William Costin

William "Billy" Costin
Born Abt 1780
Died May 31, 1842
Citizenship Free slave
Known for Early civil rights
Home town Mount Vernon, Virginia U.S.
Spouse(s) Philadelphia "Delphy" Judge

William "Billy" Costin (c. 1780 - May 31, 1842) was a possibly free African-American activist and scholar who successfully challenged District of Columbia slave codes in the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia.[1][2]

Early life

Little is known of Costin’s upbringing. His mother was Ann Dandridge Costin Holmes, a dower slave of Martha Washington, though descended from a Native American parent and so free under Virginia law. While Ann and several of her children lived at the Mount Vernon plantation owned by George Washington on the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia,[2] there is no evidence her son William lived there; he may have lived nearby with family.

Costin’s legal status as "free" or "enslaved" is debated by historians, as is the identity of his true father. He may have been the son of Martha Washington's brother, and thus her nephew, or John Parke ("Jacky") Custis, Martha's son, and thus her grandson (even if unrecognized).[3]

Career

Around 1800, Costin moved from Mount Vernon to Washington City, what later became known as Washington, D.C. In 1812, Costin built a house on A Street South and raised a large family.[4][5][6][7]

From 1818, Costin worked as a porter of the Bank of Washington.[2]

Also in 1818, Costin helped start a school for African-American children, which his daughter, Louisa Parke Costin (c. 1804-October 31, 1831), eventually led.[8] In the August 1835 Snow Riot, a white mob burning abolitionist institutions and those associated with free blacks, spared the school.[9]

In addition to the school, Costin created other organizations. In 1821, he helped found the Israel Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, led by an African-American minister.[10] In June 1825, Costin co-founded an African-American Masonic Temple.[11] In December 1825, he helped found the Columbian Harmony Society, providing burial benefits and a cemetery. Working with nearly the same group with whom he started other organizations—including fellow hack driver William Wormley (ca. 1800-1855) and educator George Bell (1761–1843)—Costin served as the Society’s vice president through 1826.[12]

William Cranch, Chief Judge of the United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia (circa between 1844 and 1860)

Opposition to Surety Bond Law

In 1821, Costin’s legal challenge to anti-African surety bond measures adopted in Washington, D.C., resulted in a District of Columbia Circuit Court opinion exempting those living in the District prior to the law's enactment.[1] Adopted during the administration of Mayor Samuel Nicholas Smallwood, the law required free African-Americans to post a twenty dollar cash bond and references of white neighbors to guarantee peaceful behavior. Costin refused to comply, and appealed his five dollar fine.

In the case, Chief Justice William Cranch, nephew of second U.S. President John Adams, accepted that the City charter authorized it "to prescribe the terms and conditions upon which free Negroes and mulattoes may reside in the city."[1]

In asking to strike the law entirely, Costin unsuccessfully argued that Congress could not delegate powers to the city that were unconstitutional, and that "the Constitution knows no distinction of color."[2][13]

Chief Justice Cranch defended the peace-bond law by pointing to certain barriers in the state voting and jury laws of the time, writing: "It is said that the constitution gives equal rights to all the citizens of the United States, in the several states. But that clause of the constitution does not prohibit any state from denying to some of its citizens some of the political rights enjoyed by others. In all the states certain qualifications are necessary to the right of suffrage; the right to serve on juries, and the right to hold certain offices; and in most of the states the absence of the African color is among those qualifications."[14]

Personal life

Marriage

Gen. George Washington and his family. (Geo. Washington Parke Custis, Gen. George Washington, Eleanore Parke Custis, Martha Washington, William Lee) (NYPL Hades-254222-EM13214)

In 1800, Costin married Philadelphia "Delphy" Judge (c. 1779-December 13, 1831), the younger sister of Oney "Ona" Maria, known as Oney Judge(c.1773—February 25, 1848), both of whom were daughters of Betty Davis (c. 1738-1795), and were so-called "dower" slaves of Martha Washington at Mount Vernon.[15][16][17][18]

According to Virginia estate law, the dower slaves passed to the Custis children upon Martha’s death.

