Elbert "Elby" Rosier (b.
circa 1839 - d. 1901)
MSA SC 3520-6658
USCT Soldier, Queen Anne's County, Maryland
Biography:
Elbert "Elby" Rosier was born a slave around 1839 in Queen Anne's County, Maryland.1 As a slave, Elby was owned by William H. Foster (not William H.D. Foster who was his son), an owner with several properties around Sudlersville and Centreville in Queen Anne's County.2 Foster recorded that he "became possessed of them (Rosier and his mother) by their mother being my slave at the time of his birth."3 Elby could have been a slave on the Centreville farm as his wife Elizabeth mentioned in an affidavit that they visited Centreville for a month after the war so Elbert could visit friends.4 In 1850, William H. Foster owned eleven slaves and among those he granted two manumissions.5 Ten years later, in 1860, the slave schedule shows that Foster owned eight slaves.6 When President Abraham Lincoln enacted the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, this enabled African-Americans to fight for their freedom in the Union Army during the Civil War.7 This was an opportunity for many free blacks and slaves to gain their freedom.
Before William H. Foster could be awarded compensation, he had to prove his loyalty to the United States government. He completed his oath of allegiance in front of witnesses, Elijah Price and Barclay Brown, who were considered loyal citizens of the United States and also well acquainted with Foster.8 Price and Brown helped to prove his allegiance to the United States, which helped Foster gain compensation for his slave joining the U.S. Army. Several other witnesses certified Foster's honor and unquestionable loyalty to the United States.9 Foster did not own a wealth of slaves and in order to gain compensation he possibly decided to begin manumitting them. In Rosier's manumission, Foster wrote "in consideration of said enlistment manumit, set free, and release the above named Elbert Rozier" and "his freedom to commence from the date of his enlistment."10 However, the manumission did not appear to be officially acknowledged with witnesses until August 6, 1864.11
With Rosier being manumitted, Foster was eligible to receive compensation of $100 for the loss of his slave, which was paid to him on April 27, 1865.12 According to the Act of 1864, Chapter 15, Section 4, "to the owner of every negro slave who shall agree to the enlistment of his slave as above, the sum of one hundred dollars shall be paid when such owner shall file with the proper authority a good and valid deed of manumission."13 Foster, like many slaveowners, may have viewed this as their final opportunity to receive compensation for the loss of their slaves as the institution of slavery was rapidly deteriorating. Not only were slaveowners entitled to compensation, but free blacks and slaves also counted towards the state quota, thus many slaveowners could have protected their family members from having to join the war. There is no mention of an owner receiving more than $100 as compensation, but the U.S. Board of Claims awarded a compensation amount of "three hundred dollars" to Foster for the "service of slave Elby Rozier."14
On January 17, 1864, Elbert Rosier enlisted as a private in Company H of the 9th United States Colored Troops regiment.15 According to numerous affidavits, Elbert was routinely referred to as "Elby" among his fellow soldiers and friends.16 The 9th regiment took part in numerous battles, but one of the major battles was "the terrible and disastrous assault" on Fort Gilmer that occurred September 29, 1864.17 The 9th regiment also participated in the following battles: John's Island, South Carolina, Deep Bottom, Virginia, Fussel's Mills, Virginia, Siege of Petersburg, Virginia, Darbytown Road, Virginia, and the Capture of Richmond, Virginia on April 3, 1865.18 While in the service, Elby was sent to a hospital on August 2, 1864 at Beaufort, South Carolina.19 Pension documents suggest that he suffered from sun stroke, rheumatism, and eye problems.20 After fulfilling his three year term, Elby was honorably discharged from the army on November 26, 1866 at Fort Federal Hill, Baltimore, Maryland.21
After his discharge, Elby decided to stay in Baltimore where he would reside for the remainder of his life. Soon after his discharge, he married Elizabeth C. Hardy on January 25, 1870.22 They were married by Reverend James Peck at the Sharp St. M.E. Church in Baltimore.23 When the two were married, Elby was 26 years old, while Elizabeth was 23 years old.24 According to Elizabeth, she worked as a housemaid in Baltimore in the same house that Elbert's mother worked as a cook. That is where Elizabeth and Elbert first met because when he was discharged he went to see his mother.25 Elizabeth also stated that Elbert was a member of the Mason's society.26 The 1870 census shows that Elby and Elizabeth were living with Elizabeth's mother. Elby was working as a "nursery man" for his occupation.27
He was "greatly disabled" from the war, which hindered his ability to adequately perform laborious activities. By 1899, he suffered from rheumatism, heart disease, failure of sight, disease of the lungs, injury to his left ankle, and shortness of breath.28 In 1900, Elby was the head of household and residing with his wife, Elizabeth, and mother-in-law, Elizabeth Hardy. Elby and Elizabeth were married for thirty years and owned a house on Division Street.29 Elbert was a resident of Baltimore for 32 years.30 At the time of his death on January 31, 1901, he was living at 1309 Division Street.31 He died from pneumonia and heart failure and was buried on February 3, 1901 at the Laurel Cemetery.32 During his time in Baltimore, Elby and Elizabeth also resided at 536 Oxford Street and 1726 East Lombard Street.33
At the time of his death, he owned the house on 1309 Division Street, which he bought "paying down $800 cash," which he borrowed from Elizabeth's mother.34 Elizabeth could not keep the house after his death, since they did not own the ground it was on and had to pay ground rent.35 She received support from a widow's pension earning $8.00 per month, which commenced on February 20, 1901.36 Elizabeth C. Rosier was dropped from the pension rolls on December 20, 1909; she was last paid $12.00 per month.37
For a visual representation of Elbert "Elby" Rosier's
journey from
slavery to freedom, please click
here. Users must have access to Google Earth in order to
utilize this
file, which includes landmarks (pins) in Rosier's life from 1839 to
1901.
You may take the tour and investigate individual sites under the
"Places"
tab on the left of the screen, or you may navigate using the slider and
cursor on the map itself.
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