Kinsale in Westmoreland County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
The Stewart Sisters v. The Steamer Sue
Photographed by Cherlanda Sidney-Ross, October 4, 2025
1. The Stewart Sisters v. The Steamer Sue Marker
Inscription.
The Stewart Sisters v. The Steamer Sue. . On 15 Aug. 1884, Virginia-born sisters Martha and Winnie Stewart, Mary Johnson, and Lucy Jones were denied first-class quarters because of their race when traveling on the steamer Sue from Baltimore to visit family in Kinsale. With support from the Rev. Harvey Johnson, they filed suit in federal court asserting that segregated quarters were illegal and that the Sues were unequal. The trial courts ruling that segregation was reasonable but giving the sisters $100 each because the quarters were unequal was affirmed on appeal. The case, one of many brought by Black women in the late 1800s, was an impetus for the creation of the Mutual United Brotherhood of Liberty, a forerunner of the NAACP.
On 15 Aug. 1884, Virginia-born sisters Martha and Winnie Stewart, Mary Johnson, and Lucy Jones were denied first-class quarters because of their race when traveling on the steamer Sue from Baltimore to visit family in Kinsale. With support from the Rev. Harvey Johnson, they filed suit in federal court asserting that segregated quarters were illegal and that the Sues were unequal. The trial courts ruling that segregation was reasonable but giving the sisters $100 each because the quarters were unequal was affirmed on appeal. The case, one of many brought by Black women in the late 1800s, was an impetus for the creation of the Mutual United Brotherhood of Liberty, a forerunner of the NAACP.
Erected 2024 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number JT 25.)
Location. 38° 0.8′ N, 76° 35.677′ W. Marker is in Kinsale, Virginia, in Westmoreland County. It is on Cople Highway (Virginia Route 202) 0.6 miles east of Kinsale Road, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 13866 Cople Hwy, Kinsale VA 22488, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on Virginia’s Northern Neck. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in the Tidewater, and in the Chesapeake Bay Region. 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 the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 15, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 6, 2025, by Bessida Cauthorne White of Jamaica, Virginia. This page has been viewed 157 times since then and 72 times this year. Photos:1. submitted on October 6, 2025, by Bessida Cauthorne White of Jamaica, Virginia. 2. submitted on October 28, 2025, by Bessida Cauthorne White of Jamaica, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
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