The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1876-05-27
MEMOIR OF FBENJAMIN BAN
NEKER.
READ BEFORE THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MARY
LAND, MAY lsT, 1S45, BY HON. JOHN
II. D. LATRoBE.

| AANDg AAA 1919 Ao1S3 bA hun. SeuN
II. D. LATR0BE.
| The annexed interesting memoir of q nete,
cOlored man we were privileged to have copie,
from an old scrap book in possession efthe famil.
, of the late John Plaskitt, an old merchant Q
Baltimore, long since deceased, and as we hav
been at no little trouble to procure this copy
there not being another known to exist excep
the one here alluded to-we hope the press o
the State, in publishing or alludng to it, viii
give the family from whom we obtained it, a
we'll as ourselves, due credit therefor.-EDs
UNION
A few words may be necessary to explain
why a memoir of free man of color, formerly
a resident Of Maryland, is deemed of suficien
interest to be presented to the Historical Socie
ty. There are no questions relating to ou
| country of more interest than that connected
with her colored population; an interest whicl
has been increasing year after year until it ha
acquired its present absorbing character. Tim
and space prohibit an inquiry into the cause o
this. 1t is sufficient to state the fact Thu
presence OF this population In the States wher,
slavery exist modifes their institutions in i'm
portant particulars, and affects in greater oil
less degree, the character of the dominant race
For this reason alone the memeir of a coloree
man who has distinguished himself in an alb
struce science, by birth a Marylander, claim!
consideration from those who have associated
to collect and preserve facts and records rela.
ting to the men and deeds of the past. Tn,
Historical Society of Pennsylvania has, M
doubt carefully gathered all that could be OBJ
tanned to illustrate the life and scientific char
acter of Rittenhouse. In presenting to the His
torcal Society of Maryland memoir of Ban
neker, the little that is known of one who fol
! 4 ar7fa f,af =
steps Of the philosopher OF our sister State, is
collected and preserved.
There is another reason why this memoir is
appropriate. Maryland is the only State in
the Union that has clearly indicated her policy
in regard to her colored population. She looks
to their gradual and voluntary removal as the
only means of solving the difficult problem
| which their presence involves. To aid in this
| removal she appropriated in 1881 the large sum
| of 5000 ,000; not in the expectation that this
| sum would transport them all from this coun-
| try to Africa, but that by means of it a commu-
nifty of freemen capable of self-support and
| self-government might be established there
| that would be so attractive ultimately to the
| colored people here as 10 produce an emigra-
tion at the proper cest of the emigrants them
| selves, based on the same motives and as great
| in amount as the emigration from Europe to
( America. This policy and its results must en-
ter largely into the history of Maryland. Its
success must mainly depend upon the ability
| and skill of the emigrants to found such ma
tion as will accomplish the end in view; and
this in its turn depends upon the oft mooted
question as to the imperative intellect of the
| two races, the white and the colored. To de-
eide this facts are important; and not one more
conclusive exists than the abilities and charac-
ter of Benjamin Banneker. Whether, therefor,
as matter of mere curiosity only, or as a fact
from which important differences for present
action are to be drawn, memoir OF the indi-
vidual in question should possess interest for
| our association.
Benjamin Banneker was born in Baltimore
county, near the village of Ellicotts Mills, in
the year 1872. His father was a native Afri-
can, so that TO no admixture of the blood OF the
white man was he indebted for his peculiar and
extraordinary abilities. His father was slave
when he married but his wife, who was free
woman and possessed of great energy and in
| dustry, very soon after purchased his freedom.
Banneker's mother was named Morton before
her marriage, and belonged to family remark
able for its intelligence. When upwards OF
seventy she still very active; and 1t is re-
membered of her that at this advanced age she
made nothing of catching her chickens when
wanted by running them down. A nephew OF
| hers, Greenbury Morton, was person OF some
note, notwithstanding his complexion. Prior
to 1909 free people of color, possessed ef a GER
tain property qualification, voted in Maryland.
