Table of Contents
Who did Mary Bowser work with during the civil war?
The records that follow her life bear witness to the many names she used. She married fellow Van Lew servant Wilson Bowser on April 16, 1861, and was then known as Mary Elizabeth Bowser. The Civil War erupted just four days before the marriage.
Is Mary Bowser still alive?
Deceased
Mary Bowser/Living or Deceased
Who is Mary Jane Richards?
Mary Jane was born circa 1840 in Richmond, Virginia, as a slave to the Van Lew family. Later in life she asserted that her mother was white, and her father was Black. During the early nineteenth century, slave status was dictated by the mother’s status, so this account is questionable. Her exact lineage is unknown.
Where is Mary Elizabeth Bowser buried?
In 1995, The U. S. Government honored Mary Elizabeth Bowser by inducting her in to the U. S. Military Intelligence Hall of Fame in Fort Huachuca, Arizona….Mary Elizabeth Bowser.
| Birth | 1840 Richmond County, Virginia, USA |
|---|---|
| Burial | Woodland Cemetery Richmond, Henrico County, Virginia, USA Show Map |
| Plot | Section G, plot 23 |
What was Mary Elizabeth Bowser’s role during the Civil War?
Mary Richards Bowser was born into slavery and later became a missionary to Liberia, a Union spy in the Confederate White House during the American Civil War (1861–1865), and a teacher at freedmen’s schools.
Where did Mary Elizabeth Bowser grow up?
Richmond, Virginia
Born in Richmond, Virginia around 1839, Mary Elizabeth (Van Lew) Bowser began her life as a slave on the plantation of John Van Lew, a wealthy hardware merchant.
How did Mary Bowser escape slavery?
She was enslaved from birth in Richmond, Virginia, but was effectively freed as a young child in 1843 when her owner, John Van Lew, died and his daughter, the abolitionist Elizabeth “Bet” Van Lew, took ownership of all his slaves and subsequently freed them all (though not legally, as emancipation of slaves was …
Did Mary Bowser have a photographic memory?
Mary Bowser was a servant for Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Richmond. But it was a servant at the Confederate White House in Richmond — a freed slave with a photographic memory who, in addition to caring for his wife’s dresses, slipped the North valuable secrets from Davis’s own desk.
Who was Mary Elizabeth Bowser and what did she do?
Mary Elizabeth Bowser was a former slave who operated as a spy for the Union while working on the household staff at the Confederate White House. Mary Elizabeth Bowser was born a slave somewhere around 1839 on a plantation owned by John Van Lew of Richmond.
Why did Mary Bowser go to Quaker school?
Bowser remained a servant in her former mistress’ household and when Van Lew realized how intelligent she was, she sent Bowser to be educated at the Quaker School for Negroes in Philadelphia. Van Lew herself had been educated by Quakers in the North and although she was a member of Richmond’s elite, she harbored fiercely abolitionist views.
Where did Mary Bowser Richards go to school?
Not long after this baptism, Elizabeth Van Lew, sent Richards north to school in Princeton, New Jersey, or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1855, Richards went to Liberia in West Africa, to join a missionary community, as arranged by Elizabeth Van Lew. By spring of 1860, Richards had returned to Richmond.
Why was Mary Bowser shunned by her fellow Virginians?
Van Lew and Bower had been able to hide in plain sight by playing up their roles as a sheltered society woman and an ignorant servant — and they fooled everyone for a long time. After Van Lew’s role as a spy did become public knowledge, she was largely shunned by her fellow Virginians, who viewed her as a traitor.