A state historical marker approved by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources will be unveiled next month for The Stewart Sisters v. The Steamer “Sue,” a late 19th century federal court case that became an impetus for the establishment of the Mutual United Brotherhood of Liberty, a forerunner of the NAACP.
The dedication ceremony for the marker will be held at noon on Saturday, Oct. 4, at New Jerusalem Baptist Church, 2695 Kings Mill Road, Kinsale. The marker unveiling will take place at the marker’s location on Route 202, a few yards east of 13890 Cople Highway in the Westmoreland County community.
In 1884, four Westmoreland natives—sisters Martha and Winnie Stewart, Mary Johnson and Lucy Jones—were denied first-class quarters because of their race when traveling on the Steamer “Sue” from Baltimore to visit family in Kinsale, a release said. With support from their pastor, the Rev. Harvey Johnson of Baltimore’s Union Baptist Church, they sued the Baltimore, Chesapeake and Richmo...