Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

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Mary Ann Coates (b. circa 1804 - d. ?)
MSA SC 5496-3392
Accomplice to slave flight, Baltimore County, 1862

Biography:

Mary Ann Coates was convicted in Baltimore County Circuit Court during May term, 1862 of enticing slaves to run away.  There is no record of the names of the slave owners or the slaves involved, but we know that Mary Ann Coates was age fifty-eight when the Court sentenced her to serve six years in the Maryland Penitentiary.  Governor A.W. Bradford requested the Board of the Maryland Penitentiary to furnish a list of prisoners who deserve to have his consideration for a pardon, and Mary Ann Coates was among those on the list in the letter that was sent back to the Governor on Dec 29, 1863.  While she was in jail, there was a petition for the pardon of the following people in pen for enticing slaves to runaway: Joseph Bowers, Mary Ann Coates, Negro Aaron, Joseph Boley, Calib Day, Richard Coates alias Jacob Coates, John Reese alias John Jones, & Parker Johnson.1  There was also a “statistical report of Sunday parties”…”confined in the Institution for the crime of assisting slaves to run away, including the following: Thomas Skinner, Joseph Bowers, William Hill, Mary Ann Coates, Negro Aaron, Joseph Boley, Calib Day, Rich alias Jacob Coates, John Reese alias John Jones, Parker Johnson.2  The Governor granted a pardon to Mary Ann Coates on May 30, 1865.


1. SECRETARY OF STATE (Pardon Papers) MSA S1031, Mary Ann Coates, Box 61, Folder 5, Dates: 1865, Accession No.: 5401-61, MSA No.: S 1031-23.
2. SECRETARY OF STATE (Pardon Papers) MSA S1031, Mary Ann Coates, Box 61, Folder 5, Dates: 1865, Accession No.: 5401-61, MSA No.: S 1031-23.


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