Who was that “little colored girl"?

[loetar44]

To all:

Captain Henry W. Smith, who arrested “all suspicious personages” in Surratt’s house on Monday, 17 April 1865 later declared: “We found Mrs. (Mary) Surratt, Miss (Anna) Surratt, Miss Fitzpatrick, Miss Jenkins, a little colored girl asleep on the floor in the back room, and downstairs a colored woman who said her name was Susan (= Susan Ann Mahoney), and a man, she said, was her husband (Samuel Jackson? – they married April 28, 1865).

Who knows who was that “little colored girl asleep on the floor?”

Thanks.

[Susan Higginbotham]

To all:

Captain Henry W. Smith, who arrested “all suspicious personages” in Surratt’s house on Monday, 17 April 1865 later declared: “We found Mrs. (Mary) Surratt, Miss (Anna) Surratt, Miss Fitzpatrick, Miss Jenkins, a little colored girl asleep on the floor in the back room, and downstairs a colored woman who said her name was Susan (= Susan Ann Mahoney), and a man, she said, was her husband (Samuel Jackson? – they married April 28, 1865).

Who knows who was that “little colored girl asleep on the floor?”

Thanks.

That was the daughter of Rachel, aka Eliza Hawkins. Rachel later testified that she went to the boardinghouse on the morning of Tuesday, April 18, to get her young daughter, and was told by the soldiers there that anyone who went there could not come out.

[loetar44]

To all:

Captain Henry W. Smith, who arrested “all suspicious personages” in Surratt’s house on Monday, 17 April 1865 later declared: “We found Mrs. (Mary) Surratt, Miss (Anna) Surratt, Miss Fitzpatrick, Miss Jenkins, a little colored girl asleep on the floor in the back room, and downstairs a colored woman who said her name was Susan (= Susan Ann Mahoney), and a man, she said, was her husband (Samuel Jackson? – they married April 28, 1865).

Who knows who was that “little colored girl asleep on the floor?”

Thanks.

That was the daughter of Rachel, aka Eliza Hawkins. Rachel later testified that she went to the boardinghouse on the morning of Tuesday, April 18, to get her young daughter, and was told by the soldiers there that anyone who went there could not come out.

Thanks Susan!

BTW: do you know what became of that little girl?

[L Verge]

Rachel [Eliza] Hawkins had been rented to the Surratts in 1859 and appears to have had a very good relationship with Mary Surratt. When interviewed in the 1890s, Rachel remained adamant as to the innocence of her mistress.

She did not come to D.C. when the Surratts moved into the boardinghouse (her husband, whom she declared as "no good" was still on a neighboring plantation, and I believe there was a son involved). She was also working for a Robey family in the area, assisting with their daughter's wedding plans.

At Surratt House, we have set up a room over the kitchen wing as typical of a domestic slave's sleeping quarters. We know that Aunt Rachel was a domestic, but we have no proof as to whether she lived in the home or in quarters on the farm. At one time, the Surratts owned as many as seven slaves.

[loetar44]

Rachel [Eliza] Hawkins had been rented to the Surratts in 1859 and appears to have had a very good relationship with Mary Surratt. When interviewed in the 1890s, Rachel remained adamant as to the innocence of her mistress.

She did not come to D.C. when the Surratts moved into the boardinghouse (her husband, whom she declared as "no good" was still on a neighboring plantation, and I believe there was a son involved). She was also working for a Robey family in the area, assisting with their daughter's wedding plans.

At Surratt House, we have set up a room over the kitchen wing as typical of a domestic slave's sleeping quarters. We know that Aunt Rachel was a domestic, but we have no proof as to whether she lived in the home or in quarters on the farm. At one time, the Surratts owned as many as seven slaves.

Thanks Laurie !

[L Verge]

I wish I knew what happened to Rachel's children. I grew up friends with a number of Hawkins descendants who lived in T.B., but no one seemed to know if they were related to Rachel. We have also tried to find when Rachel died and where she is buried - no luck, not even an obituary.

There was at least one other Surratt slave named Henry Hawkins. He testified at the trial, I believe, but I don't know if he and Rachel were related. He also testified to Mrs. Surratt's kind nature.

P.S. Hawkins was a "white" Maryland name dating to colonial days. I suspect that the enslaved people started out belonging to a Hawkins family at some point and took their name.