Chester in Queen Anne's County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Henry Massey's Tale
Walking the Kent Island Railroad
Photographed by Pete Skillman, June 11, 2025
1. Henry Massey's Tale Marker
At the end of the tree-lined driveway stands the Stoopley-Gibson Manor house. Buildings have existed on this land since at least 1670, but the Bright family likely built the manor home in 1860. In 2021, the National Park Service added this property to their Network to Freedom Underground Railroad Trail because of one special lad
Around 1835, Henry Massey was born a slave to the Bright family on this farm. In 1845, Joseph Bright inherited five of the 28 slaves, including Henry, from his deceased father.
Until then, slaves born on the farm lived and worked there. However, because of the Bright estate breaking up and Joseph Bright's financial problems, Henry faced an uncertain future. The thought of being separated from his family and sold off the island frightened him, so he began planning his escape.
In October 1849, at the young age of 14, Henry Massey fled the farm and made his way into Pennsylvania. He lived near
this page online
We know little about Henry. Records show he married a woman named Amaud and had a daughter named Mary born in 1863. In 1880, he appears as "literate house servant" in Dixon, MD.
Henry Massey's courageous journey from the Bright family farm to freedom and back serves as a gripping reminder of the enduring quest for liberty in the face of adversity.
(Captions):
Stoopley-Gibson Manor House
Rear of house (date unknown)
The Capture and Return of Henry Massey
Baltimore Sun (1854)
Stoopey-Gibson Farm (1957)
Present Day Gibson's Grant
Erected 2024 by Historic Kent Island.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans • Railroads & Streetcars • Settlements & Settlers.
Location. 38° 58.526′ N, 76° 16.453′ W. Marker is in Chester, Maryland, in Queen Anne's
Photographed by Pete Skillman, June 11, 2025
2. Henry Massey's Tale Marker - wide view
Regionally, this marker is on the Eastern Shore. It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic, on the Delmarva Peninsula, in the Tidewater, in the Chesapeake Bay Region, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies and also the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Site of Chester Station (approx. 0.4 miles away); Eminent Domain (approx. 0.7 miles away); Coxes Neck Path (approx. 0.9 miles away); The James E. Kirwan Museum (approx. 1.1 miles away); Esther "Peb" Foster (approx. 1.1 miles away); Lands of Cornelius Tanner (approx. 1.2 miles away); B&E Railroad Trestle (approx. 1.2 miles away); Crossing the Narrows (approx. 1.3 miles away).
Photographed by Pete Skillman, June 11, 2025
3. Henry Massey's Tale Marker
This is the view up the "tree-lined driveway that is mentioned on the marker.
Also see . . . Historic Kent Island. The website of the local preservation organization that erected this marker. (Submitted on June 12, 2025, by Pete Skillman of Townsend, Delaware.)
Credits. This page was last revised on June 12, 2025. It was originally submitted on June 11, 2025, by Pete Skillman of Townsend, Delaware. This page has been viewed 200 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 11, 2025, by Pete Skillman of Townsend, Delaware.
