1860. Examples of enslaved African Americans fleeing Hampton have been gleaned from a variety of sources including newspaper advertisements, sheriff's committal notices, court petitions, and plantation documents. During August 1829, thirteen Hampton slaves fled. One was from the farm, and twelve were from the forges. All were recaptured and detained in the Baltimore Jail. [1]

Slaves Mentioned in Charles Carnan Ridgely's Will

Ridgely ordered immediate freedom for those women aged twenty-five to forty-five, and men twenty-eight to forty-five, and they likely came from this group of 105. In the various records held by the Maryland State Archives, we have uncovered at least ninety Certificates of Freedom for persons manumitted under Ridgely's 1829 will. The great bulk of these persons were freed during 1829, with others receiving freedom as late as 1843. We likely cannot recover with any certainty the exact number of men and women (and toddlers under 2) that went free immediately. However, we do know a few of their names: Jacob Carter (aged thiry-eight), John Crowmell (aged forty), Nathanial Jamison (aged thirty-one), Philip Smith (aged thirty-three), and Isaac Wilson (aged about thirty), all of whom had their newly won status certified by the Court under the oath of former Ridgely employee, Richard Green.^[2]

Fugitives

Robert "Bob" Meads Godfrey Ashburn: manumitted per the will in February 1830 Baptist Williams: manumitted per the will in December 1829 Henry Smith manumitted in 1830 Frank Green manumitted in 1830 Ben Cason manumitted in 1831 Sam Howard manumitted in 1837 Sam Howard Lloyd Russell Argabus Connier Argalis, aka Thomas Connier Isaac Benjamin Allen George purchased in 1832 from William Wilmer gone by 1837 Charles Brown fled from Hampton in during the Christmas Holiday, 1834 Daniel Henry Dick Matthews John Patterson John Hawkins [Hawkins-14254] Jim Frisby John Kyle Davy Jones Rebecca Posey Henry Jones Aleck Milly Lucy Jackson's son Henry

Sources

• Ridgely Compound of Hampton Towson, Baltimore County, Maryland, By Dr. David Taft Terry[2]