| State | Maryland |
|---|---|
| County (Primary) | Somerset |
| Other Counties | Sussex |
| Family Name | Houston |
| Family History Notes | 1. Fortune Magee, born say 1687, was a servant of Mrs. Mary Day on 15 June 1705 when the Somerset County court ordered that she serve Mrs. Day until the age of thirty-one, explaining that she was the "mulatto" daughter of Maudlin Magee, a white woman living in Somerset County who was married to George Magee at the time. On 7 March 1710/11 the court presented her for having four illegitimate children: one about seven years old, one five, one three and one three months old. On 8 August 1711 she confessed that Penny, "negroe" servant to Mr. Benjamin Wailer, was the father of her child. On 6 August 1712 she bound her children, Ross, Sue, and Perlina to Mrs. Day [Judicial Records 1698-1701, 134; 1702-5, 251; 1707-11, 454; 1711-13, 40, 220]. Fortune was taxable in Baltimore Hundred, Somerset County, in 1735 [List of Tithables]. Her children were i. Ross/ Rose, born in March 1703. 2 ii. Sue Magee alias Game, born in April 1705. iii. Perlina, born in April 1707, five years old "next April" in August 1712 when she was bound apprentice. 2. Sue Magee alias Game, born in April 1705, was a "mulatto" woman living in Stepney Parish, Somerset County, Maryland, from 1741 to 1754 when her "mulatto" children, Belinder, Davey, Jenney, James, and Nelly Magee were born. She was the mother of 3 i. Belinder, born say 1747. ii. David. iii. James. iv. Nelly. 3. Belinder Magee/ Houston, born say 1737, was called a "Mollatto woman" Bellinder McGhee on 19 May 1768 when she was listed in the inventory of the Worcester County estate of John Houston with five weeks remaining to serve [Prerogative Inventories 95:312]. She may have taken the name of her master John Houston and been identical to Bellinder Houston, a "Negro" head of a Broad Creek Hundred, Sussex County household of 4 "other free" in 1800, living near Susannah Magee [DE:391]. She was probably the mother of i. Lydia Houston, born say 1755, married Nathan Norwood on 22 March 1775 in Sussex County, Delaware [Records of the United Presbyterian Churches of Lewes, Indian River and Cool Spring, Delaware 1756-1855, 288]. ii. Susannah Magee, born say 1764, called "Sue a Molatto" girl with twenty-seven years to serve when she was listed in Worcester County inventory of the estate of John Houston on 19 May 1768 [Prerogative Inventories 95:312], called Susannah Magee, a "Negro" head of a Broad Creek Hundred, Sussex County household of 3 "other free" in 1800 [DE:391]. iii. David Houston, born before 1776, head of a Sussex County household of 6 "other free" in 1810 [DE:324] and 2 "free colored" in Dagsboro Hundred in 1820 [DE:374]. iv. Jacob Houston, head of a Sussex County household of 3 "other free" in 1810 [DE:367]. |
| Additional Notes | – |
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[Author (if known)], Free Black Families of Colonial Delmarva (abstracted by Paul Heinegg), [Date (if known)], Enduring Connections: Exploring Delmarva’s Black History, Nabb Research Center, Salisbury University.
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