Ephraim Edmonson (b. circa 1818- d. circa 1890)
MSA SC 5496-47820
Fled from slavery, Montgomery County, Maryland, 1848
Biography:
Ephraim Edmonson was born into slavery in Montgomery County, Maryland circa 1818 to Paul Edmonson, a free black, and Amelia, a slave belonging to Rebecca Culver. Ephraim was one out of fourteen children born to Paul and Amelia Edmonson. Ephraim like his siblings was hired out to work in Washington, DC, by Francis Valdenar the executor of Rebecca Culver's estate.
Ephraim was the oldest of the Edmonson brothers to board the Pearl, a merchant schooner belonging to Captain Edward Sayres, and attempt to escape slavery in 1848. After the Pearl was captured Ephraim and his siblings were jailed and later sold down to New Orleans. On May 13, 1848 he was listed along with 5 of his siblings as one of the slaves to sail aboard the brig Union from Baltimore to New Orleans. He was 30 years old at this time and was described as being 5'8" and brown. It is not clear how long Ephraim was a slave in Louisiana, but by 1860 he was back in Washington, DC living with his parents, Paul and Amelia. At this time Ephraim was married to Mary Jane Bannister and was employed as a coachman.
By 1870 Ephraim Edmonson was living in Washington D.C. with his wife Mary Jane and their four children: Oliver, Narcissa, Elizabeth, and Christopher. The family resided on H. Street in the SW quadrant of the city. Edmonson was employed as a carriage driver in Washington and his wife Mary was a laundress. By 1880 Edmonson has another child, a son named Walter who is listed in the household according to the census of that year. Ephraim Edmonson dies sometime before or during 1890 when his wife Mary Jane is listed in the Washington City directory as the widow of Ephraim Edmonson.
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