The History of Othello

The story of Othello began at the Forest of Needwood, the 945 acre plantation that laid on the eastern side of South Mountain between Burkittsville and Petersville in Frederick County. It was purchased in 1783 by Thomas Sim Lee and his wife Mary Digges Lee. 1 Lee served as the first Governor of after the Articles of Confederation 1779-1782 and again in 1792-1794. 2

As was common on large southern plantations, the labor was performed by slaves. Thomas Sim Lee had the distinction of being the largest slaveholder in Frederick County by 1800.3 At the time of Governor Lee’s death in 1819, 110 first-name-only slaves were listed as property to be conveyed to his sons, William and John Lee and his daughter Eliza Lee, wife of Outerbridge Horsey. The Governor and his wife founded St. Mary Catholic Church at Petersville with money designated from this will.4 The majority of the church members at the time were the slaves and free blacks of the area. The first brick church on this site was built by their own hands in 1826.5

William Lee, son of the Governor, had his own mansion built, Needwood Forest, on the land inherited from his father. The mansion is located at the eastern end of today’s Lee’s Lane at Catholic Church Road. Again, slaves provided the labor to build and maintain this estate. William Lee’s will listed 60 first-name- only slaves at the time of his death in 1845.6

Othello’s name first appears in this will of William Lee. Othello was listed along with his wife, Lucy and their daughter, Jean. Othello was conveyed to William Lee’s daughter, Mary Digges Lee, wife of Samuel L. Gouverneur with the singular stipulation that Mary pay $400 to the estate before claiming this slave. This marked a monetary confirmation of Lee’s high value of Othello.

In 1869, Othello, now freed after the Civil War, purchased five acres of land for $500 on the east side of South Mountain from his former owner, Mary Digges Lee Gouverneur under the name Barney Howard.7 Here he built a stone cottage for his family which was later owned by his daughter, Julia Ann Howard (1854-1945), wife of John Smothers. It still stands today.8

Othello is representative of the several thousand 9 slaves who lived and labored in Frederick County tending the farms, estates and businesses and building the mansions and churches we enjoy today.

References:

1. Maryland State Archives, Patent for Forest of Needwood, MSA S1197. 2. Maryland State Archives, Biographical Series, Thomas Sim Lee, MSA SC 3520-800. 3. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Monocacy National Battlefield, Joy Beasley, 2010. 4. Frederick County Register of Wills: Liber HS #2, Folio 299-304. 5. Koenig, Connie J. Vavra, As It Was In The Beginning, Is Now And Can Be, 2009. 6. Frederick County Register of Wills: Liber GME #3, Folio 105-109. 7. Frederick County Land Records: CM #4, Folio 4-5. 8. Recollections of Estella Smothers Belt, living granddaughter of Julia Ann Howard Smothers. 9. Williams, Thomas J. C., History of Frederick County, 1910, Vol. I, p. 219.