Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

Jeremiah Banning (b. 1733 - d. 1798)
MSA SC 5496-001666
Slaveholder in Oxford, Talbot County, Maryland

Biography:

Early Life and Career

Colonel Jeremiah Banning was born on the 25th of March, 1733 in Talbot County to James Banning and his wife Jane Spencer. He was born at the Banning family home, the Isthmus, which stood on Plain Dealing Creek and looked out on the Treadhaven (Tred Avon) River.1 He had two brothers, Anthony and Henry. After the death of Banning's father, Jane Banning married Nicholas Goldsborough, Jr., on April 7, 1746. Although Nicholas and Jane Goldsborough had no children together, Nicholas adopted Jane’s three children from her marriage with James. Nicholas Goldsborough died on November 14, 1756, bequeathing Jeremiah "my land in Hall's neck, Grundys Addition, etc."2 Jane died on November 11, 1767.3

Jeremiah Banning began working as a sailor in 1751, at the age of eighteen. According to his autobiography, Banning's "disposition always led him from his earlier youth" to a mariner's life.4 He made his first voyage in May, 1751 on the Mary and Ann, a ninety-five-ton, square-rigged snow brig.5 Banning served as one of nine crew members under Captain Edward Brooke. The Mary and Ann received 4,925 gallons of Madeira wine in Portugal.6 Banning later wrote that he had admired the towering mountains of Pico Island—but could not understand a word that the customs officials spoke. He also visited a spectacular cathedral, which he drily observed "seemed to have exhausted all Brazil and Peru of their treasures."7 The ship returned to Oxford, Maryland, on the 7th of September 1751.8 Banning then worked for a time as a clerk at the store of William Adams of Oxford, who owned the Mary and Ann.9

Banning resumed his maritime career in 1752. Three years later he was given command the Humming Bird. Captain Banning sailed the Humming Bird from Oxford, Maryland to Rhode Island, with over 400 gallons of rum and 4 hogsheads of tobacco.10 Built in Virginia, the thirty-ton, six-gun schooner belonged to Thomas Cooper and H. Breckell, of Maryland.11 The Humming Bird's guns provided necessary protection, since a captain's duties included preventing the ship and its cargo from falling into the hands of pirates.12

In 1761, Banning was captured by French privateers off the coast of Barbados and held prisoner outside the town Saint Pierre, Martinique. Banning writes that he and his crew “suffered more than language can relate.” Banning writes that of the 378 men incarcerated with him, only Banning and one other man survived.13

In 1763, Captain Banning sailed the Two Sisters to from London to West Africa carrying a cargo of British spirits Banning writes that he was astonished by the majesty and politeness of the royal court of Senegal. He describes the King of Senegal as “tall, muscular, and robust. His dress a plaid Banyan, check shirt, striped trousers and red morocco slippers.”14 While dinning with the king, Banning writes that the king inquired about European politics and discussed trade with Banning and Banning’s fellow European traders. Banning concludes his chronicle of the evening with the following description of the king’s palace:

The King’s palace was the work of Europeans. It was comprised of stone and mortar and the walls within plastered and adorned with various kinds of arms for war, together with numbers of horns (such as sheep, buffalo, and rhinoceros) containing position o dip their arrows and spears in.15

Three days later, the Two Sisters sailed from Senegal to Gorée. Banning acquired several salves in Gorée. He explains:

“[T]he common way of trafficking for negroes was at prime cost of goods…₤16/10 sterling was the price of a man or woman, and all those 4½ feet high were deemed of the that denomination. Captain Banning purchased for himself, on the following terms – some of which may indeed be called droll – for Senegal he gave ₤20; Ishennie, Lucy, Juba, and Scipio (the three later children to Ishennie) the like sum.”16

