Free Black Families

Although the majority of Black families in Wetipquin were enslaved, there were a few free Black families. Two of those free families residing in Wetipquin were the Duttons and the Wrights.

David Dutton, a free mulatto, owned several tracts of land. In 1772, he bought 60 acres of land that formed part of two different properties, "Poor Choice" and "Grooked Chance." Three years later, in 1775, he bought an additional 31 acres of "Poor Choice." All these parcels of land were located near Spring Hill in Hebron, Maryland. On April 19, 1798, he purchased a larger plantation for 500 pounds from James and Betty Reed (a white couple) called "Wesson," located near the Nanticoke River in Wetipquin. David Dutton owned the property briefly, from his purchase until his death on October 29, 1798. In his last will and testament, David Dutton devised the land to his daughters, Methia Wright and Mary Anne Dutton, whom they called "Polly." His wife, Abegail, was to have use of the west end of the land binding upon the river during her widowhood. He also willed that part of the property be sold to Stephen Wright, the husband of his daughter Methia Wright. His other daughters, Anna Dutton and Susanna Puckum, received money as part of their inheritance. Shortly after his death, the Federal Assessment of 1798 was made for Somerset County. The property of David Dutton's heirs, the dwelling house occupied by Widow Dutton, was assessed at $150 on 249 acres of land valued at $490.

Stephen Wright, a free Black man, was born circa 1769. His origin and parentage are unknown, although it is possible he was a member of the Wright family of early Black settlers who came to America from Nova Scotia during the 1790s. He was a carpenter who built ships and sea vessels. The English name "Wright" or "Right" means carpenter or one who works with wood. Ships built during that era were made for merchants and the militia. He did not appear illiterate as he was able to read and sign his name to documents. Stephen Wright was also a large landowner in Somerset County, Maryland. One of the earliest records of him is written in a deed dated July 9, 1795, between a man named Levin Pollitt, his wife Elenor Pollitt, and Stephen Wright. The Pollitts had sold him twelve acres of land called "John Hill," located in the present town of Allen, Maryland. This transaction was recorded in Liber K Folio 440 & 441. Stephen Wright bought and sold several parcels of land between 1795 and 1810. On December 1, 1801, Belitha Wright and his wife, Mary Ann Dutton Wright, sold to Stephen Wright land devised to Methia Wright and Mary Ann Dutton by the will of David Dutton. On December 1, 1804, Stephen Wright sold to Belitha Wright the land he bought from Levin Pollitt. On April 7, 1810, he sold to Delaney Wright, son of Belitha and Mary Ann Wright, 101 acres of Wesson, Hog Ridge, and Chance. On July 25, 1810, Stephen Wright, his wife Methia, and Levin D. Collier sold 119 1/2 acres to Ephrain Harris, including two parts of Wesson and Spry. This transaction was recorded in Liber T Folio 524/525. In 1833, Stephen Wright received a patent for "Peace is Best," comprising 115 5/8 acres located on the Nanticoke River (CC#D Folio 321, TWL#D131). The 1800 Census records of Somerset County, Maryland, show Stephen Wright as the only free Black man, head of a household, with seven other free persons living in Wetipquin. Between 1820 and 1832, more Black families became free, with some able to purchase their freedom. Black children born to free mothers, whether Black or white, were free.

In 1832, a special census was taken of all free Blacks in Somerset County. There were intermarriages among some of those families who migrated to Wetipquin with the Wright family. These families included the Chase family, the Moore family, the Miles family, the Cook family, and another Wright family. Boyce Wright, son of Stephen Wright, married Leah Miles. Stephen Wright's daughters' marriages were as follows: George Stanley Wright married Catherine Wright on January 23, 1828 (her first marriage), and they had one daughter, Martha Jane Wright. Noah Moore married Catherine Wright in July 1840 (her second marriage). Samuel Chase married Rachel Wright on October 7, 1837. James Byard Cook married Eliza Wright on August 21, 1843, and they had one son, Steven William Cook. Stephen S. Cook married Martha Jane Wright on October 11, 1847. Stephen Wright died in 1844. In his last will and testament, he left land and money to his four children and his grandson Samuel James Chase, the son of Rachel Chase. This was recorded on March 12, 1844, in Liber JP Folio 95 & 96. Methia Wright, the wife of Stephen Wright, died in 1867. In her last will and testament, dated May 11, 1867, she devised property and personal belongings to her grandson Steven William Cook, the son of Eliza Wright Cook. Steven married Hester Caroline Peters from Allen, Maryland, on November 4, 1868. They sold the property to the Furbush family and moved to Dorchester County in the Drawbridge District. The 1850 and 1860 Censuses of Somerset County showed even a larger group of free Black families living in Wetipquin. These included the Allens, the Joneses, the Moores, the Cooks, the Chases, the Stewarts, the Hopkins, the Blakes, the Lankfords, the Gales, the Waters, the Morrises, and the Wrights.

In 1867, Wicomico County was created out of old Somerset County, and by then, all Blacks in Maryland were freed. The 1870 Census recorded the largest number of free Blacks for the first time. However, the 1880 Census listed the names of heads of families and their relation to the persons living in the household. The Hulls, the Baileys, the Bennetts, and the Seldons came to Wetipquin from the Quantico District between 1870 and 1880. There were also the Wainwrights, the Dashiells, the Conways, the Whitneys, the Brattens, the Peters, the Mitchells, the Whites, the Josephs, the Godfreys, and the Robinsons.

The 1900 Census of Wicomico County listed the heads of families, names of each person living in the household, their birth dates, how many children the mother had living or deceased, where each person was born, whether they could read or write, their relation to the head of the household, their marital status, and each person's age. The following families were living in Wetipquin in 1900: the Bailey family, the Barclay family, the Bennett family, the Brown family, the Chase family, the Cook family, the Conway family, the Dashiell family, the Gale family, the Goslee family, the Hull family, the Jones family, the Joseph family, the McCoy family, the Lankford family, the Mitchell family, the Moore family, the Morris family, the Robinson family, the Seldon family, the Stewart family, the Tull family, the Waters family, the White family, the Wilson family, and the Wright family.