Israel Coleman
(b. 1817 - d. ?)
MSA SC 5496-51756
Manumitted Slave, Dorchester County, Maryland
Biography:
Israel Coleman was born a slave in 1817; in 1838 his rightful ownership was contested.
In
February 1838, Thomas Layton filed a bill of
complaint against William Collison in the Chancery Court. The complaint
explained that on April 12, 1830 he pledged his fourteen year old "negro
boy" Israel Coleman to Elizabeth Ayres to secure repayment of a $28.47
loan. Ms. Ayres transferred the mortgage to James Layton that same
year. Thomas claimed to have repayed the full amount but James' heirs,
his daughter Mary and her husband William Collison, had not returned
Coleman.1 The official record of James Layton's last
will and testement, and other documents concerning Coleman, Collison,
and the Laytons were likely destroyed in the May 9, 1852 courthouse
fire.2 Because of
inconsistent
record keeping and this fire, it is difficult to learn more about
Coleman during this period. After reading Thomas Layton's petition for
Coleman's return, the chancellor of the court ordered Collison to
deliver him.3
In 1840, Collison's large household in Vienna District included 21 whites, 9 free persons of color, and five slaves.4 For unknown reasons, Coleman remained Collison's slave because on Februrary 15, 1848 he filed a delayed manumission for a 32 year old "Negro Man named Israel" with an emancipation date of December 31, 1855.5 On January 29, 1849 Collison superceded that manumission and declared Coleman would be freed on January 1, 1852.6 An 1853 Certificate of Freedom record, which states Coleman was freed the same day Collison filed the the second manumission, described Coleman as being "36 years five feet eight inches high, of a dark Complexion with a scar on each hand on or near the first joint of thumb near the wrist" and was born and raised in Dorchester County.7
Some time before 1860, Coleman moved to the city of Cambridge where, according to that year's Federal Census, he apparently rented and maintained his own residence while working as a "Jou[rneyman] Carpenter." As was often the case with former slaves, Coleman was illiterate.8
Sources:
4. Ancestry.com, United States Federal Census, 1840, Dorchester County, Vienna District, Maryland, p. 21
Ancestry.com, United States Federal Census, 1840, Dorchester County, Vienna District, Maryland, p. 22
Researched and written by Alex Champion, 2013
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