Banning acquired several slaves in Senegal in exchange for goods and services. He received two slaves exchange for a jeans coat, which was rare in that area, and a fusee. From the Governor of Senegal, Colonel Worge, he received a slave in exchange for keeping a Guernsey cow aboard the ship.17 From the recently appointed Governor of Gorée, Captain Bumbury, he received a slave in exchange for passage to Senegal.18 Banning acquired his tenth slave from Gorée slave traders.19

The Two Sisters transported several persons of “great distinction” while in Africa, including the Governor of Gorée, several British officers, and African princes and princesses. 20

While aboard the ship, a member of the African delegation recognized one of Banning’s slaves as her brother and attempted to purchase him from Banning. She initiallyed offered one slave in exchange for her brother but Banning refused this offer, she then offered one slave and five bars of gold, which Banning also refused.21 She then offered five bars of gold and two of her best slaves, which Banning accepted in exchange for her brother.22 The two slaves Banning acquired from this transaction attempted to escape from the Two Sisters with another slave. . Banning describes the circumstances of their escape in the following passage from his log:

It happened at that time, some transport ships lay in the roads having on board soldiers. – Most the officers supend [sic] one night aboard the Two Sisters – about 11 they were alarmed by a mutiny among the soldiers – the officers were immediately furnished with the Two Sisters’ boats, to visit the different transports in as to quiet the riot [and] what with fatigue [and] loss of rest, a bad watch was kept for the remainder of the night. – The consequence was that the two last mentioned negroes, together with another, made their escape. At day dawning, Captain Banning went upon decks, [and] missed one of the boats from the stern, – this led to a suspicion of what had really happened, evident , that some of the negroes had gone off – a candle was brought, [and] a search made between deck – three of the negroes were found, to be missing. – The moon, was then, just about setting, directly in the stream of which. – The boat was seen drifting out to sea – another was departed after her – but on her near approach, the two negroes, which had been taken in exchange, jumped overboard, [and] were immediately devoured by the sharks – the third – his heart failed, he was retaken [and] after that, brought to Maryland, [and] a few  years afterwards, was by an accident, drowned in the cove before Captain Banning’s door—The five bars of gold were stlen.”23

The Two Sisters departed for Oxford on 14th of July, 1763 and arrived on 20th of August, 176324

In 1765, Banning unwittingly transported Zachariah Hood, the first and only stamp collector sent to Maryland after the passage of the Stamp Act, to Maryland aboard the Layton.25 Banning states that if he had known that Hood was to be the collector of the new tax he would not have brought him to America. He further remarks the that Stamp Act “first paved the way to a civil war – revolution – and ultimately the loss of the 13 of [Great Britain’s] principle providences in North America.”26

Banning concluded his maritime career in 1772 and retired to his plantation, The Isthmus, in Talbot County.

American Revolution and Later  

Banning was "widely known for his patriotism during the revolutionary war," according to the Baltimore Sun.27 He was elected a First Major on January 3, 1776, as part of a military force "for the protection of the Province."28 He was later promoted to the rank of Colonel. By the time of the Revolution, which Banning viewed as a civil war, he had seen Oxford decline from a vibrant seaport to a "poor, forlorn and deserted town."29

In 1787, the governor appointed Banning the armourer of the Eastern Shore.30 That year or the next, Banning was also elected as one of the four representatives from Talbot County at the ratification of the Constitution. However, he did not attend the convention.31 He began serving as a judge for the Orphan's Court in 1789.32

George Washington appointed Jeremiah Banning as Oxford's first custom’s official on the 21st of March, 1791. Banning operated from the Isthmus, where he built the Oxford District Customs House.33 Banning was "very intimate with Washington, and was elected to represent Talbot County in the Ratification of the 'Federal Government of the United States.'" Furthermore, his house, the Isthmus, was the scene of great hospitality during the early period preceding the Revolution. Here Washington, Lafayette, William Morris, the financier, and others of fame during that period were entertained. The Isthmus was one of the finest houses of that early period."34 Banning resigned in 1795, with his son Robert taking over the position.35