! In this year a law was passed restricting the
right ci vot.ag TO free white males Mortcn
| was ignorant of the law till he offered to vote
| at the polls in Baltimore county; and 1T is said
| that when his vote was refused he addressed
the crowd in a strain of true and passionate ell
oquence which kept the audience thatthe elec-
| ton had assembled for him, in breathless at
| tenten while he spoke.
| The Joint labor of the elder Banneker and
his wife enabled them to purchase a small
| farm, which continued after their death In the
possession of their son. The farm was tract
Of one hundred acres, the half of larger tract
| called "Stout," and was conveyed by Richard
Gist to Robert Bannaky, as the name was then
spelt, and Benjamin Bannaky, his son, (who
was then but FIVE years old,) on the 10th OF
| March, 1872, for the consideration of 1000
| pounds of tobacco. At the date of Banneker's
birth his parents, although within ten miles OF
| Baltimore lived almost in wilderness. In
1927, five years before, the site of Baltimore
was the farm of John Flemming, on which, in
that year, the Legislature authorized town to
be laid out. The view of this town in 1884,
| with which we are all familiar, does not eXhib-
| it more than twenty houses, struggling over
the emnences on the right bank of Jones
Falls. In I740 Baltimore had been surround
ed by board fence to protect 1T against the In
dans. All this is proper to be remembered in
| order that the difficulties against which Ban
In 1872 Elkridge Landing was OF more conse-
quence than Baltimore.
When BENJAMIN was old enough he was en-
ployed to assist his parents in their labors.-
| This was at an early age when his destiny
seemed nothing better than that of child o.
poor and ignorant free negroes, occupying 6
few acres of land in a remote and thlnly peo
pied neighbArhood-a destiny which certainly
at this day is not of very brilliant promise, and
which at the time in question must have been
gloomy enough. In the intervals OF toll, and
when he was approaching or had attained
manhood, he was sent to an obscure and dis
tant country school, which he attended until
he had acquired knowledge of reading ano
writing and had advanced in arithmetic as tal
as "deuble position" In all matters beyond
these rudments of learning he was his own in
structor On leaving school he was obliged tC
| labor for years almost uninterruptedly for hi!
support. But his memory being retentive h'
lost nothing of the little education he had &C
ouired On the contrary, although utterly des
titute of books, he ampli6ed and improved hi
stock of arithmetical knowledge by the opera
ton ef his mind alone. He was an acute OBJ
server of everything he saw or which took plac
around HMM the natural world-and h
sought with avidity information from all source
of what was going forward in society, so tina
he became gradually possessed of fund o
general knowledge which it was difficult t.
) find among those even VINO were far more Ia
vored by opportunity and circumstances thai
he was. At first his Information was subjec
of remark and wonder among his illiterat
neighbors only; but by degrees the reputation
| of il spread through wider circle, and BenJa
min Banneker, still young man, came TO b
thought of as one who could not only perform
all the operations of mental arithmetic wit
extraordinary facility, but exercise sound an
discriminating judgment upon men and things
1t was at this time, when he was about thlrt
years of age, that he contrived to make cloc
which proved an excellent time piece. He ha
b. seen a watch, but not clock, such an articl
not vet having found its way into the quiet an
. secluded valley in which he lived. The watc
4 was therefor his model. 1t took him goo
while to accomplish this feat; his great diff
: Guilty, as be often used to say, being to max
D the hour, minute and second hands correspen
. in their notions But the clock was finished
at last and raised still higher the credit of Ban
e neker in his neighb bors as an ingenious man, 9
= we'll as a good arithmetician. Among other
= who took an interest in him was James Nj
s Henry, Esq. Mr.. McHeDry wrote letter I
q Goddard & Angel, then the almanac publish
e ers in Baltimore, which was probably tn
D means of procuring the publication OF the hri
!, almanac. In their editorial notice, Messr
: Goddard Angel say they feel gratitied !
q the opportunity of presenting to the publ
;, through their press, what must be consldere
!, as an extraordinary effort of genius, a compile
1 and accurate Ephemeris for the year l792, ca
i, | culated nv a sable descendant of Africa. An
thew further say that they fatter themselv'
"that philanthopic publicin this enlightene
q era will be induced to give their patronage an
o support to this work, not only on account
/. | "a ;,+,;ns;o roerit (it having met the aDpr