Maria Fuller
MSA SC 5496-50831
War of 1812 Refugee, St. Mary's County, Maryland
Biography:
Maria Fuller was an enslaved woman who was owned by Robert L. Young, a minor in St. Mary's County, MD. Young who was only thirteen years of age, became Maria's owner upon the death of his father Joseph Young. Maria was the wife of Benjamin "Ben" Fuller a slave who was owned by William Clarke Somerville of St. Mary's County. She and Ben were the parents of two sons, Stephen and Thomas. On November 1, 2013, Maria escaped from Robert Young who was the ward of Henry Hawkins Smith. She fled with her sons and an enslaved man Robert "Bob" Coursey, to the British ship called the Dragon, lying in the Potomac River. Maria's husband Ben and Bob Coursey's wife Jenny also escaped from their owner William Somerville. Maria Fuller and her family were taken to Halifax, Nova Scotia where they settled.
At the end of the War of 1812, Maryland's slave owners were devastated at the loss of their enslaved people. They sent their complaints to the Department of State seeking to be compensated for the loss of property. A commission was established to handle the claims put forth by angry citizens. The commission decided that Maryland's property owners would be compensated $280 for each slave that escaped to the British. At the time of the escape Maria Fuller was 24 years of age and valued at $400. Robert Young's claim was submitted by his guardian Henry Smith Hawkins. The commission awarded Robert Young $1120 for the loss of his five enslaved people.
Preparing a new life of freedom in Canada did not guaruntee the escaped slaves, now called black refugees, wouldn't face hardships. While in Halifax, the black refugees faced opposition from white Canadians, who felt the former slaves were dropped off in their country on land that didn't belong to them. In 1818, Maria Fuller and her family became engaged in a fight with local whites who tresspassed on their farm. Four white men, came onto the Fuller farm to shoot robins. Benjamin Fuller asked the men to leave his property, which they did not. Maria Fuller and her husband began to trade insults with the party of four men which eventually lead to rocks being hurled to remove them from the property. Fuller's husband was arrested and kept in jail for six weeks until his trial in the Canadian Court. Ben Fuller was found guilty and sentenced to one week in jail.
Return to Maria Fuller's Introductory Page
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