Independent Historian

Mary Maillard is an independent scholar and documentary editor from Vancouver, British Columbia. Her primary interests are in Black family history focusing on free people of color in antebellum Philadelphia and North Carolina. Her edition Whispers of Cruel Wrongs: The Correspondence of Louisa Jacobs and Her Circle, 1879-1911 (2017) won Honorable Mention for the Society for the Study of American Women Writers Book Award in 2018. She is currently working on a biography of Louisa Burr, daughter of Vice President Aaron Burr.

Francis Johnson [Frank J.] Webb (1828-1894)

Francis Johnson Webb, newspaper editor, educator, equal rights activist, and the second published African American novelist, was born free on March 21, 1828, in Philadelphia to Louisa Burr and Francis Webb.  His mother, Louisa Burr (c1785-1878), was the illegitimate daughter of former vice president Aaron … Read MoreFrancis Johnson [Frank J.] Webb (1828-1894)

George W. Lowther (1822-1898)

George W. Lowther, barber, abolitionist, equal school rights activist, and Massachusetts legislator, was born a slave in Edenton, North Carolina, to Polly Lowther.  His father’s identity is unknown.  His mother, Polly Lowther (c.1780-1864) was an Edenton baker, the slave of wealthy planter Joseph Blount Skinner … Read MoreGeorge W. Lowther (1822-1898)

Dating Harriet Jacobs: Why Birthdates Matter to Historians

Image Ownership: Midnightdreary (CC BY-SA 3.0) In the article that follows British Columbian historian and documentary editor, Mary Maillard, explores the controversy surrounding the precise birthdate of slave narrative author, Harriet Jacobs, and reminds us why precision matters. Earlier this year (2013), numerous celebrations marked … Read MoreDating Harriet Jacobs: Why Birthdates Matter to Historians