Yarmouth Project/Indigenous and Other People of Color - Episode 1: Cato and Lucy Judah with Notes on Eleazer and Mary Black

Please note that the information contained in these Project Episodes may be edited and updated  as I discover more documents and information.  I will note them as edited if so. If any reader knows of, or has information that may add to or change anything I note, I would love to hear from you.

Cato and Lucy Judah

An oft repeated factoid in many written histories of Yarmouth is that concerning Lucy and Cato Judah, who in 1797 were noted as being the last residents at Bass River living in a "wigwam."(1) Lucy was of purported indigenous ancestry and her husband Cato was a former slave.  At about this time, land in this South Yarmouth area was proposed to be used for salt works; a portion of said land being the site of native burials.  Lucy and Cato were so "grieved" at this idea that either they, or another party, had bodies disinterred and buried in a location along Long Pond.  It is not clear to me from the descriptions of this event who it was that disinterred and moved the bodies, but it was supposedly done.  To me it seems that the focus of these written snippets was the philanthropy of Daniel Wing, Jr. who erected the memorial in the late 1800's and then by the early 1900's had donated this portion of his land by Long Pond on which the graves existed, as well as what is now a town park on the shore of the pond.  This land had been a northern part of the Indian Reservation set aside in 1713. It was in a local newspaper article written in the 80's or 90's by Duncan Oliver and Jack Bragington Smith about Mary Dunn (Lucy's daughter with her first husband Boston Boston and the namesake of Mary Dunn Road in Cummaquid, MA) that I learned that Cato was probably the former slave of Colonel Sylvanus Bourne of Barnstable. (Please note that at the time of this writing newspaper archives are unavailable, complete information and full citation to be updated once these archives become available.) Indeed, in the History of Richard Bourne, we find that Colonel Sylvanus Bourne died in 1764, naming his wife Mercy as sole executrix and leaving her most of his large estate.  Mercy (Gorham) Bourne, in her Will dated 10 July 1781 and proved 28 May 1782, provided the following(1a):

Some of the Native Americans of South Yarmouth were first buried on land later owned by Robert Homer. When it was proposed to be used for salt works, it so grieved Cato Judah and his wife Lucy, occupants of that last wigwam, they had the bodies disinterred and buried near Long Pond, thought to be old hunting grounds. It was an ideal spot for the last resting place of the members of a tribe that once held possession of all these lands. (2)

 

Looking at Yarmouth Vital Records we find that Cato Judah and Lucy Boston were married 16 April 1786.(3)  Their first child Richard was born 15 July 1786, and a daughter Betsy was born 17 October 1789 (no further information on Betsy).  The records also show that Lucy was previously married to Boston Boston with whom she had a daughter Mary Boston born 6 July 1778.(4)

I currently have no specific information to share as to the identity of Boston Boston, although there are several instances of slaves in Barnstable County with this common name.  From 1738 Yarmouth records(5):

                                                            

                                                  

In researching Yarmouth records I note a Lucy Black born 13 September 1749 to Eliezer Black and Mary his wife.  Eliezer/Eleazer is identified as a fiddler and negro slave to Jonathan Smith.  Eliezer and Mary had two sons - Richard born 18 November 1754, and Stephen born 11 August 1757.(6)  Lucy's birth date and the repeating of family names, i.e, Mary after the mother, and Richard after a brother, qualify this Lucy as a candidate for Lucy Judah's identity.

Some Note about Eleazer and Mary Black of Yarmouth

Elizer Negro of Yarmouth and Mary Stephens of Chatham married on 8 December 1748, intentions filed October 1748.(7)(8)  Mary Stephens may be related to a known and important indigenous Stephen(s) family.  More research is required.  Many of these indigenous families of Yarmouth seem to have connections to the Ralph family of the Lower Cape, i.e., on 9 June 1753 Micah Ralph married (intentions) Hose Stephens "both now of" Chatham,(9) and Eleazer Ralph married Hannah Stephens in 1755.(10) Yarmouth records too reflect the Ralphs as living in Yarmouth and may be the subject of a future Yarmouth Project blog post.  

