| State | Maryland |
|---|---|
| County (Primary) | Talbot |
| Other Counties | Kent |
| Family Name | Songo |
| Family History Notes | Members of the Songo family, apparently descendants of a white woman, were i. Kendall, born say April 1673, a "Mallt" servant woman having fifteen months to serve when she was listed in the inventory of the Talbot County estate of Mrs. Phebe Bowdle on 14 January 1702/3 [Prerogative Inventories and Accounts 1:618-9]. ii. Sarah, born say 1675, a "Mallt" servant having three years to serve when she was listed in the inventory of the Talbot County estate of Mrs. Phebe Bowdle on 14 January 1702/3. iii. Grace,, born say 1677, a "Mallt" servant having five years and six weeks to serve when she was listed in the inventory of the Talbot County estate of Mrs. Phebe Bowdle on 14 January 1702/3 [Prerogative Inventories and Accounts 1:618-9]. iv. William1, died before 5 June 1722 when Sarah and Solomon Songo signed (making their mark) the Talbot County inventory of his estate which consisted a cow and calf, 581 pounds of tobacco, 5 bushels of corn and 2 shoats [Prerogative Inventories 7:244]. 1 v. William2, born say 1730. 1. William2 Songo, born say 1730, was taxable in Duck Creek Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, in 1757, 1758 and 1766, in Little Creek Hundred from 1770 to 1771, in Duck Creek Hundred in 1772, Dover Hundred in 1773 and 1774, and in Murderkill Hundred from 1778 to 1780 [RG 3535, Kent County Levy List, 1743-67, frames 199, 212, 228, 518; 1768-84, frames 66, 104, 120, 183, 216, 347, 376, 425, 430, 461]. He was paid 8 pounds, 6 shillings by the estate of John Durham of Little Creek Hundred before 26 February 1789 [RG 3545, roll 68, frame 615]. He may have been the father of i. Ann, born say 1748, living in Little Creek Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, when the August 1768 session of the court indicted her and Isaac Durham for having an illegitimate female child [DSA, RG 3805, case papers, August 1768 indictments]. ii. James, born about 1757, in the Muster Roll of Captain McLane's Delaware Company for March to June 1779 [Delaware Archives, Military I:539]. He enlisted again on 25 December 1781 and was sized in a Delaware muster roll on 28 January 1782; age 25 years, 5'7", born in Delaware, a resident of Kent County, black hair, yellow complexion. He was listed as a deserter who was taken up and deserted again on 28 July 1782 [NARA, M246, roll 30, frames 347 & 405 of 532]. He was advertised as a deserter in an ad placed in the Pennsylvania Journal and the Weekly Advertiser on 14 September 1782: James Songo, a mulatto, born in Kent County, Delaware State, 25 years of age, 5 feet six inches high, has lost some of his toes [Boyle, Joseph L, He Loves a good deal of rum...Military Desertions during the American Revolution, 1775-1783, Vol. 2, June 1777-1783, 249, 298-9]. He was head of a Worcester County household of 2 "other free" in 1800 [MD:786]. 2 iii. Daniel, born say 1765. 2. Daniel Songo, born say 1765, was taxable in Little Creek Hundred from 1788 to 1789, in the list of "Mulatto's & Negro's" in 1797 and 1798 [RG 3535, Kent County Levy List, 1784-97, frames 75, 107, 138, 75, 473]. He was paid 8 pounds by the estate of John Durham of Little Creek Hundred before 26 February 1789 [RG 3545, roll 68, frame 615]. He was not taxed in Little Creek Hundred in 1800 because he was "sickly" [RG 3535, Kent County Levy List, 1798-1800, frame 414]. He was head of a Little Creek Hundred household of 8 "other free" in 1800 [DE:33] and 2 "free colored" (a man and woman born before 1776) in 1820 [DE:25]. He was bondsman for the Delaware marriage of Asa Street and Rebecca Durham on 23 January 1811 [Marriage Records 18:292]. He may have been the father of i. Isaiah, born 1776-1794, head of a Little Creek Hundred, Kent County household of 7 "free colored" in 1820 [DE:29]. |
| Additional Notes | – |
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[Author (if known)], Free Black Families of Colonial Delmarva (abstracted by Paul Heinegg), [Date (if known)], Enduring Connections: Exploring Delmarva’s Black History, Nabb Research Center, Salisbury University.
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