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 Richmond Steamship Company in federal district court claiming segregated quarters were illegal and that the Sue’s were unequal. The trial court ruled that segregation was reasonable, but awarded the sisters $100 each because the quarters were not equal. The ruling was affirmed by the federal court of appeals. This case, one of many brought by Black female activists in the 19th century, was an impetus for the creation of the Mutual United Brotherhood of Liberty, the release said.
A historical overview of the case will be provided by Virginia Tech associate professor Dennis Patrick Halpin, author of “A Brotherhood of Liberty: Black Reconstruction and Its Legacies in Baltimore, 1865-1920.” Stewart descendants Dallas Henderson and Clint Thomas will also speak on the program. Fannie Thomas of Baltimore, the only surviving grandchild of the Stewart Sisters, will lead the unveiling of the marker assisted by other descendants. A post-dedication reception will take place at New Jerusalem Baptist Church.
The Virginia Board of Historic Resources, which is authorized to designate new state historical markers, approved the manufacture and installation of the Stewart Sisters v. The Steamer Sue historical marker in September 2024. The marker’s sponsor, Middle Peninsula African-American Genealogical and Historical Society, covered its manufacturing cost, the release said.