Johns Hopkins’ Clifton (1850-), 39°19′15″N 76°34′58″W

Location:  Bounded by Harford Rd., Erdman Ave., Clifton Park Terrace, the Baltimore Belt RR and Sinclair Ln., Baltimore, Maryland

Coordinates: 39°19′15″N 76°34′58″W

Area: 266.7 acres (107.9 ha)

Built: 1801?, remodeled and tower added, ca. 1850?

Architects for Hopkins renovations: Niersee & Neilson; Wyatt and Nolting; Olmsted Brothers; Thomas, Frederick

Architectural style: Italian Villa

NRHP reference No.        07000941[1]; Added to NRHP: September 12, 2007

Johns Hopkins acquired Clifton in 1841 from the Trustees of Thompson sale:

By February 5, 1852 the main house renovations were complete:

https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=70751511&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjM2NTI3MDg4NiwiaWF0IjoxNjE3ODg1NzI2LCJleHAiOjE2MTc5NzIxMjZ9.IbAcxIdvrkf7KTMM5KXDUQlejqkZzZVOUm9wv4OU5gQ

Builders and craftsmen, ca. 1850 who may have been employing slaves:

• Niernsee & Nielson, architects
• H.J. Bayley, carpenter
• James Murray, bricklayer
• James (Jas.) Sullivan, painter
• Andrew Merken, iron worker
• John Rothrock, roofing
• Bevan & Sons, stonework
• Hayward, Bartlett & Co. plumbing
• S. W. & H. T Gernhardt, glass stainers
• George W. Starr, plasterer

Puzzle to be solved:

1. who were the four individuals on the Slave Schedule of 1850 and were they actually ‘slaves’ owned by Johns Hopkins?

2. There were several people living in outbuildings on the Clifton estate in 1850 at the time the census was taken (August of 1850)^[1] as well as contractors working on the mansion (see the February 1852 article in the Sun).  Given the vague instructions to the Census taker with regard to the definition of ‘ownership’ of slaves, is it plausible or even provable that the slaves listed at Clifton in 1850 were not ‘owned’ by Johns Hopkins, but rather employed there as individuals who rented themselves out to the contractors or to Johns Hopkins on wages used to secure their freedom?

1. Isaac Queen may be a case in point.  

The Sun (1837-1995); Baltimore, Md. [Baltimore, Md]31 Oct 1884: 4

The Queens were a family that gained their freedom through the courts and by manumission.^[2]  It is possible that Isaac was actually free working at Clifton in 1850 and counted by the Census taker as a slave.   There were two men among the four who were the right age to be Isaac Queen:

1850 slave schedule for Clifton

four individuals on the Slave Schedule of 1850

2. James Jones may also be an example of an individual mistaken or wrongly identified as a slave of JH in 1850 when he was in fact working for JH to earn his freedom.  By 1860 James Jones is free and in JH’s household, identified as being 35 which corresponds in age to one of the four listed as slaves in 1850:

Research Strategies:

Using tax records for Baltimore County and Baltimore City, as well as the City directory for the contractors names and addresses a search for taxed slaves who might have been working at Clifton as well as determining if JH was taxed for owning slaves in BA and/or BC.

Secondary Sources:

https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Clifton_Park,_Baltimore&params=39_19_15_N_76_34_58_W_type:landmark_region:US-MD

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifton_Park,_Baltimore

https://explore.baltimoreheritage.org/items/show/22