Project Update
Since writing Finding Sarah Ann, I have continued to find new historical insights and interpretations in these stories. One development is in the history of Harriet Bell. In 2024, I decided to research her life and role in founding historic Vienna. On this Omeka site, I posited that she may be Sarah Ann’s sister but in doing this further research, I discovered she is not. The other facts presented on this site about Harriet Bell’s life remain true, it is just that more should be added. Having learned about her life more fully, I have begun to tell her story as one of womanhood, motherhood, community, legal battles, faith, education, and spatial navigation. Because so much has happened since I first set out on this research path, I would like to officially and in one place acknowledge a number of people who helped me along the way in this first digital project.

Acknowledgements

I first want to acknowledge the intellectual community and mentorship this class, Black Lives Next Door: Geographies of Inequity, gifted me with. My classmates were the best research peers I could hope for and have since then become incredible friends and colleagues. The guidance I received from my professors Dr. Wendi Manuel-Scott and Dr. George Oberle was also incredibly impactful. I was able to find Sarah Ann and tell her story in this initial iteration because they challenged and supported me as a scholar at every turn. I am lucky that they continue to be my teachers, cheerleaders, and scholastic support system.

I also want to take a moment here and first recognize an important detail in the story of how I came to tell this history. In the spring of 2023 when I first stumbled upon the newspaper ad detailing the flight of Sarah Ann Brown and her daughter, one of the first leads I followed was the Follin family name. A quick search led me to a genealogy blog where Follin descendants were sharing information with one another. A particular post from 2007 caught my eye. It was written by a novelist for young readers and adults named Susan VanHecke who had also come across the ad and was interested in this research for a potential book. Wondering if the book had been written or if she’d found any more information, I looked her up and found her own personal blog where in the same year she wrote about the research. VanHecke is a descendant of the Smallwood abolitionist family and wrote in her post that there was family lore of a pregnant enslaved woman they had assisted along with her daughter in the year 1850 when she fled the D.C. area. VanHecke had somehow identified Sarah Ann Brown as potentially that same woman. If that turned out to be true, it would be miraculous and it brought up so many other questions like who saved them, where did they go, etc… VanHecke had not written the book which, to me, indicated that she may have hit a dead end in research. I found her contact information and reached out to her inquiring about her findings, the potential book, and if her incredible hypothesis had turned out to be true or false. Unfortunately, I received no response and so set off on this project to try and see if she was right and if there were deep and meaningful historical interpretations I could glean from this history in either case. The answer to both obviously turned out to be yes! Finding Sarah Ann began as a course project culminating in the publication of this site in April of 2023. At that point it became clear that there was a lot more to learn and so in the two years since I have investigated ways in which it speaks to and connects to broader trends and communities beyond the scope of this initial project. In the spring of 2025, VanHecke responded to my initial contact and we were able to share the things we have both learned about this amazing story during that time.

In a similar vein, I’d like to acknowledge the folks in Warsaw, New York who supported this work. George Alameter, curator at the Gates Museum House run by the Warsaw Historical Society graciously shared the information they had on this topic, specifically their application for a historical marker and information gathered by a member named Harvey Granite who wrote a play called Woman in the Box. We shared information back and forth and I hope that the sources I found are of some help in securing the marker or filling out their narratives as their work was instrumental in giving me a springboard.

Next, I’d like to thank the archivists at the Fairfax Circuit Court Historic Records Center: Georgia Brown, Heather Bollinger, and Samantha Brice. Their unmatched expertise and kindness was and continues to be invaluable.

Last but not least, I want to give thanks to the community. Every time I have presented this research, I have been met with questions, suggestions, and sometimes even relatives of these historical actors that have given me opportunities to grow and engage with the audience that means the most to this project. I am so grateful for the invitations to speak at historical societies, churches, etc… as it has allowed this story to reach more people and broaden the historical horizons of Fairfax County residents.

 

Bibliography

Primary Sources

“1850 Census Cyrus Osborn.” In 1850 United States Federal Census [29], 1850 (roll M432). National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the Bureau of the Census. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/15006035:8054.

“1850 Census David Clarke Martin.” In 1850 United States Federal Census [29], 1850 (roll M432). National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the Bureau of the Census. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/8897274:8054.

“1850 Census Joshua H Darling.” In 1850 United States Federal Census [29], 1850 (roll M432). National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the Bureau of the Census. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/8898354:8054.

