SANKOFA'S SLAVERY DATA COLLECTION
Mansion House Farm (at Mount Vernon)
Location: Fairfax Co., VA
Constructed: ----
History: Mount Vernon was home to George Washington for more than 45 years. First known as Little Hunting Creek Plantation, the Estate was originally granted to Washington's great grandfather John Washington in 1674. It eventually passed to Washington's older half-brother, Lawrence, who renamed the property Mount Vernon after his commanding officer, Admiral Edward Vernon of the British navy. George Washington inherited the property upon the death of his brother Lawrence's widow in 1761.
At the age of eleven (1743), he inherited ten slaves and 500 acres of land. When he began farming Mount Vernon eleven years later, at the age of 22, he had a work force of about 36 slaves. With his marriage to Martha Custis in 1759, 20 of her slaves came to Mount Vernon. After their marriage, Washington purchased even more slaves. The slave population also increased because the slaves were marrying and raising their own families. By 1799, when George Washington died, there were 316 slaves living on the estate.
The skilled and manual labor needed to run Mount Vernon was largely provided by slaves. Many of the working slaves were trained in crafts such as milling, coopering, blacksmithing, carpentry,and shoemaking. The others worked as house servants, boatmen, coachmen or field hands. Some female slaves were also taught skills, particularly spinning, weaving and sewing, while others worked as house servants or in the laundry, the dairy, or the kitchen. Many female slaves also worked in the fields. Almost three-quarters of the 184 working slaves at Mount Vernon worked in the fields, and of those, about 60% were women.
Over the years, Washington enlarged the residence and built up the property from 2,000 to nearly 8,000 acres. He divided the acreage into five working farms: Dogue Run, Muddy Hole, River, Union and Mansion House Farm (where he lived with his family).
In his will, George Washington arranged for all of the slaves he owned to be
freed after the death of his wife, Martha. He also left instructions for the
continued care and education of some of his former slaves, support and training
for all of the children until they came of age, and continuing support for the
elderly.
Associated surnames: Custis, Washington
Associated Plantations: Dogue Run Farm (Fairfax Co., VA); Ferry Farm (Fairfax Co., VA); Muddy Hole Farm (Fairfax Co., VA); River Farm (Farifax Co., VA); Union Farm (Fairfax Co., VA)
Associated Free White Names
Associated Black Slave Names
1786: Slaves at Mansion House Farm (*Slaves owned by marriage/ dower of Martha Washington)
From George Washington's Diaries, 18 February 1786; http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/diaries/list/house.html
- *Alce: spinner
- child Anna: age 13
- child Christopher: age 11
- child Judy: age 7
- child Vina: age 5
- (Lame)*Alice: sempstress, 4 children
- child Richmond: age 9
- child Evey: age 2
- culd Delia: age 3 months
- Anthony: laborer
- *Austin: waiter in the house
- *Betty: sempstress, 2 children
- child Oney: age 12, house
- child Delphy: age 6
- Boatswain: laborer
- Bristol: gardener
- *Caroline: house maid
- child Caroline: age 1
- *Charlotte: semptress
- child Timothy: age 1
- *Doll: almost past service
- *Dolly: washer
- Frank: waiter in the house
- Frank: stock keeper, old
- George: smith
- Giles: driver/ stabler
- Gunner: laborer
- Hercules: cook
- Isaac: carpenter
- (Cook) Jack: jobber
- Jack: waggoner
- James: carpenter
- *Jenny: almost past service
- *Joe: driver/ stabler
- *Joe: laborer
- *Kitty: spinner
- child Sinah: age 14
- child Mima: age 12
- child Ally: age 10
- child Lucy: age 8
- child Grace: age 6
- child Letty: age 4
- child Nancy: age 2
- Moll: child, from Mr. Custis's Estate
- Myrtilla: spinner
- child Lilly: age 11
- child Ben: age 8
- child Harry: age 3
- child Boatswain: age 6
- child Lally: age 3 months
- Nathan: cook
- Natt: smith
- Paris-boy: driver/ stabler
- Peter: child, from Mr. Custis's Estate
- *Peter-lame: knitter
- *Sall: house maid
- child Cyrus: age 11
- Sall Brass: washer
- Sam: laborer
- Sambo: carpenter
- *Schomerg: past labour
- *Simms: carter
- *Tom Davis: laborer
- *Tom Nokes: carpenter
- Will: Val de Chambre
- *Will: laborer
- Winny: spinner, old and almost blind
1799: Mansion House Farm slaves (in bold) owned by George Washington in his own right and by marriage* (dower of wife Martha Washington)
From George Washington's Will, 1799; http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/will/slalis/mansion.html
- *Alce: spinner
- husband Charles Freeman
- son *Emery
- son *Tom
- son *Charles
- dau *Henriette
- *Anna: spinner
- husband: living at George Town
- son *Daniel: age 6
- dau *Anna: age 4
- son *Sandy: age 1 year 6 months
- Ben: ditcher
- wife Penny: at River Farm
- Ben: miller
- wife *Sinnah: cropper
- dau *Nancy
- *Betty Davis: spinner
- husband Dick: Mrs. Washington's [editorial note: Mrs. Washington was Elizabeth Foote Washington, widow of Washington's old manager and cousin Lund Washington, who lived at Hayfield, northwest of Mount Vernon. Several other Mount Vernon servants were married to slaves at Hayfield.]
