Cecelia Ann Hanson (b. circa 1822 - d. ?)
MSA SC 5496-51358
Maryland State Colonization Society Emigrant to Liberia from Charles
County, 1835
Biography:
Cecilia Ann Hanson was freed by Henry B. Goodwin of Charles County in order to emigrate to Liberia.1 Cecilia Ann departed Baltimore on the schooner Harmony on June 28, 1835, arriving in Cape Palmas, Liberia on August 23, 1835. Since she was a minor, she probably traveled in the company of Ambrose Simpson and his family, whom Cecilia Ann would have known. Simpson's wife, Mary Ann, and his children, Edward and Letty Ann, had also been freed by Henry B. Goodwin.2 The Liberia censuses of 1837 through 1840 show her living with them, sometimes with the last name of Simpson.3, 4, 5, 6, 7 This suggests that she lived with the Simpsons as a daughter rather than merely as a housekeeper or nurse to their children. Although the 1838 census shows a fifteen year old female named "Cle Ann Harrison" residing with the Simpsons this is likely the same Cecila Ann as the place of residence and age of this person corresponds to information known about Cecilia Ann. She does not appear in the record after 1840, possibly due to death or taking her husband's name through marriage. The colony did not record deaths and marriages consistently, making it a challenge to trace colonists, particularly women, over the years.
2. Ibid, Lines 270-272.
3. Hall, Richard L. On Afric’s Shore: A History of Maryland in Liberia, 1834-1857. (Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society, 2003), 451.
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