In subsequent records, Eleazer Negro is called Eleazer Black.

  

On 8 September 1774 Richard Black married Mary Quepish at Yarmouth.(11)  On 15 November 1774, Sarah Studley of Yarmouth gave birth to an illegitimate son ultimately named Nathan Black(12) who is later identified in records as "of color" or "indian."  One would assume that Black is the surname of the child's father.  Nathan Black's death record, while leaving the name of his father blank, notes the name of his mother as Sarah Studley.  In later times, the Nathan Black family repeats the use of the name Sarah Studley.

                                                 

                                             

Currently I have found no further information for Stephen Black, but if he was living at the time could also be considered a candidate for father as well.  There is more information out there about Nathan Black and I do not go into this extensive history in this blog.  The Black and Harris families are connected to the Black and Harris House in Brewster.  Sally Harris and her son John Harris also signed the 1820 Petition of Yarmouth Indians, as does Lucy Judah, part of the list of signers claiming to be “true heirs to the land.”(13)  The Black and Harris families have been tied to the prominent and influential Ralph family; this fact may ultimately prove important to historical events in Yarmouth. Note that Nathan Black marries Desire Ralph 29 December 1796. (14)

At a Yarmouth Town meeting legally warned and held 2 April 1798, the Town voted not to allow Cato Judah any payment for keeping George Francis for five months. This fact seems contrary to most other instances of this type in Yarmouth records, with citizens normally being allowed compensation for assisting in taking care of the town's poor.  (Interestingly the next vote was to talk to the Selectmen of Dennis about a piece of Town land adjoining to Bass River.) 

    

Children of Cato Judah and Lucy Jude:

Richard Judah was born 15 July 1786.  Marriage intentions of Richard Judah to Martha Siprus both of Yarmouth were recorded on 5 August 1810.(15) Richard and Martha had a son named Adin born about 1827.  Richard Judah is enumerated at Barnstable in 1830, with three individuals identified in the household.  Richard died 28 January 1832 and is buried at Cobbs Hill Cemetery in Barnstable.(16) In 1850, Martha Judah, mulatto, age 66, is head of household at Barnstable; her son Adin, black, aged 24, a seaman, is also living in the home.(17)  Adin Judah, colored, mariner, born at Barnstable and son of Richard, married Catherine Howe from Ireland at Boston on 18 June 1852.(18)  Adin Judah, colored, identified as single, died at Boston 28 August 1864, place of birth "on the Cape."(19)  He is buried at the Mount Hope Cemetery in Boston.  No further information on wife Catherine or any children.

Betsy Judah was born 17 October 1789, marked "dead" in Yarmouth Vital records.  No further information.

Following Cato and Lucy through Census Records:

In 1810, Cato Judah is enumerated at Yarmouth, four people identified in "all other free persons, except indians, not taxed). (20)

Again in 1820, Cato Judah is enumerated at Yarmouth, the household consisting of three individuals - one male 45 years and over, one female 45 years and older and one female 14 to 26.

In 1820 Lucy Jude signs the Petition of the Yarmouth Indians requesting return of their land.  She is one of multiple individuals signing and identifying themselves as true heirs to the land.

In the 1830 Census at Yarmouth, Cato Judah's household at Yarmouth consists of two individuals of color - one male aged over 55 and under 100, and one female between 24 and 36. It is of course impossible to confirm the identity of the one female noted.  In 1820 at Barnstable, Richard "Cato" is enumerated at Barnstable, and again in1830 at Barnstable, alongside the household of Thomas (and Mary) Dunn.  Lucy Judah is still living in 1830 but it is unclear which household she may be living in.  

In the Barnstable records, on the last pages noted as “Deaths of Sundry Persons recorded by Isaiah Hinckley, Town Clerk, it is recorded: Cato Judah “formerly a slave to Col Bourne, died Nov 4 1834, and Lucy Cato died July 21, 1839.  Other "sundry" deaths include that of their son Richard, as well as other individuals who died at the almshouse, and or remarkable drownings in the harbor, etc. (21)

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Sources and Citations:

Enright, Susan, Photographer, Indian Memorial, Yarmouth, Massachusetts, Personal Collection, July 2024.

