Nathaniel Smith's Roots in Baltimore, Maryland
The Kelley House Museum's current exhibit— Nathaniel Smith: Mendocino's First African American Resident—was made possible by a grant from California Humanities to the museum. With it, historian Alexander Wood was funded to research Smith's life and times. The following is an excerpt from Wood's report.
The circumstances of Nathaniel Smith's life before he arrived in California are mostly unknown, but we are certain he was born in Baltimore around 1831 and raised in Maryland. The family of a “free colored person” named Nathaniel Smith was listed in the 1840 U.S. Census records for Baltimore's 3rd Ward neighborhood. The census takers asked for the name of each head of household and the number of individuals who lived there by age. The U.S. Census distinguished among “free white persons,” “free colored persons,” and “slaves.” The practice of slavery in the United States was based on the ideology of white supremacy and the presumed inferiority of people of color. Enslaved people were, therefore, assumed to be people of color. Nathaniel Smith's family consisted of one adult male, one adult female, and four children under ten. This Nathaniel Smith is presumably the Mendocino pioneer's father.
Despite slavery being legal and prevalent in Maryland in this era, it is unsurprising to find Smith's family listed as “free colored persons.” Many free people of color lived in areas where slavery remained legal. Historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. reports that in the antebellum period, more free people of color lived in the South than in the North. Nineteenth-century Baltimore was home to more free African Americans than enslaved ones.
Located on the “literal border between slavery and freedom” and connected to “vast, expansive waterways,” Maryland provided fertile ground for the Underground Railroad to flourish. Many of the nation's bestknown Railroad leaders emerged in this environment. Harriet Tubman, born enslaved in Maryland's Dorchester County in 1822, was very nearly Smith's contemporary, and she escaped to Philadelphia in 1849, about the same time Smith sailed off to California.
Regardless of their “free” status, Smith and his family would have encountered slavery's restrictions daily.
Understanding that the discrimination they endured influenced Smith's decision to leave Maryland in 1848 or 1849 is not a stretch. That and possibly the glitter of gold.
The exhibition will be on display until May 27th, 2024, if you would like to learn more about Nathaniel Smith's life.
The Kelley House Museum is open from 11:00 AM to 3:00
PM, Friday through Sunday. If you have a question for the curator, contact curator@ kelleyhousemuseum.org to make an appointment. Walking tours of the historic district depart from the Kelley House regularly; for a tour schedule, visit www. kelleyhousemuseum.org.