People of Hampton

Needing labor in abundance, the Ridgely family employed many types of workers. In just the last fifty years of the eighteenth century they bought over 300 indentured servants. They also employed free workers, British Prisoners of War, and enslaved African-Americans.

Slavery was part of the Hampton estate for over 100 years, ending only when Maryland State law ended the institution in 1864. Its presence predated the construction of the mansion. Slaves were instrumental in building the mansion, and their work undergirded the gracious lifestyle of the Ridgelys in the mansion.

Slavery at Hampton was unusual for two reasons. First, the Ridgelys were involved in industry, resulting in industrial jobs for some of the enslaved population. This is unlike the typically agricultural plantation of the Deep South. Second, Hampton is very close to the slave free state of Pennsylvania and the city of Baltimore with its huge population of free blacks. Refuges for runaways were close by.

It is very difficult to make an accurate estimate, but the Ridgelys enslaved literally hundreds of people--certainly over 500-- over those years. The second owner of Hampton owned approximately 350 at his death, and manumitted all that he legally could. This is one of the largest manumissions in the history of Maryland, but it did not end slavery at Hampton. His son purchased some sixty or so more slaves and manumitted only one.

We have been unable to find a single possession, or a single piece of writing, by any Hampton slave. Therefore, everything we know about the lives of the slaves comes to us filtered by other people. Newspaper advertisements, family memoirs, business papers, and other records allow us to catch a glimpse of slave life at Hampton.

America's past, like America's present, is complicated, and human relations can be very complex. Slavery illustrates many contradictions. Many slaves were mistrusted and feared, others were given firearms. Many slaves were forced to live in horrible conditions; others were dressed as well as their rich owners. Some slaveowners acknowledged the injustice of slavery yet refused to manumit their "property." Slaves legally were not people, yet some had bank accounts and accumulated a great deal of property.

The vignettes that follow tell the stories of some of those who answered the service bells and their owners, and attempt to illustrate some of the complexities of slavery at Hampton.

Much of what we know of the lives of enslaved African-Americans comes from indirect sources like food and clothing distribution lists, records of pay for overtime work, and in this case an advertisement of a reward for the return of Henry Jones who ran away. Records like these speak eloquently as to the living conditions and the thoughts and feelings of the Slaves at Hampton.

Anne spent her entire life on the Hampton estate. Born a slave, she married a free mulatto man in the Great Hall of Hampton. This required the permission of her owner, John Ridgely. Many years later her funeral was held in the same place, presided over by an African-American preacher. She was buried under an Oak tree in the "Negro burying ground," the site of which is unknown today.

Three-time governor of Maryland, one of the richest Americans of his day, Ridgely owned almost three hundred and sixty slaves. The provisions of his will freed all of the slaves that could be freed under Maryland law. Was this a reward for their hard work, or an attempt at doing "good works" to assure a pleasant afterlife? He never explained himself.

As Mistress of Hampton, it was Eliza’s job to oversee the provision of food and clothing for the entire household, including the enslaved people. It is from her meticulous records that we glean much of what we know about their lives. Food, medical care, clothing, and more are touched upon in these records. They reveal details such as the fact that house slaves clothing was made by the same tailor who made their master’s clothing.

Teenaged Eliza "Didy" Ridgely provides a glimpse of life at Hampton in the 1840's and '50's through her diary. One entry details her giving of Christmas presents to enslaved people, adults and children. A detailed list of the gifts to children survives. Some, such as a bookcase, are unexpected. Some children were not given gifts.

A ledger entry from February 27, 1813 indicates that an iron collar and chain were bought to punish an unnamed "Negro boy." There is no indication of his name, his age, his infraction, or the length or severity of his confinement.

Who was this person? What was his "crime?" What became of him? What is his story?

Like many of the Slaves owned by the Ridgelys, Lucy Jackson chose to leave when freed by Maryland Law in 1864. Unlike many, she had accumulated a sizable amount of personal property that she either did not or could not take when she left Hampton. In 1866 she hired a lawyer to recover this property. His letter, which is on file, claims a remarkable quantity and quality of goods including furniture, housewares, clothing and food. Particularly surprising items are almost twenty dresses, four of them silk, and several pairs of silk hose. We don’t know if she ever got them back.

Many former slaves of the Ridgelys when freed chose to remain at Hampton and work for wages or as tenant farmers. After leaving for a brief period Nancy Davis chose to return to Hampton and work as a house servant. Did she prefer working for the Ridgelys? Was there no other work available?

Hampton National Historic Site offers an exceptional, perhaps unmatched, look at a nineteenth century slave estate. Still visible today is the careful design intended to impress visitors. The mansion looks down on the overseer’s house, and the overseer’s house looks down on the slave quarters, reminding visitors and workers of their place in life. The mansion survives almost unchanged from its completion in 1790. Surrounding the mansion are two original slave quarters, several outbuildings, and large formal gardens. At Hampton today, a visitor can see…

The 1790 mansion, once the largest in the US
Original landscapes, including a terraced garden, lawns, kitchen yard, and other work spaces
Standing slave quarters
Thousands of original artifacts including decorative arts, books and manuscripts, tools, and more
The servant’s bells, used to summon enslaved people to their work
The home and workplace of hundreds of people

Objects, such as a sterling teapot or a cooking range, not only reveal the mindset of their creators and owners, but also offer a chance for reflection on the workers who sweated through a hot August cleaning them, or used them to serve their masters. A visitor today can explore the buildings and landscape, and doing so, can begin to imagine the complex human relationships that defined Hampton in the ante-bellum era.

Last Modified: Wednesday, 22-Dec-2004 09:39:26 Eastern Standard Time
http://www.nps.gov/archive/hamp/pamphletpeopleofhampton.htm
Author: William Blair Curtis
E-mail: The park's Superintendent