Dr. Warfield was a medical doctor, and on the 1860 census he was reported to have $10,000 worth of real estate and $3500 of personal property. Those humans he was enslaving were part of that “property”. He reported to the tax authority to be enslaving 10, but by the war’s end he would put his name on a list where he reported to have been enslaving 16 by 1864. Among them were Caroline Parker, 36, listed along with six children who Warfield reported to have had the last name “Parker”.
Dr. Evan W. Warfield was reportedly a grandson of Charles A.Warfield, of Peggy Stewart affair fame. From at least as far back as the Declaration of Independence, the Warfields relied upon the enslavement of others in order to be able to prosper as they did. Many know the Warfield name. Many historians haven’t looked closely at people like Caroline, perhaps because Power, Possessions and Social Standing are what we are taught to idolize and are encouraged to emulate in this country. I wonder if there aren’t more people who would like to know about Caroline and her husband.
Evan was a medical doctor in his mid 30s with a wife in her 30s and 4 young children. The 1860 census taker saw or was told that the children in Evan’s household were Gustavus (10), Louisa (7), Mary (5), and the boy named after his father, Evan (1). Caroline’s children (reported in Warfield’s list) and their approximate 1860 ages were: Fanny (8), Dennis (6), Rachel (4), John Wesley (2), and Maria who was just born. Two years later, Caroline would give birth to a boy who was also likely named after his father: Joseph Parker. Caroline’s husband was very likely the free man (36, Mulatto) who was recorded to also be living on the plantation as a laborer. That dynamic wasn’t an uncommon one.
The reader is encouraged to imagine what that would have been like for Joseph Parker on that plantation. Details like how Joseph met Caroline can only be imagined, but some things are known. Joseph wasn’t recorded in the 1850 household for Evan, who was 25 and living with his father Dr. Gustavus Warfield.
In 1850, Joseph was recorded as being a 26 year old carpenter who was living in James Parker’s household (likely his older sibling who was noted by the census taker to be able to read or write)…who was also free and a carpenter. James and his wife Mary got certificates of freedom in 1859 for themselves and their son, also named Joseph. The circumstances of THEIR freedom was that James had been born free, while his wife Mary and son Joseph had been set free by a William R. Warfield in 1846. Read that again, because that is the reality (and hope) that Joseph would have been operating from while he worked as a free man on the plantation where his wife and children were being enslaved.
In 1860, James Parker and his wife Mary were recorded as living in the household of Dennis and Eliza Parker. They were likely his parents. Information could not be found for how far back Dennis goes in Maryland history. Information was located for Eliza Parker. In 1832, she requested and received a certificate of freedom. She was listed to be 30 years old, 5ft 2 in, yellow complexion with long black hair, and born free. She and Dennis were recorded as being Mulatto in 1860, and Dennis with real estate in District 4.
An 1854 deed was located involving the purchase of land by Eliza, Joseph, Margaret and John Parker from Allen Bowie Davis and his 2nd wife Hester of Montgomery County. It is believed that Joseph, Margaret and John were Dennis and Eliza’s adult children.
Fast-forward to the Civil War. The newspaper reported on May 24, 1864 that James Parker got drafted for the war. So did Evan W. Warfield. James was older than 45 by then (too old to serve), but the younger James was possibly eligible. It appears that Joseph fought in the war in the US Colored Troops. He’d have certainly had motivation to want to put an end to the enslavement of his wife and children. Unfortunately in July of 1871, Caroline submitted a claim for the $300 bounty as his widow.
By 1870, Caroline Parker was recorded as living with her sons John Wesley, Joseph and James in the Henry Mathews household in District 4. Fanny (then 17) was living in D4 in Aaron Chadwick’s household as a servant. Dennis (then 15) was recorded as working for Evan Warfield. Charles Parker (19) was also there, likely the same one that had been recorded as free and 8 years old in Dennis Parker’s 1860 household. Rachel (then 13) was recorded in the household of George and Matilda Snowden. (Matilda had also been enslaved by Dr. Warfield). Maria Parker couldn’t be found in the 1870-1880 Howard census. Dennis Parker was recorded to be 79, but Eliza was no longer in the household (likely deceased). John Wesley Parker, son of Dennis and Eliza, was recorded to be nearby, with his wife Mary and children.
A little about Caroline, or a lot (depending upon how you view it)…she bought land in 1872. The purchase price was the same amount as the $300 pension claim. In the corner of the deed, it was noted that it had been delivered to “Wm. H. Mathews”. She did it again in 1873, purchasing from Alan Bowie Davis and his wife. You wouldn’t know that by looking at the 1880 census where Caroline is listed to be in the William H. Mathews household simply as “sister” (likely, William’s, who in 1870 was referred to as just “Henry” by the census taker). He had also been enslaved by Evan Warfield.
Henry would become well-known in the county as being one of the Trustees named on the 1867 Mount Gregory purchase deed (the building formerly known as the defunct Warfield Academy). The Trustees aimed to make a large school there, which got reported to the Freedman’s Bureau. James Parker was also a Trustee, along with George Snowden who was Matilda’s husband. George (45, Black) had been working as a free man in 1860 at Alex Warfield’s property also awaiting freedom for his wife and children (Lloyd, Caroline and Lorenzo). He had been drafted also in 1864, but was likely too old to serve.
Caroline was recorded on the 1900 census, a 72 year old widow, along with several of her grandchildren and a boarder from Kentucky. She was listed to be the owner (“O”) of her home, free of any mortgage. “F” designated free, while “M” was mortgaged.
In 1903, a deed was executed between her descendants for the transfer of her land holdings. It involved the 2 pieces of land she had acquired. The party names make it quite possible that they were her children, who had been once listed as being enslaved.
Fannie White, widow (12 years old as of 1864)
Dannis Parker, of Chester, PA (10 years old as of 1864)
Rachel Barrett, wife to Joseph Barrett (8 years old as of 1864)
John W. Parker, married to Mary (6 years old as of 1864)
Maria Tillman, wife to Ezekiel Tillman (4 years old as of 1864)
They transferred the properties to Joseph A. Parker and his wife Addie L. Parker. It referenced two parcels, one with 8 acres of land and the other with 11.5 acres.
Maryland put a new state Constitution into place, effective November 1, 1864. Article 24 of the Constitution of 1864 stated: “That hereafter, in this State, there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except in punishment of crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted; and all persons held to service or labor as slaves, are hereby declared free.” When that Constitution went into effect and slavery got abolished, Caroline and her children’s names saw the light of day for the first time which enabled me to find and see them. By 1867, Evan and others wishing to be financially compensated for their perceived losses due to the November 1st emancipation of Caroline and others, placed their names on the list you saw above.
Dr. Evan W. Warfield, died in 1904. In 1850 at the age of 25, he reported to be enslaving his first human… a 10 year old female child. His father had many, of various ages up to 80 years old.
Marlena Jareaux