Ester Coursey
MSA SC 5496-50992
War of 1812 Refugee, St. Mary's County, Maryland, 1814
Biography:
Ester Coursey was one of the forty-eight refugees that escaped from Sotterley Plantation in St. Mary's County, Maryland, during the War of 1812. In his reparations claim, John R. Plater lists her as "Ester Seale" and identifies her as a four-year old worth $150. On July 22, 1814, she escaped from Sotterley by boarding the H.M.S. Severn, captained by Joseph Nourse, while the frigate was in the Patuxent River. She was one of fourty-four refugees from Sotterley to escape aboard the Severn including her father Stephen Coursey, mother Susannah Coursey, sister Peggy Coursey, and brothers Mathew and James Coursey.1 The next day, Captain Nourse reported on the incident in a letter to Admiral Cockburn as he commented "Last night 39 men, women, and children came from Colonel Plater's".2
Although John R. Plater identified Ester as a member of the Seale family, she was instead more likely a member of the Coursey family. As part of his reparations claim, John R. Plater included an affidavit from Captain Nourse. In the affidavit, Captain Nourse verified that while he commanded the H.M.S. Severn, forty-four slaves voluntarily came on board the vessel from John R. Plater's plantation along the Patuxent between July 22 and 25, 1814. Most of the names on Captain Nourse's list match the names on John R. Plater's list except for Ester, who Captain Nourse lists as "Ester Coursey". The "Ester Seale" on John R. Plater's list and the "Ester Coursey" on Captain Nourse's list are both identified as four-years old.3
The Ship musters for the vessels that carried away the Sotterley refugees further corroborate that Ester belonged to the Coursey family and not the Seale family. Ten of the forty-nine Sotterley refugees had the surname "Seale" and all of them, except for Ignatius Seale, escaped aboard the H.M.S. Severn.4 While the Seale and Coursey families both initially boarded the Severn, each family transfered to different ships and took seperate courses to freedom. An "Ester Coursey" appears with the other members of the Coursey family in the ship musters for all of the vessels they traveled on during their escape. An "Ester Seale" does not however appear in the ship musters for any of the vessels that carried away Seale family members.5 If Ester did belong to the Seale family, she did not travel with them during her flight to freedom: an especially unlikely occurence given her young age.
The Severn ship musters list Ester Coursey as boarding the vessel on July 22, and soon being discharged with Stephen, Susannah, Mathew, James, and Peggy Coursey to the H.M.S. Aetna on July 24, 1814.6 After a few days on the Aetna, the Coursey family was discharged to the H.M.S. Albion on July 27.7 They spent nearly two weeks on the Albion until August 12, when they were finally discharged to the H.M.S. Jasseur.8 The Jasseur was likely the ship that transported the Coursey family out of the Chesapeake to their new home in Nova Scotia. The ship logs for the Jasseur indicate that on Saturday August 13 the ship received 290 Black men, women, and children to take to Halifax. A few weeks later on Friday September 2, the ship logs report laying anchor at Halifax Harbor, and then discharging the refugees on shore.9 A Nova Scotian newspaper reported that on September 1, 1814 the H.M. Brig Jasseur had arrived in Halifax after a 10 day voyage from the Chesapeake, and that it had brought a few hundred Black refugees, some of whom had died during the journey.10 Once in Nova Scotia, Ester and her family could safely maintain their freedom within the confines of the British Empire and over a thousand miles away from Sotterley.
The
Coursey family retained their freedom after the war and are listed
in the official census taken of the new Black refugees in Halifax.
Problematically, the Halifax list identifies Stephen Coursey and
Susannah Coursey as having only one child.11
However, Ester Coursey and all of her siblings seem to have survived the journey
to freedom with their parents. On
November 2, 1815, the Coursey family settled on land in the Northwest
Arm of Halifax Harbor conveyed to them by Henry H. Cogswell. They
were joined there by the Munroe and Seale families who had also escaped
from Sotterley. An 1815 census of the
refugee families settled on Cogswell's land lists Stephen Coursey
as having under his care a wife (Susannah) and four children: Mathew,
James, Peggy, and Ester Coursey. Despite
gaining their freedom, the refugee families struggled during their
first months on Cogswell's land. A letter
from Cogswell to the governor of Nova Scotia indicates that by December
24, 1815 the families still had not received any supplies of clothing.
Despite
having minimal clothing during the harsh Nova Scotian Winter,
the refugee families survived and an 1816 census indicates that Stephen
Coursey had the same number of people under his care as in 1815.12
1. Claim of John Rousby Plater, St. Mary’s County, Case #310, Case Files Ca. 1814-28, 3.5 ft. entry 190, Record Group 76, National Archives, College Park.
2. Stanley Quick Research Collection, MSA SC5969, 4-1170.
3. Claim of John Rousby Plater, St. Mary’s County, Case #310, Case Files Ca. 1814-28, 3.5 ft. entry 190, Record Group 76, National Archives, College Park.
4. "Severn Ship Musters" UKNA: ADM 37/5430.
5. Ibid. "Manly Ship Musters" UKNA: ADM 37/4931. "Tangier Island Musters" UKNA: ADM 37/7262.
6. "Severn Ship Musters" UKNA: ADM 37/5430.
7. "Aetna Ship Musters" UKNA: ADM 37/4878.
8. "Albion Ship Musters" UKNA: ADM 37/5005.
9. Stanley Quick Research Collection, MSA SC5969, 1-1-0300.
10. NSARM Acadian Recorder 3 September 1814 p.3 (microfilm no. 5193)
11. National Archives and Records Administration NSARM (Washington DC) RG 76 Entry 185 GB 1814 no. 51 G.B. 6 (microfilm copy only available at NSARM, microfilm no. 13577)
12. Commissioner of Public Records NSARM RG 1 vol. 420 no. 93 (microfilm no. 15464)
researched and written by Charles Weisenberger
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