Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)
William H Grace
(b. 1828 - d. 1873)
MSA SC 5496-51925
Biography:
William H. Grace was born in 1828. He married Ann M. Grace
(1828-1870) and lived in Cambridge in Dorchester County. The couple had
several children, including Sarah
(1856-?), William (1857-?), James (1860-?), Allen (1863-?), Charles
(1865-?), and Annie (1868-?).
In 1860, William H. Grace was a
trader living in Cambridge, Dorchester County. At that time he and his
wife, Annie, had four children. A bricklayer named Alexander Cook was
also living in their household.1 Grace owned two slaves in 1860; a woman
age 32, and an eleven year old boy.2 He owned $700 in real estate and
had a personal estate worth $1200.
In
1862, Grace
changed professions to become a saloon keeper. He went into business
with Alexander Cook, the bricklayer who was living with his family--
although he was known in official documents as William Alexander Cook.
The two bought John B. Ries' ten pin alley and billiard room,
which included a bar and "eating room." This purchase included all of
the "decanters, demijohns, bottles, plates, knives and forks, chafing
dishes... and all [Ries'] stock of liquors," along with the ten pin and
billiard equipment.3 In 1870 he was still a saloon keeper, living in Cambridge with his wife and five
children. Their real estate and personal estate were each worth $5000
individually. William Alexander Cook and his wife Mary P. lived next door to the Graces along with their daughter Fannie and
a black servant woman named Clora Whittington.4
William H. Grace was known as a "southern rights man" in the community.5 He advertised to sell slaves in the Cambridge Democrat,
including sixteen year old William Richard Hawins in 1859.6 In 1862 he hired out
a "valuable young negro man" as a farm hand.7 Additionally, he seems to
have dabbled in slavetrading as a means of making money. In 1859 he put
an advertisement in the paper offering to buy "any number of young and likely
negroes."8
By November of 1859, Grace was a constable in
Dorchester County. This post meant that he was responsible for
advertising for Constable's Sales of seized property, including slaves.
The Cambridge Democrat only
contains one slave sale made by Grace as constable. In 1860 he seized
and sold a woman named Maria and her daughter. The two were to be sold
at public sale to the highest bidder at the Court House door in
Cambridge. The sale was postponed at least twice, with the latest date
of sale on January 30, 1861.9
The
Civil War polarized the
population on the Eastern Shore, and William H. Grace's loyalties put
him in conflict with the governing forces in Maryland, although his
sympathies were not rare within his own community on the Eastern
Shore. In 1861,
Governor Hicks ordered the arrest of a number of men on the Eastern
Shore. The prisoners were taken by the Dorchester Guards to board a
boat at the wharf. A crowd formed near the wharf, and as the men were
being escorted, "the feeling became
highly excited" and cheers came up from the crowd for Jefferson Davis.
The tension was so heightened that some of the guards on
the boat approached the crowd with bayonets affixed. Constable William
H. Grace was on hand at the event, but instead of quelling the crowd he
became involved in a scuffle with a hotel owner named John Bradshaw.
Bradshaw was a "warm personal and political
friend of Gov. H," and as a friend of the governor he would likely have
supported the actions Governor Hicks was taking to preserve Maryland's
place in the Union. Grace was described by the newaspaper as a
"southern rights man." The disagreement came to a quick conclusion--
the "collision... was checked by some of the
citizens."10
In
1866 William H. Grace and William Alexander Cook and their wives
sold a section of land near Cambridge to the Dorchester and
Delaware Railroad for $1200.11
William H. Grace died in 1873 and was buried in the Cambridge Cemetery.12
Footnotes:
1. U.S. CENSUS BUREAU (Census Record, MD) 1860. "William H. Grace" Cambridge, Dorchester County, Maryland.
2. U.S. CENSUS BUREAU (Slave Schedules, MD) 1860. "William H. Grace" Cambridge, Dorchester County, Maryland.
3. DORCHESTER COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT (Land Records) 1862, FJH 5, p. 271.
4. U.S. CENSUS BUREAU (Census Record, MD) 1870. "William H. Grace" Cambridge, Dorchester County, Maryland.
5. "Local Matters." The Sun, July 16, 1861.
6. "Private Sale." Cambridge Democrat, June 29, 1859.
7. "To Hire." Cambridge Democrat, November 20, 1861.
8. "Wanted." Cambridge Democrat, August 24, 1859.
9. "Postponed Constable's Sale." Cambridge Democrat, January 16, 1861.
10. "Local Matters."
11. DORCHESTER COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT (Land Records) 1866, FJH 6, p. 431.
12. "William H. Grace" Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=30983960
Researched and written by Emily Huebner, 2014.
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