A Community of Descendants

A Community of Descendants. The Origins: From Bondage to Freedom. , Many of the families buried here have ties to Maryland's early Catholic gentry, including the Calvert, Carroll, Darnall, Hall, Hill, and Young families. Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence and a beneficiary of James Carroll, relocated several enslaved families to what became the White Marsh Mission. Some later formed kinship ties with those on nearby plantations, including "Mullikin's Delight," and remained Catholic., After Emancipation, men, women, and children from these communities came together to forge new lives., The White Marsh Catholic Church became their central meeting place, a beacon hope and continuity., [Captions:] , Left: "Mullikin's Delight" plantation, where many of the ancestors buried here were once enslaved. , -Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Above: Descendants of the Fletcher, Hawkins, Johnson, Mahoney, Queen, and Spriggs families, many of whom are buried in this cemetery, migrated to surrounding counties and Washington, D.C., while others purchased land near White Marsh and established settlements such as Fletchertown. Their lives reflect the enduring strength of a generation rooted in Maryland soil, whose descendants now flourish across the United States., Left: Notley Hawkins (1851-1935) and Martha Fletcher (1855-1942). Born into slavery at "Mullikin's Delight," Martha Fletcher married Notley Hawkins in 1878 at White Marsh. As lifelong pillars of the community, they remained a vibrant connection to White Marsh that spanned generations. , , Courtesy of the Fletcher-Hawkins Family