A History Play Made of Six Depositions (Somewhat Abbreviated but Otherwise Unchanged) Sworn to in the Orphan's Court of Prince George's County, Maryland
Like the counties adjoining it on the east and south--Anne Arundel, Calvert, and Charles--Prince George's was distinctly Southern. (It and Charles are the counties John Wilkes Booth fled through after he shot Lincoln.) More than half its population were slaves, and they constituted about two-thirds of the personal property of the free. All but the poorest of the free had some taxable personal property, and some who had nothing else had a slave or two. But most of the property, personal and real, was held by the few. All the plate (that is silverware) was owned by about one-fourth of the free, and thirty per cent of the land was held by fewer than fifty people who owned at least 1000 acres apiece and who, with their families, constituted less than three per cent of the free population. [ 4 ] Lois Green Carr sums up this world thus: "A ruling class conscious of its role was coming into being. . . . Minor officeholding and jury service were becoming even more closely tied to landowning than before, at the same time" as land was owned by an ever smaller part of the population. Edward Papenfuse, she continues, estimated that by the time of the American Revolution the heads of about half the households in Prince George's County leased their lands. [ 49 } The Revolution was over in 1783, and independence had been won, but it had not been paid for. Maryland "was bankrupt from the great debts incurred during the war. It was not meeting its obligations to pay its soldiers. . . . its citizens frequently petition[ed] for relief from payment of taxes. . . ." Officers trying to confiscate property for non-payment of taxes "were resisted, sometimes violently. " One petition in 1784 declared that even most of the wealthy were unable to pay debts and taxes. [ 50 ] Gregory A. Stiverson cites letters of 1782 and 1783 from Samuel Chew and John Ridout, rich residents of Anne Arundel County, complaining about taxes. [ 51 ] Still the rich were speculating in Western lands, and the landless were moving towards them. Among these few were Captain Berry, at least three of his brothers, his brother-in-law, and Colonel Joshua Beall.
Fifteen years earlier one of the richest of the few was Captain Berry's father, Jeremiah. He was probably descended from James and Elizabeth Berry, who were in Virginia by 1633, the year before Maryland was founded. Along with a number of other Puritans, they left Virginia about 1650 to escape the strict religious conformity enforced by Governor Berkeley. The Berrys settled on the Western Shore of Chesapeake Bay and were rich enough to take up land both there and on the Eastern Shore. Jeremiah inherited half a lot in Marlboro and 1240 acres elsewhere in the County. When he died, in April 1769, he held the half-lot, over 4000 acres elsewhere in the C ounty, and 1300 acres in Frederick County. [ 5 ] The personal property he bequeathed his wife, Mary, included "negroes ... horses hoggs black cattle & sheep and all the household furniture with plate etc."[ 6 ]
Except William Berry Warman, who was too young, probably all supported the Revolution. Certainly Captain Berry, his brothers and brother-in-law, Archibald Boyd, Thomas Marshall, J.F.A. Priggs, and Colonel Beall did.
Captain William Berry. Born in 1742, one of eight children (six sons and two daughters of Jeremiah and Mary). Inherited Good Luck, at least 443 acres [ 7 ], and acquired hundreds of acres more in the County and a one-third interest in 3000 acres in Greenbrier County, Virginia (now West Virginia).[ 8 ] A Justice of the Peace, and during the Revolution, a captain in the Middle Battalion of the County militia.[ 9 ]
William Berry Warman (Little Billy). Born in 1769 of Captain Berry and Ann Warman.[ 10 ]
Secondary: deponents who witnessed Captain Berry's will. Thomas Marshall. Born in 1761, possibly of Mary Marshall, who was a widow by 1776.[ 11 ] A house carpenter (in today's terms, a building contractor) and in the Revolutionary War probably an ensign in the Middle Batallion of Prince George's County.[ 12 ] Dr. John Stewart. Born in 1748. A physician and resident of Bladensburg. Archibald Boyd. Probably born by 1755. Married to Ann Scott in 1777.[ 13 ] Practiced law before the Courts of [ 10 ] both Montgomery and Prince George's Counties. [ 14 ] John Frederick Augustus Priggs. A "German Protestant," probably born in the 1720s. In Prince George's by 1749, naturalized in 1756, brother-in-law of Colonel Beall. [ 15 ] Married Sarah Greenfield, who inherited land from her father, James. [ 16 ] Joiner, surveyor, Blanket-collector (during the Revolution), and Gentleman. [ 17 ]
Captain Berry had never married, and his brothers and sister thought that the will he had made a year or two before left most of his estate to them. Soon, however, they discovered that on 2 June 1784, a month before his death, he had made another will and that it left most of his estate to William Berry Warman. As soon as possible they had Thomas Stone, Esq., submit a petition to the Orphans' Court.
