Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)
Mary White (b. circa 1820 - d. ?)
MSA SC 5496-51345
Maryland State Colonization Society Emigrant to Liberia from Caroline
County, 1832
Biography:
Mary was born free to Willoughby
and Sarah
White, freeborn blacks of Caroline County.1In 1832, the
Whites were enumerated on Caroline County's Free Negro Census, where they
indicated a desire to emigrate to Liberia.2 Later that
year, Mary emigrated from the United States to Liberia with her parents,
Willoughby and Sarah White, and five sisters: Maria,
Amy,
Catharine,
Eleanor,
and Hester,
on the ship Lafayette.3 Departing from Baltimore on December
9, 1832, they arrived in Monrovia, Liberia on February 7, 1833 before settling
in Caldwell, Liberia.4 In 1834, the family moved to Cape Palmas,
where Willoughby died suddenly in 1835.5 Perhaps because of
the turmoil caused by their father's death, Mary lived with her sister,
Maria White Polk, at least 1837 through 1839, and again in 1843.6,
7, 8, 9 In 1843, Mary married Dempsey R. Fletcher. For some reason,
Mary left the Methodist Church in 1847 and joined the Episcopal Church.
As of the 1852 census, she was still living and a resident of the colony.10
1. SPECIAL
COLLECTIONS (Papers of the Maryland State Colonization Society), Manumission
Lists, 1832-1839, MSA SC 5977, Film Number M 13248-1, Emigrants Line 35-42.
2. SPECIAL
COLLECTIONS (Papers of the Maryland State Colonization Society), Free Negro
Census, Caroline County, 1832, MSA SC 5977, Film Number M 13255-1, Lines
829-838.
3. SPECIAL
COLLECTIONS (Papers of the Maryland State Colonization Society), Manumission
Lists, 1832-1839, MSA SC 5977, Film Number M 13248-1, Emigrants Line 35-42.
4. Hall, Richard L. On Afric’s Shore: A History of Maryland in Liberia,
1834-1857. (Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society, 2003), p. 444.
5. Hall, 443.
6. SPECIAL
COLLECTIONS (Papers of the Maryland State Colonization Society), Subscribers
Reports Census, 1817-1902, MSA SC 5977, Film Number M 13247-1, 1837 Census.
7. SPECIAL
COLLECTIONS (Papers of the Maryland State Colonization Society), Subscribers
Reports Census, 1817-1902, MSA SC 5977, Film Number M 13247-1, 1838 Census.
8. SPECIAL
COLLECTIONS (Papers of the Maryland State Colonization Society), Subscribers
Reports Census, 1817-1902, MSA SC 5977, Film Number M 13247-1, 1839 Census.
9. SPECIAL
COLLECTIONS (Papers of the Maryland State Colonization Society), Subscribers
Reports Census, 1817-1902, MSA SC 5977, Film Number M 13247-1, 1843 Census.
10. Hall, 444.
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Copyright Tuesday, 08-May-2012 10:52:16 EDT Maryland State Archives