In 1807 and 1820, Costin purchased the freedom of seven relatives. In 1807, Thomas Law (October 23, 1756 – July 31, 1834) freed six of Costin's sisters and half-sisters for "ten cents."[19] Law was the husband of Elizabeth ("Eliza") Parke Custis Law (August 21, 1776 –December 31, 1831), who inherited them at the death of her grandmother, Martha Washington.[20]

In October 1820, the purchase of Costin’s apparent cousin, Leanthe—who worked at the Mt. Vernon Mansion House, and was the daughter of Caroline[21]—involved two-steps. First, George Washington Parke Custis sold her to Costin for an undisclosed sum. Twelve days later Costin freed her for "five dollars."[22][23]

Costin remained in cordial contact with the Custis family throughout his life. In 1835, George Washington Parke Custis, Eliza’s brother, supported Costin's side business driving a horse-and-buggy taxi.[24]

Funeral

Francis Scott Key circa 1825

Costin's funeral on June 4, 1842 was attended by U.S. Attorney and national anthem composer Francis Scott Key.[25]

The funeral was notable for the long line of hansom cabs driven by Costin's friends.[26] Also notable was the fact that an estimated 70 carriages were part of the funeral procession, and included both white as well as black mourners, as well as a horseback processional.[27]

References

  1. 1 2 3 United States (1894). "Costin v. Washington (Case No. 3,266) - Oct. Term, 1821". The Federal Cases: Comprising Cases Argued and Determined in the Circuit and District Courts of the United States (PDF). St. Paul: West Pub. Co. pp. 612–614. OCLC 228786185. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Historical Information About the Courts of the D.C. Circuit: 1800: An Early Civil Rights Victory in a D.C. Court". Historical Society of the District of Columbia Circuit. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  3. ↑ Feagin, Joe R. (2006). Systemic Racism: A Theory of Oppression. New York: Routledge. pp. ix, 110. ISBN 978-0-415-95277-4. OCLC 61285498. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  4. ↑ "William Caustin - United States Census, 1820". FamilySearch. Retrieved 1 February 2016. The 1820 U.S. Census for Washington, D.C., records "William Caustin" as having eight African-Americans in his family, including one female slave over age forty-five
  5. ↑ "Wm Costin - United States Census, 1830". FamilySearch. Retrieved 2 February 2016. The 1830 U.S. Census for Washington, D.C., records "Wm. Costin" living in the Fourth Ward, in a family of eleven: his wife, plus two sons and seven females (consisting of four daughters and three adopted daughters)
  6. ↑ "Wm Costin - United States Census, 1840". FamilySearch. Retrieved 2 February 2016. By the 1840 U.S. Census, the Costin family had eleven members.
  7. ↑ In 1842, Costin’s will gave three houses to his children. First, his four daughters inherited a brick house on "Square 688, lot 17," located at A Street and New Jersey Avenue South East, property that is now the Capitol Building and grounds. Second, his two sons each inherited a frame house at "Square 630." James Croggan, “Grounds of Capitol,” The Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), April 7, 1907, p. 12, image 64 (“The Costins, on A street prior to 1820, was one of the earliest colored families on the 'hill.'"); and William Costin Last Will and Testament (probated July 11, 1842), District of Columbia Wills, Boxes 0014 Quinlin, Tasker C - 0018 Degges, John, 1837-1847, pp. 294-295. Accessed via Ancestry.com. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  8. ↑ "The First Colored Public School". National Republican. Washington, D.C. May 8, 1876. p. 1. Retrieved 2 February 2016. Original notice appearing in Daily National Intelligencer, August 29, 1818: opening of the "Resolute Beneficial Society School," William Costin, president; George Hicks, vice president; James Harris, secretary; George Bell, treasurer; Archibald Johnson, marshal
  9. ↑ Barnard, Henry (1870). "Schools of the Colored Population: Louisa Parke Costin's School". The American Journal of Education. Hartford, CT: F.C. Brownell. 19. OCLC 70680208.
  10. ↑ Cromwell, John W. (1917). The First Negro Churches in the District of Columbia, 64-106, at 68 (Lancaster, Pa.; Washington, D. C.; The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Inc.); and published in the Journal of Negro History 7, no.1 (January 1922), 64-106 (“Among the men and women active in the first efforts were Scipio Beans, George Simms, Peter Schureman, George Hicks, Dora Bowen, William Costin, William Datcher, William Warren and George Bell, one of the three colored men who fifteen years before had erected a building for a Negro school.”)
  11. ↑ Miller, Randall M., and John David Smith (1997). Dictionary of Afro-American Slavery (Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group), at 265 (“Beside churches and schools, free Negroes associated with one another in various ways….The Prince Hall Freemasons (named after the founder of black freemasonry in America) attracted members notable for their economic achievements—Absalom Jones and James Forten of Philadelphia, William Wormley and William C. Costin of Washington, D.C.”)
