Photograph as originally submitted to this page in the Historical Marker Database www.HMdb.org. Click on photo to resize in browser. Scroll down to see metadata.

Photographer: Sandra Hughes
Taken: September 25, 2010
Caption: Maria Baker c1921 (pic in museum)
Additional Description: Andrew Jackson purchased Maria Baker and her family in 1838, when Maria was four years old. Five years later, Jackson sold the family to his friend John Baker to pay Andrew Jackson Jr.’s debts.

[Text in photo] This photo of Maria Baker ran with a newspaper article, that declared her to be the last surviving slave to have been owned by Andrew Jackson. Maria and her family were purchased in 1838 and she lived as a young girl on the Hermitage farm. Maria’s only memory of Andrew Jackson was of his riding the Hermitage grounds on his horse. She also recalled that contact between the Hermitage domestic and field slaves was limited. In 1843, at the age of 9 she and some of her family were sold to Jackson’s friend, John Baker in payment of some debts accrued by Andrew, Jr. Maria married Steve, a farm hand and foreman on the Baker farm, living with him until his death at age 82. Maria and Steve had nineteen children. During her time in slavery, Maria worked in the corn fields and performed all other sorts of hard farm labor. In her old age Maria lived in Wilson County with one of her daughters. At the time of this interview, Maria was described as “ a ?”
Submitted: February 9, 2012, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA.
Database Locator Identification Number: p192151
File Size: 1.672 Megabytes

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