Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

Charles Weeks (b. circa 1842 - d. 1904)
MSA SC 5496-002006
USCT Soldier, Queen Anne's County, Maryland

Biography:

Charles Weeks was born into slavery in Centreville in 1841 or 1842, to Joseph Weeks and Elizabeth Wilward.1 Weeks received manumission from Kensey Harrison in 1864, and served in the USCT in Company F, 7th Regiment. He achieved the rank of sergeant, and was wounded in action at Fort Gilmer on September 29, 1864.2

A Freedman's Bureau record from 1869 showed that Weeks was living in Baltimore City with his wife, Mary, at 116 Jasper Street.3 In 1870, he and Mary were living still living in Baltimore City, where he worked as a "Drayman" and Mary at "washing and ironing."4 The 1900 census showed that he was still working as a driver, and his wife Mary was still living.5

Weeks passed away on May 24, 1904. His residence, at the time of his death, was 92 Pierce Street. He was buried at Loudon National Cemetery, in Section A, Site 1033.6 Mary Weeks survived her husband, and applied for a pension under his name.7 By 1910, she was working as a cook for Mary Croum, who ran a boarding house in Baltimore City, Ward 11.8 

For a visual representation of Charles Weeks'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 Weeks's life from around 1842 to 1904. 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.

1.     BALTIMORE CITY HEALTH DEPARTMENT BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS (Death Record) [MSA CM1132-83]. Charles Weeks, May 24, 1904, Certificate Number B 69,130.

2.     QUEEN ANNE'S COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT (Land Records) Liber SED 1, Folio 255 [MSA CE 58-6]. Kensey Harrison to Charles Weeks, June 21, 1864.
2.     Mildred C. Schoch Collection [MSA SC 1343], "A Record of the Military Service of United States Volunteer Colored Troops, War of 1861-1865 from Queen Anne's County, Maryland."

3.     Freedman's Bank record for Charles Weeks, Series M816, Roll 13, Page 232, Account 2126. HeritageQuest.com.

4.     U.S. Census Bureau (Census Record, MD) for Charles Weeks, 1870, Baltimore City, Ward 11, Page 225, Line 20 [MSA SM61-256, SCM 7241].

5.     U.S. Census Bureau (Census Record, MD) for Charles Weeks, 1900, Baltimore City, Ward 2, District 20, Page 4, Line 66 [MSA SM61-390, SCM 2375-2].

6.     Charles Weeks's Gravesite, Loudon Park Cemetery, Baltimore City, Maryland.

7.     Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 Record for Charles Weeks. Ancestry.com.

8.     U.S. Census Bureau (Census Record, MD) for Mary Weeks, 1910, Baltimore City, Ward 11, District 160, Page 6A, Line 8 [MSA SM61-432, SCM 3259].
 

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