Colonel Beall was married again, in 1787 to Elizabeth Waring, widow of Basil Waring. [ 25 ] He died early in 1796. His will names his widow, Elizabeth, a daughter, two granddaughters, a son, and a grandson. [ 26 ] He left 2000 acres of land and personal property worth L 1180.1.4. [ 27 ]
John Frederick Augustus Briggs was also married again, to Eleanor_____. He died in the summer of 1796, leaving about 1000 acres of land and personal property, including ten slaves worth L 380 and 81 1/2 ounces of plate worth L 32.19.2, appraised at L 739.11.8 1/4. [ 28 ]
Dr. John Stewart died in Bladensburg in the summer of 1797, leaving a lot in Bladensburg, 116 acres elsewhere, and personal property, including about twenty slaves, 35 ounces of plate, and a huge library of 581 books and 393 pamphlets, appraised at L 2641.17.4. [ 29 ]
Henry Brookes moved to Montgomery County, Prince George's neighbor to the north, and died in the spring of 1807. His will names his widow, Martha, seven children, and four grandchildren. [ 30 ] In 1798, when he had already given his son Walter 363 acres in Prince George's County and his daughter Eleanor Magruder an undetermined amount of property, he had 786 3/4 acres of land accessed at L 753.18.7 and personal property assessed at L 698 (including sixteen slaves, L 377, and 60 ounces of plate, L 25). [ 31 ]
William Cooke moved to Charles County and died in June 1819. His will names five children and one grandchild. His personal property, including nineteen slaves, was appraised at $6045.33 1/4. [ 32 ]
Of Thomas Marshall nothing further is known.
In 1787 Little Billy reached the age of eighteen and took over his father's estate, which Colonel Beall had been administering as his guardian. [ 33 ] Including Sibb and children and twenty-three other negroes worth L 1296.05, it was appraised at L 1860.17.10 [ 34 ]; but it was burdened with debts. Little Billy sold 467 acres of land to pay the debts and the legacies in the will and passed the second account, which had a balance of L 1291.12.1 [ 35 ]. In 1790 he was still single and had ten slaves. [ 36 ] In 1793, when he had a wife, Lucy, he sold 1212 acres on the Eastern Branch to James Greenleaf, one of the original developers of Washington, D.C., for $5757.00. [ 37 ] He must have owed most of this sum, for the highest assessment of his combined real and personal property was about L 1500. He reached this peak about 1804, by which time he had changed his name to William Warman Berry. He had 922 3/4 acres, twenty-six slaves, (two of them smiths), and ten ounces of plate. [ 38 ] In 1802 he was married for the second time, to Margery Belt, [ 39 ] and in 1804 he was elected to the House of Delegates. [ 40 ] In 1807 he was assessed for 529 5/8 acres, twenty-five slaves (one smith), and two ounces of plate; [ 41 ] and he was married to Nancy (Ann) Beall who was to be his widow. [ 42 ]
In December 1808 William Warman Berry died, leaving Ann and six children by his former marriages. His personal estate was appraised at L 1979.51; but his debts were much greater than that, and the debts of L 1615.1.11 1/2 owed to it were all judged desperate--that is, hopeless. [ 43 ] In November 1809 the personal estate was sold. Ann bought, on credit, $845.32 - worth of things needed for farming. In 1813, when the timber on the lands would not bring enough to pay the rest of the debts, 134 acres of land were sold for $2257.90. In the same year Ann petitioned the Orphans' Court to allow the estate to pay her $587.25 for part of "the support of the family in a decent and, your petitioner hopes, in a respectable manner for upwards of four years." [ 44 ]
Finally, in 1815, William Warman Berry's estate, consisting of 400 acres of land, was distributed equally among the seven heirs: the widow, Ann Berry, and the six children, Charles M. Berry (Midshipman, U. S. N.), Lucy Berry, Brooke Magruder Berry, William Berry (Midshipman, U. S. N.), Matilda (Berry) Young, and Eliza Berry. [ 45 ]
William Warman Berry's mother, Ann, as Archibald Boyd might have put it, lived to bury all the other dramatis personae except William Cook. John Vinson, her husband, is in the earliest extant assessment of Montgomery County, 1793, in District 2, Potowmack and Sugarland Hundreds. He has no land but has six slaves and other personal property all together assessed at L193. As the last assesssment he appears in is that of 1804, he probably died about then, though the first account of his estate was not proved until 1812. In the assessment of 1810 Mrs. Ann Vinson appears with personal property that seems about the same as what John was assessed for in 1804: he had nine slaves, she had twelve (six under eight years); his total assessment was L179, hers L 176.10. There is no change for her in 1811 or 1812, and she appears in the new list in 1813 with what looks like the same property but is assessed higher. As Ann is not in the next new list, 1820, she probably died in 1818 or l819, the year of the final account of John's estate, which showed a balance of $517.27 3/4 [ 48 ]. Sibb and her children, two of whom Captain Berry intended to free but did not, no doubt lived out their lives in slavery.
Carson Gibb, rev. 1999
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