  12. ↑ Sluby, Sr., Paul E., and Stanton Lawrence Wormley (2001). History of the Columbian Harmony Society and of Harmony Cemetery (Rev ed. Washington, D.C.: The Society).
  13. ↑ Cranch, William (1852). Reports of Cases Civil and Criminal In the United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia, from 1801 to 1841 (Volume 6: General Index ed.). Boston: Little, Brown and Co. pp. ii, xii, 254, 95, 287. OCLC 499510728. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  14. ↑ Noel, F. Regis (1922). "Some Notable Suits in Early District Courts". Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. Historical Society of Washington, D.C. 24: 67–88. JSTOR 40067160.
  15. ↑ Provine, Dorothy S. (1996). District of Columbia Free Negro Registers, 1821-1861. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-788-40506-8. OCLC 35793874. Costin married one of Martha Washington’s slaves and his cousin, who was bequeathed by Martha to her granddaughter, Eliza Parke Custis, the wife of Thomas Law.
  16. ↑ Green, Constance McLaughlin (1967). The Secret City: A History of Race Relations in the Nation's Capital. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-00568-3. OCLC 53290346.
  17. ↑ Robinson, Henry S. (Spring 1969). "Some Aspects of the Free Negro Population in Washington, D.C., 1800-1862". Maryland Historical Magazine. 64.
  18. ↑ Williams, George Washington (1968). History of the Negro Race in America. New York: Bergman Publishers. p. 193. OCLC 558191677. Retrieved 2 February 2016. In 1800, he married Philadelphia Judge (his cousin)
  19. ↑ May 5, 1807, Manumission from Thomas Law to Margaret Costin and Others, Washington, D.C., Archives, Liber R 17, folio 220-221 (old folio 288) (Six women freed: “Ex[ecuted] and Del[ivere]d Nancy Costin, their mother: …[for] ten cents current money to me in hand paid have released from slavery…Margaret Costin, aged nineteen years, Louisa Costin, aged seventeen years, Caroline Costin, aged fifteen years, Jemima Costin, aged twelve years, Mary Holmes, aged eight years, and Eleanor Holmes, aged six years.”) Retrieved May 17, 2016. Ann's nickname was "Nancy," so these are her children or nieces. In 1802, Ann was freed, and the date for the manumission of Philadelphia Judge is uncertain. Wiencek, Henry (2003). An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves and the Creation of America, p. 84. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux ("The question of Ann's legal status was resolved when, through a descendent of hers, I found a record of her manumission in 1802, carried out after Martha's death. Ann came into the possession of Martha's granddaughter Eliza Custis Law, whose husband arranged the manumission when Ann was in her forties. She was freed under her married name, Holmes, and the nickname Nancy.")
  20. ↑ "Martha Washington’s Black Sister," Stories from American History blog, June 16, 2012, citing Wiencek (2003), pp. 84-86, 282-290 ("Once George and Martha were both dead and Ann was in her forties, she came into the possession of Martha’s granddaughter, Eliza Custis Law. Eliza and her husband, Thomas Law, were uniquely sensitive to the plight of mixed-race people, for Thomas, before marrying Eliza, had been an official of the East India Company, and had three half-Indian sons. Upon inheriting ownership of Ann Dandridge in 1802, the Laws freed her almost immediately. Five years later, they emancipated all Ann’s children, her grandchildren, and William Costin’s wife [Philadelphia Judge].")
  21. ↑ List of Slaves at Mt. Vernon in 1799, Archives.gov.
  22. ↑ October 23, 1820, Manumission from William Costin to Leanthe Brannan, Washington, D.C., Archives, Liber AZ50, folio 229 (old folio 294) (“Whereas George WP Custis by an instrument of writing under his hand and Seal bearing the date of Eleventh of October one thousand Eight hundred and twenty, did bargain, sell and confirm unto me a certain mulatto woman slave, Leanthe Brannan, about twenty-eight years of age.”) Retrieved May 17, 2016. The 1820 U.S. Census records one female slave living in the Costin household, and this person could be Leanthe.
  23. ↑ Adams v. Law, 58 U.S. 417 (1854)(estate case details family history); and Thomas Law Family Papers, 1791-1834, Maryland Historical Society.
  24. ↑ Check on Bank of the Metropolis for $27, from George W.P. Custis to William Costin, June 5, 1834, The Washington Library, Mt. Vernon; and see, Papers of George Washington Parke Custis, Note to Bank to pay $10 to William Costin, April 5, 1836.
  25. ↑ Marc Leepson, What So Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, a Life (Macmillan, 2014), pp. 196-97 (At Costin’s funeral, attended by Key, "a reporter counted more than seventy carriages.") (Google e-Book)
  26. ↑ The Sun (Baltimore, MD), June 1, 1842, vol XI, iss 10, pg 4 (Death of William Costin at age 65 at the Bank of Washington: "Perhaps no individual of his color and circumstances was ever more highly esteemed than William Costin."); Commercial Advertiser (New York, NY), June 2, 1842, vol XL, pg 2 (William Costin dies in his sleep, May 30–31, 1842, at age 62, having served 24 years as porter at the Bank of Washington)
  27. ↑ Emancipator and Free American (Boston, MA), June 9, 1842, pg 22
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