| Name |
Jane Marie Morris [1] |
| Enslaved |
1801
Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Maryland, USA  [ 1, 2]
– Was born in Baltimore, Md., No. 38 North Gay street, and belonged to the family of the then well known and opulent Judge George Pressbery |
| Born |
5 Jul 1801
38 North Gay street, Baltimore, Independent Cities, Maryland, USA [ 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
|
| Gender |
Female |
| Business Owner |
Restaurateur. Caterer. Homemaker. Boarding House Operator [1] |
| Self-Emancipated/ Escaped Slave/ Runaway |
1818
Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Maryland, USA [ 1, 2]
– Escaped Slavery traveled from Baltimore to York, and then on to Harrisburg by Stagecoach. |
| Residence |
1850
East Ward, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [ 4, 5]
|
| Residence |
1863
69 Chesnut, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [ 9]
|
| Residence |
1870
Ward 3, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [ 4, 5]
|
| Mrs. Chester-Catering |
23 Nov 1871
Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [ 10]
|
| Residence |
1880
305 Chestnut, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [ 4, 5, 8]
– Marital Status: Widowed; Relation to Head: Self |
| Residence |
1894
Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [ 6]
|
| Obituary |
19 Mar 1894
Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [ 1]
– Self-Emancipation, Life and Death of Mrs Jane M Chester and Mr. George Chester |
| Died |
19 Mar 1894
305 Chestnut, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [ 1, 5, 6]
|
- Date of birth on death certificate does not match her stated age at death, which is more consistent with her records.
|
| Obituary |
20 Mar 1894
Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, USA [ 2]
– Has names of two of her former slaveholders. |
| Religious |
Wesley Union Church and Elder Street Presbyterian |
| Name |
Jane Aunty Chester [6] |
| Name |
Jane Chester [3, 11] |
| Name |
Jane Chester [9] |
| Name |
Jane M. Chester [8] |
| Name |
Jane Maria Mars [4, 5] |
| Name |
Jane Marie Mars |
| Name |
Jane Russel [7] |
| Occupation |
Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [ 1]
– Restaurateur and Caterer |
| Buried |
201 South 30th, Penbrook, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [ 11, 12]
|
|
|
| Notes |
- My Contribution: Along with my husband, I contributed to the abolitionist cause through connections to The Liberator and the Underground Railroad. I catered numerous weddings, funerals, socials, and other events for all of Harrisburg, white and black. I owned my own home, where I raised children with great success, took on boarders, hosted events, and made my own taffy.
My Legacy: I escaped enslavement in Baltimore and made a treacherous journey north to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where I met the man I married, George Chester, and collaborated with him in the work of operating a restaurant and combatting slavery. After George’s death in 1859, I developed a formidable reputation of my own in Harrisburg. The home I owned on Chestnut Street served as a gathering place for the city’s organizations, churches, and changemakers, and my catering business served white and black, young and old, and policymaker and commoner. The Capital Presbyterian Church is still in existence, thanks to my support of the Elder Street Presbyterian Mite Society shortly after an 1890 fire destroyed the church building. My husband and I passed our passion for abolitionism on to our son, Thomas Morris Chester, who had a significant impact on African American history in our nation.
About Me: “No colored woman a resident of Harrisburg was better known or more highly respected than Mrs. Chester…. Her life was useful and creditable and she devoted herself to her children for whose good she made many sacrifices. Always pious, charitable and neighbourly, Mrs. Chester was never without devoted friends, and by those who survive her, death will be sincerely mourned.” The Harrisburg Daily Independent, March 19, 1894.
Full Name: Jane Maria (Morris) Chester
Birth Date: 1800-1805 (approximate, most likely 1801)
Death Date: April 20, 1894
Place of Birth: Baltimore, Maryland
Sex: Female
Race: “Colored” (1840, 1850, and 1860 Federal Censuses); Black (1870 and 1880 Federal Censuses)
Places of Residence: Gay Street, Baltimore, Maryland (while enslaved); 305 Chestnut Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Connection to the Old Eighth Ward: Resident on Chestnut street two blocks southeast of the Eighth Ward. Operated restaurant, the State Capitol Hotel, in Eighth Ward; belonged to Wesley Union A.M.E. Zion Church, connected with Elder Street Presbyterian Church.
Family Members: Husband: George Chester. Children: Charlotte Chester, Thomas Morris Chester, David Chester, Harriet Chester, Maria(h) Chester, Amelia Chester, Eliza Chester Zendricks (Note: the Chesters had several other children who did not live to adulthood).
Education: No education listed on federal census records.
Occupations: Restaurateur. Caterer. Homemaker. Boarding House Operator.
Church Membership: Wesley Union A.M.E. Zion Church (member) and Elder Street Presbyterian Church (supporter)
Activism: Involved with the distribution of the Liberator and likely the operation of the Underground Railroad; hosted the Mite Society for Elder Street Presbyterian Church.
Connections: T. Morris Chester (son), David Chester (son), Amelia Chester (daughter-in-law), Eliza Chester Zendricks, Anne E. Amos (Mite Society), and James Auter.
“Jane M. Chester,” Digital Harrisburg (blog), October 15, 2020, https://digitalharrisburg.com/jane-m-chester/.
Obituary Notes:
AN OLD EX-SLAVE
Death of Mrs. Jane M. Chester-A Bright Son
Has names of two of her former slaveholders:
--'Squire Presbury (Baltimore?)
--Sold to Dennis A Smith "when very young"
Self-Emancipated through Escape to Freedom in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
|
| Person ID |
I13
|
| Family 1 |
George Chester (Age 74 years)
b. 1785, Maryland, USA
d. 17 Oct 1859, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA (Age 74 years) |
| Married |
1826
Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [ 1, 6]
|
| Children |
| | 1. Moses S Chester (Age 19 years)
b. 1830, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA
d. Oct 1849, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA (Age 19 years) [natural] |
| | 2. Eliza Chester (Age 72 years)
b. Mar 1846, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA
d. 30 Oct 1918, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA (Age 72 years) [natural] |
| | 3. Thomas Morris Chester, I (Age 58 years)
b. 11 May 1834, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA
d. 30 Sep 1892, 305 Chestnut, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA (Age 58 years) [natural] |
| | 4. David R Chester (Age 54 years)
b. 11 Aug 1835, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA
d. 10 Dec 1889, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (Age 54 years) [natural] |
| | 5. Harriet Jane Chester (Age 93 years)
b. 1835, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA
d. 24 Apr 1928, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (Age 93 years) [natural] |
| | 6. Agnes Chester (Age 1 years)
b. Abt 1849, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA
d. Feb 1850, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA (Age 1 years) [natural] |
| | 7. Maria Chester (Age 72 years)
b. 14 Sep 1841, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA
d. 9 Jun 1914, New York, New York, USA (Age 72 years) [natural] |
| | 8. Charlotte Elizabeth Chester (Age 52 years)
b. 14 Aug 1829, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA
d. 8 Jul 1882, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA (Age 52 years) [natural] |
|
| Last Modified |
1 Nov 2024 |
| Family ID |
F3
|