- dau *Nancy: age 9
- dau *Oney: age 6
- dau *Lucinda: age 2
- Boatswain: ditcher
- wife Myrtilla: spinner
- *Caroline: house maid
- husband Peter Hardman
- dau *Rachel: age 12
- dau *Jemima: age 9
- dau *Leanthe: age 8
- dau *Polly: age 6
- son *Peter: age 4
- Charles: ditcher
- wife *Fanny: at Union Farm
- *Charlotte: semptress; no husband
- dau *Elvey
- dau *Jenny
- dau *Eliza
- *Chriss: house servant
- wife: at Major West's [editorial note: Christopher was Washington's current body servant who was with him at his death. His wife was either a slave or a free black woman living at Roger West's.]
- *Cyrus: postilion
- wife Lucy: at River Farm
- *Daniel: distiller
- Davy: carpenter
- wife Edy: at Union Farm
- *Delia: age 14; cropper; no husband; sister of Eve
- *Delphy: spinner ; no husband
- *Doll: passed labor; no husband
- Dundee: ditcher
- wife: at Mr. Lears
- *Eve: age 17; cropper; no husband; a dwarf, sister of Delia
- Forrester: miller
- Frank: house servant
- wife *Lucy (children? see Note): cook
- Frank: passed labor; age 80
- George: smith
- wife *Lydia: at River Farm
- George: gardener
- wife *Sall: at Dogue Run Farm
- *Godfrey: carter/ wagoner
- wife *Mima: cropper
- son *John
- son *Randolph
- *Grace: cropper
- husband Juba: Mr. Lear's
- Gunner: passed labor
- wife Judy: at River Farm
- *Hanson: distiller
- Harry: gardener
- Isaac: carpenter
- wife *Kitty: milk maid
- dau *Barbara: age 10
- dau *Levina: age 6
- Jacob: cooper
- James: carpenter ; age 40
- wife Darcus: at Muddy Hole Farm
- *James: carter
- wife *Alla: knitter
- *Jenny: passed labor; no husband
- Joe: carpenter
- wife *Dolshy: spinner
- dau *Sucky: age 5
- son *Dennis: age 2 months
- *Joe: postilion (cropper)
- wife Sall: at River farm
- Juba: carter
- *Judy: spinner ; age 21; no husband
- *Letty: cropper; no husband
- *Lucy: cropper; no husband (children? see Note)
- *Marcus: house servant
- Matilda: spinner ; Boson Ditcher
- *Molly: cook ; no husband [editorial note: Molly, Charlotte, and Caroline--all listed here among the dower slaves--were in Washington's room when he died.]
- Moses: cooper ; no wife
- *Nancy: cropper; no husband
- Nat: smith
- wife *Lucy: at Dogue Run Farm
- *Nat: distiller
- Nathan: cook ; age 31
- wife Peg: at Muddy Hole
- *Peter: distiller
- *Peter (lame): knitter ; no wife
- *Sall: house maid ; no husband
- Sam: passed labor; cook; age 40
- wife Alce: Muddy Hole Farm
- Sambo: carpenter
- wife *Agnes: at River Farm
- *Simms: carpenter
- wife Daphne: at Mr. French's
- *Slamin Joe: ditcher
- wife Sylla: at Dogue Run Farm
- *Timothy: distiller
- Tom: cooper
- wife Nanny: at Muddy Hole Farm
- *Tom Davis: brick layer
- wife: at Mr. Lear's
- *Viner: cropper; no husband
- W. Muclus: brick layer
- wife: at Captian Marshalls [editorial note: Capt. Thomas Hanson Marshall (1731-1801) lived at Marshall Hall, just across the Potomac River from Mount Vernon, in Charles Co., Maryland.]
- Will: shoemaker; lame [editorial note: Will was Washington's old mulatto body servant Billy, or William Lee, who had served with him throughout the Revolution.]
- *Will: cropper
- wife Aggy: at Dogue Run Farm
- *Wilson: postilion; age 15
Note: the following, dower of Martha Washington are listed as the children of "Lucy":
- son *Mike
- son *Phil
- dau *Patty
- son *Burwell
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