Jesse Wood
MSA SC 5496-51002
War of 1812 Refugee, St. Mary's County, Maryland, 1814
Biography:
Jesse wood lived on Sotterley Plantation in St. Mary's County, Maryland, as a slave of John R. Plater. Between July 22 and 25, 1814, Jesse escaped from Sotterley by boarding the British frigate Severn, captained by Joseph Nourse, in the Patuxent. Jesse was one of 49 slaves who escaped from Sotterley during the War of 1812 and one of 44 slaves that escaped aboard the Severn, including two other slaves with the surname Wood: Abram Wood and Maria Wood.1
Jesse retained his freedom after the war and is listed among the Black refugees who settled in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Halifax list identifies Jesse as 55 years old2, but John R. Plater's reparations claim and Captain Nourse's affidavit each identify Jesse as 39 and 40 respectively.3 The Halifax list also identifies Jesse as having one child under his care, which could possibly be either Abram or Maria Wood.4 John R. Plater, however, claimed that Jesse had 4 children under his care.5 Jesse is also possibly related to Joseph Wood, another slave from Sotterley, who escaped aboard the British frigate Loire and served in the First Company of the Colonial Marines.
2. 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)
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. 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)
5. 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.
|
Tell Us What You Think About the Maryland State Archives Website!
|