(1) Swift, Charles F., History of old Yarmouth. Comprising the present towns of Yarmouth and Dennis. From the settlement to the division in 1794 with the history of both towns to these times, p. 171, published by the author, Yarmouth Port, MA, 1884, Library of Congress, Internet Archive.   See also, Kelley, Robert Dudley, A History of the Reservation of the Indigenous Peoples at Yarmouth, 1713-1778, Historical Society of Old Yarmouth, Yarmouth Port, MA, HSOY.org. 

(1a) Dykes, Hannah Smith Bourne, History of Richard Bourne, Cleveland, O., Priv. Print, by B.F. Bourne, p. 214, 1919, Archive.org.

(2) Tafra, Pat, The Indians of Yarmouth, Historical Society of Old Yarmouth, Yarmouth Port, MA, HSOY.org.

(3) Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, Yarmouth, Births, Marriages, Deaths, Intentions 1766-1822, Cato Judah, Image 33 of 70, Ancestry.com.

(4) Massachusetts, Yarmouth, Town Records, 1670-1773, Vol. 3, Boston Boston, Image 86, Ancestry.com.

(5) Massachusetts Town and Vital Records, Yarmouth, Town Records, 1670-1773; vol. 3, Boston Negro, Image 150, Ancestry.com.

(6) Massachusetts Town and Vital Records, Yarmouth, Births, Marriages, deaths 1657-1823, Eliezer Black, Image 102, Familysearch.org.

(7) Massachusetts Town and Vital Records, Yarmouth, Town Records, Mary Stephens, Intensions, Image 131, Ancestry.com.

(8) Massachusetts, Yarmouth, Town Records, Mary Stephens, Image 160 of 388, 1620-1988, Ancestry.com.  

(9) Massachusetts, U.S. Town and Vital Records, Chatham, Records of Births, Marriages, Deaths and Private Marks, 1693-1798, Micah Ralph, Ancestry.com.

(10) Massachusetts, U.S. Town and Vital Records, Harwich, Town Records 1731-1794, Vol. II, Image 110 of 240, Hannah Stephens, Ancestry.com.

(11) Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, R[a]chard Black, Yarmouth, Births, Marriages, Deaths, Marriage Intentions, 1766-1822, Image 18 of 70, Ancestry.com.

(12) Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, Nathan Black, Yarmouth, Births, Marriages, Deaths 1645-1860, Vol. .18, Image 141 of 202, Ancestry.com.

(13) Exhibits to Senate Unpassed Legislation 1820, Petition No. 6568, A. True Copy from the Records of the Town of Yarmouth, James Hedge, Town Clerk; Unpassed Legislation Relating to Indian Affairs, SC1 Series 592X, Massachusetts Archives, Dorchester, MA.

(14)  Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records for Nathan Black, Marriages 1794-1823, Image 139 of 183, Ancestry.com.

(15) Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, Martha Siprus, Yarmouth, Vital Records, Image 160 of 183, Ancestry.com. Ancestry.com.https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2495/images/40400_274542-00547?pId=69637287

(16)  MA, U.S., Town Clerk and Vital Records, Barnstable, Barnstable, Births, Marriages, Deaths 1816-1898, Cato Judah, Lucy Judah, and Richard Black, Vol. 6, Image 231 of 231; citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston, FamilySearch.org.

(17) 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Massachusetts, Barnstable County, Barnstable, Martha Jude, image 150, Ancestry.com.

(18) Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, Boston, Births, Marriages and Deaths, "Adim N Judah", Ancestry.com.

(19) MA, U.S., Death Records 1841-1915, Boston, Adin Judah, Boston, 1864, New England Historic Genealogical Society, viewed on Ancestry.com.

(20) All U.S. Census Records viewed on either Ancestry.com or Familysearch.org.

(21) MA, U.S., Town Clerk and Vital Records, Barnstable, Barnstable, Births, Marriages, Deaths 1816-1898, Vol. 6, Image 231 of 231; citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston, FamilySearch.org.