Will

In 1793, Banning wrote Narrative of the Principal Incidents in the Life of Jeremiah Banning. He passed away on 1798.36 His twenty-three-page will included unvarnished personal opinions of the laws, politics, and attitudes of the time, mainly for his children’s benefit. He names three children in his will: Freeborn, born on May 24, 1777; Robert, born in 1776; and Clementina, whose birth date is currently unknown. In his will, he referred to them as his adopted children, originally bearing the surname Gossage. Their mother was Mary Gossage.37

Banning also gave his opinion of slavery:

Since the late contest with Great-Britain our mother County for liberty, I believe it hath lead most americans seriously to reflect on the impropriety of our conduct in holding others at the same time in the most abject bondage that we were clamouring for liberty – I mean the negroes and hope the period not far remote before first in part then totally slavery will be abolished, and that these unfortunate and much injured people may be redressed…. I may also add with regret that I bought most of them or their ancestors from Africa their native country, the justice of which traffick at that time seemed not in the least to have been considered.38

Clearly, Banning’s view of slavery had changed drastically from when he first became a slaveholder. He described the indifference with which he had accepted slavery, purchasing "most of [his slaves] or their ancestors from Africa their native country, the justice of which traffick at that time seemed not in the least to have been considered." Describing the atrocities commonly committed against blacks, Banning insisted on the need to "erase from the inspection of future generations these horred laws for shooting of negroes and cutting off their ears, and for offences too, that would not now risque the life of a cat."39 Banning had already written in his autobiography that he had commonly heard wealthy slaveholders, when gathered "at each other’s houses, ... boast of the new invented ways of whipping & punishing negroes & servants; & I am sorry to say, that the ladies would too often mingle in the like conversation, & seem to enjoy it."40 Banning maintained that such attitudes were not exceptions, but instead "the greatest reflection on the times."

In his will, Banning manumitted all of his slaves as well as those born in the future, with the younger ones receiving liberty after they reached a certain age. Rather than freeing the men at age twenty-one and the women at age eighteen—a fairly common practice—Banning mentioned each slave by name and gave the exact year in which he or she would receive freedom. Interestingly, some of the slaves' names had European origins, like Hector and Phillis, while others showed African influence, like Passa, Cassa, and Jaba/Juba.41

1.     “Obituary.” Baltimore Sun 30 December 1884: 3. Baltimore Sun Historical Archive.
         Zella Armstrong. Notable Southern Families (The Lookout Publishing Company, Chattanooga, TN: 1918) 26.

2.         TALBOT COUNTY REGISTER OF WILLS, (Wills), [C1925-5]. Jeremiah Banning, April 15, 1795, Liber JP 5, Folios 309-331.
            Roberta Bolling Henry, ed. "Robert Goldsborough of Ashby, and His Six Sons." Maryland Historical Magazine 36.3 (1941): 322.

3.         TALBOT COUNTY REGISTER OF WILLS, (Wills), [C1925-5]. Jeremiah Banning, April 15, 1795, Liber JP 5, Folios 309-331.

4.         Qtd. in Oswold Tilghman and Samuel Alexander Harrison. History of Talbot County, Maryland, 1661-1861. Vol. 1 (Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins Company, 1915) 323.

5.         John H. Harland and Mark Myers. Seamanship in the Age of Sail (Annapolis, MD: US Naval Institute Press, 1984) 78.

