Thomas Johnson MSA SC 5496-051220

Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

Thomas Johnson (b. circa 1787 - d. circa ?)
MSA SC 5496-051220
War of 1812 Refugee, Talbot County, Maryland, 1813

Biography:

Thomas "Tom"Johnson was an enslaved man who was owned by Andrew Skinner of Talbot County, Maryland. Tom, a mulatto, was born about 1787 in Hopkins Neck.¹ His father Phil was a free man who lived in St. Michael's, Maryland.² Tom was enslaved at Skinners farm, Fairview, located at Miles River Neck in Talbot County, Maryland.³

In 1813, while America was at war with Great Britain, Tom escaped from Fairview.⁴ Andrew Skinner placed an ad in the local newspaper offering a reward for his return. Tom, joined the Colonial Marines, a group of former enslaved people who helped the British defend themselves against the American militia.⁵ He was seen by Skinners overseer, James Leverton, dressed in military clothing in the company of British officers and soldiers at Kent Island, Queen Anne's County, Maryland.⁶ After the war Thomas Johnson settled in Trinidad, where Colonial Marines were given land.⁷ However, by 1823 he was no longer in Trinidad.⁸

^1.^{"Two Hundred Dollars Reward." Republican Star. 31 August 1813, p. 4.}^2.^{Claim of Andrew Skinner, Talbot County, Case #656, Case Files. Ca.
1814-28, 3.5 ft., entry 190, Record Group 76, National Archives,
College Park}^3.^{"Two Hundred Dollars Reward," p. 4.}^4.^{Claim
of Andrew Skinner, Talbot County, Case #656, Case Files. Ca. 1814-28,
3.5 ft., entry 190, Record Group 76, National Archives, College Park}^5.^{John
McNish Weiss, "The Merikens: Free Black American Settlers in Trinida,
1815-1816," (London: McNish & Weiss, 1995), p. 37.}^6.^{Claim of Andrew Skinner, Talbot County, Case #656, Case Files. Ca.
1814-28, 3.5 ft., entry 190, Record Group 76, National Archives,
College Park}^7.^{John McNish Weiss, "The Merikens: Free Black American Settlers in Trinida, 1815-1816," p. 37.}^8.^ibid.

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