“1853 Warsaw Village Map,” n.d.

“1860 Census Breck,” 1860. Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M653. The National Archives.

“1860 Census David Clarke Martin.” In 1860 United States Federal Census [29], 1860 (roll M653). National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the Bureau of the Census. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/49055097:7667.

“1870 Census Cyrus Asborn.” In 1870 United States Federal Census [Falls Church, Fairfax, Virginia], 284A (roll M593_1645). National Archives and Records Administration, 1870. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/39157995:7163.

“1870 Census David Clarke Martin,” n.d.

“A Former Warsaw Boy’s Interesting History.” Masthead Wyoming County Times, April 17,

1919.

Alexandria Gazette. “List of Letters Remaining in the Post Office at Fairfax Court-House, July 1, 1826.” July 6, 1826. America’s Historical Newspapers 1 & 2.

“Chancery Case after John Follin’s Death. Includes a Copy of Nathaniel Barker’s Will and the Record of Sale between Him and John Follin When Follin Purchased Hannah and Her Daughter Eliza,” n.d. Fairfax Circuit Court Historic Records.

Edmonston, Gabriel. A Genealogical History of the Follin Family in America. 1128 Twelfth St. N. W., Washington, D.C.: G. Edmonston, 1911.

Edwards, W.L., T.R. Love, and H.W. Thomas. “Public Sale - Mar 6.” Alexandria Gazette, March 6, 1844. America’s Historical Newspapers 1 & 2.

Edwards, W.L., and Thos. Moore. “In the Circuit Court of Fairfax County.” Alexandria Gazette, December 3, 1868.

Geddes, Jean. “Area Rich in Heritage of Revolutionary War,” December 11, 1975. Fairfax County Library, Virginia Room.

“Inventory and Appraisal of Nathaniel Barker’s Property January 1834,” n.d. Fairfax Circuit Court Historic Records.

“Inventory of John Follin’s Property in 29 June 1841,” n.d. Fairfax Circuit Court Historic Records.

“Mary Eliza Burghardt Obituary.” Wyoming County Times, May 12, 1898.

Mary Follin. “Fifty Dollars Reward - Feb 28.” Alexandria Gazette, February 28, 1850. America’s Historical Newspapers 1 & 2.

———. “Fifty Dollars Reward - Mar 7.” Alexandria Gazette, March 7, 1850. America’s Historical Newspapers 1 & 2.

———. “Thirty Dollars Reward - Feb 8.” Alexandria Gazette, February 8, 1850. America’s Historical Newspapers 1 & 2.

———. “Thirty Dollars Reward - Feb 15.” Alexandria Gazette, February 15, 1850. America’s Historical Newspapers 1 & 2.

———. “Thirty Dollars Reward - Feb 22.” Alexandria Gazette, February 22, 1850. America’s Historical Newspapers 1 & 2.

———. “Thirty Dollars Reward - Feb 26.” Alexandria Gazette, February 26, 1850. America’s Historical Newspapers 1 & 2.

“Nathaniel Barker Will 1833,” n.d. Fairfax Circuit Court Historic Records.

Thomas, H.W., W.L. Edwards, and T.R. Love. “Commissioner’s Sale of Slaves.” Alexandria Gazette, November 25, 1841. America’s Historical Newspapers 1 & 2.

 

Secondary Sources

Fuentes, M.J. Dispossessed Lives: Enslaved Women, Violence, and the Archive. Early American Studies. University of Pennsylvania Press, Incorporated, 2016. https://books.google.com/books?id=dDE4DAAAQBAJ.

Phelan, Helene. And Why Not Every Man: An Account of Slavery, the Underground Railroad, and the Road to Freedom in New York’s Southern Tier. Empire State Books, 1987.

Siebert, Wilbur H. The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom A Comprehensive History. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 2006. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49038/49038-h/49038-h.htm.

Snodgrass, Mary Ellen. “Burghardt, Mary Eliza.” In The Underground Railroad : An Encyclopedia of People, Places, and Operations, 87. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2008. https://archive.org/details/undergroundrailr0000snod/page/86/mode/2up.

VanHecke, Susan. "John and Mary Follin, Falls Church, VA, pre-Civil War," Genealogy.com, 2007. https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/follin/12/

Young, Andrew W. “An ‘Underground’ Escape.” In History of the Town of Warsaw, New York, 364. Buffalo, New York, 1869.

 

By Annabelle Spencer