6.         NAVAL OFFICER, (Port of Entry Record), 1745-1757, Patuxent, [MSA S204-2].

7.         Qtd. in Tilghman and Harrison 328.

8.         NAVAL OFFICER, (Port of Entry Record), 1745-1757, Patuxent, [MSA S204-2].

9.         Jeremiah Banning, “1751 Learns Business, aged 18” in Log and Will of Jeremiah Banning (1733-1798) (New York: W. F. Austin, 1933)

10.       NAVAL OFFICER, (Port of Entry Record), 1745-1757, Patuxent, [MSA S204-2], p. 128-129.

11.       Jeremiah Banning, “1755 Master of Schooner, Visits Hampton Roads” in Log and Will of Jeremiah Banning (1733-1798) (New York: W. F. Austin, 1933)

12.       Armstrong 26.

13.       Jeremiah Banning, “Imprisoned in Log and Will of Jeremiah Banning (1733-1798) (New York: W. F. Austin, 1933)

14.       Jeremiah Banning, “January 1763” in Log and Will of Jeremiah Banning (1733-1798) (New York: W. F. Austin, 1933)

15.       Ibid.

16.       Jeremiah Banning, Log and Will of Jeremiah Banning, quoted in Jane Foster Tucker, Jeremiah Banning: Mariner and Patriot (Easton: Oxford Bicentennial Commission, 1977) 41.

17.       Ibid.

18.       Ibid.

19.       Ibid, 42.

20.       Jeremiah Banning, “January 1763” in Log and Will of Jeremiah Banning (1733-1798) (New York: W. F. Austin, 1933)

21.       Jeremiah Banning, “Goree” in Log and Will of Jeremiah Banning (1733-1798) (New York: W. F. Austin, 1933)

22.       Ibid.

23.       Jeremiah Banning, “Munity” in Log and Will of Jeremiah Banning (1733-1798) (New York: W. F. Austin, 1933)

24.       Jeremiah Banning, “1763, aged 30, Guinea” in Log and Will of Jeremiah Banning (1733-1798) (New York: W. F. Austin, 1933)

25.       Jane Foster Tucker, Jeremiah Banning: Mariner and Patriot (Easton: Oxford Bicentennial Commission, 1977) 45.

26.        Ibid.

27.       Richard Henry Spencer. "Hon. Nicholas Thomas." Maryland Historical Magazine 6.2 (June 1911): 156.

28.       MARYLAND STATE PAPERS, (Series A), Jeremiah Banning (TA) to Gov, 1787. [MSA S1004-86-21090].

29.       Qtd. in William F. Boogher. Miscellaneous Americana: A Collection of History, Biography and Genealogy (Philadelphia, PA: Dando Printing and Publishing Co., 1883) 47.

30.       ARCHIVES OF MARYLAND ONLINE, Maryland Manual 1973-74, [DC76-61].

31.       MARYLAND STATE PAPERS, (Series A), Jeremiah Banning (TA) to Gov., 1789. [MSA S1004-94-21964].

32.       "Oxford District Custom House (The Isthmus)." T-549. Inventory of Historical Properties. Maryland Historical Trust. www.mdihp.net.
         Armstrong 26

33.       Ibid.

34.       Armstrong 26.

35.       Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States of America. Vol. 1 (Washington, D.C.: Duff Green, 1828) 171. American Memory Project. Library of Congress. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html.

36.       TALBOT COUNTY REGISTER OF WILLS, (Wills), [C1925-5]. Jeremiah Banning, April 15, 1795, Liber JP 5, Folios 309-331.
            "Oxford District Custom House (The Isthmus)." T-549. Inventory of Historical Properties. Maryland Historical Trust. www.mdihp.net.

37.       TALBOT COUNTY REGISTER OF WILLS, (Wills), [C1925-5]. Jeremiah Banning, April 15, 1795, Liber JP 5, Folios 309-331.

38.       TALBOT COUNTY REGISTER OF WILLS, (Wills), [C1925-5]. Jeremiah Banning, April 15, 1795, Liber JP 5, Folios 309-331.

39.       Ibid.

40.       Qtd. in Boogher 46.

41.       TALBOT COUNTY REGISTER OF WILLS, (Wills), [C1925-5]. Jeremiah Banning, April 15, 1795, Liber JP 5, Folios 309-331.

Written by Rachael Frazier, Research Archivist, and Christian Savage, Research Intern, 2013.

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