Community Story
The Syphax Family and Freedman’s Village
Who was the Syphax Family?
The Syphax family was enslaved at Arlington estate, known today as Arlington National Cemetery. Charles Syphax was born circa 1791 to William Syphax, a free Black preacher, and an unknown enslaved woman. As a child, Charles was enslaved by Martha Washington and lived at President George Washington’s Mount Vernon plantation in Virginia. He was taken to Arlington after Martha Washington’s death.
Maria Carter was born in 1803 at Arlington to Arianna Carter, an enslaved woman, and George Washington Parke Custis, Martha Washington’s grandson. Maria was the personal maid to her half-sister Mary Anna Custis.
Charles Syphax and Maria Carter married in 1821 and had ten children. After Emancipation, many of their children became community leaders in the area, including at nearby Freedman’s Village. The Syphax family’s transition from slavery to freedom began decades before the Civil War.
Maria Carter Syphax, ca. 1870
Charles Syphax with his grandson, ca. 1865
Family Ties at Mount Vernon and Arlington
The Washington, Custis, and Lee Families
George Washington’s last will and testament, 1799
Martha Washington’s last will and testament, 1802
When George Washington died in 1799, his will directed that the people he enslaved be freed after Martha Washington’s death. This did not apply to the “dower slaves” Martha had inherited from her first husband, Daniel Parke Custis. Under Virginia law, dower slaves remained part of the deceased husband’s estate. Charles Syphax was part of the Custis estate that remained under Martha Washington’s control.
After Martha’s death in 1802, her will passed the Custis estate (including all its enslaved members) to her grandson George Washington Parke Custis. Custis brought enslaved people from Mount Vernon to build the Arlington estate on land he inherited from his father, John Parke Custis.
Today, the Arlington estate is most often associated with Robert E. Lee. In 1831, the future Confederate general married Mary Anna Randolph Custis, George Custis’s daughter and Maria Carter Syphax’s half-sister. The Custis-Lee family lived at Arlington House and managed the plantation until the Civil War.
Delayed and Partial Freedom
Manumission document for Maria and her children, 1845
Manumission document for Charles Syphax, 1862
In 1825, George Washington Parke Custis sold Maria Syphax and her children to Quaker abolitionist Edward Stabler to be freed. He also gave her 17.5 acres of land. Stabler died before documenting the manumission. In 1845, the administrators of Stabler’s estate signed a deed of manumission affirming their emancipation.
When George Washington Parke Custis died in 1857, his will stated that everyone he enslaved should be freed within five years of his death. Custis's son-in-law Robert E. Lee became the executor of his estate, but defied Custis’s will. In December 1862, Confederate General Lee was court-ordered to free everyone enslaved by Custis, including Charles Syphax.
Maria Syphax's Land
After selling her to Edward Stabler, George Washington Parke Custis gave Maria Syphax 17.5 acres of land on the Arlington Estate. The Syphaxes created a new life in freedom while living on their land at Arlington. The Syphax children attended school, and some held government jobs in Washington, D.C., and Virginia.
Map of the Arlington estate including Maria Syphax’s land
Syphax Land Confiscated During the Civil War
Shortly after the Civil War began in 1861, the Union Army seized Arlington Estate to defend Washington, D.C. from a Confederate attack. The Union Army converted Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s home at Arlington to a burial place for Union soldiers and a camp for formerly enslaved African Americans.
In 1864, the government confiscated Maria Syphax's land on the Arlington Estate because she did not have proof of ownership. William Syphax, Charles and Maria Syphax’s eldest son, worked for the Department of the Interior and used his connections in Washington, D.C. to petition the government to return his mother’s land. In 1866, Congress passed a relief bill returning the land to Maria Syphax.
Maria Syphax, a mulatto, was once the slave of George W. P. Custis. Mr. Custis at the time she married, about forty years ago, feeling an interest in the woman, something perhaps akin to a paternal instinct, manumitted her, and gave her a piece of land. It had been set apart to her and it has been occupied by her and her family for forty years. Under the circumstances, the Committee thought it no more than just, the Government having acquired title to this property under a sale for taxes, that this title should be confirmed to her.
Senator Ira Harris, Presenting Bill S-321 for the relief of Maria Syphax, 1866
Interactive Timeline
Transitions in Freedom: The Syphax Family and Freedman’s Village
The end of slavery in the United States marked a new beginning for millions of African Americans—the freedom to work, own land, attend school, raise families, and reunite with loved ones. But for families like the Syphaxes, the transition to freedom had started long before the Civil War. This timeline highlights the Syphax’s journey from slavery at Mount Vernon to Freedom at Arlington and Freedman’s Village.
Creating Freedman’s Village at Arlington
Freedmen at Camp Barker in Washington, D.C., ca. 1862
Freedman’s Village residents, ca. 1865
During the Civil War, thousands of formerly enslaved men, women, and children in Virginia and Maryland fled to Washington, D.C., seeking freedom. The Union Army built camps in the city to house them, but these sites became overcrowded and prone to deadly outbreaks of typhoid, pneumonia, and smallpox.
To improve conditions, government officials and the American Missionary Association built a more spacious camp on the Arlington estate in Northern Virginia. Established in 1863, Freedman’s Village provided homes, schools, employment opportunities, and medical facilities. It became a place where residents could gain stability and ultimately self-sufficiency. The Freedmen’s Bureau took over operations in 1865.
The village became home to Old Bell Baptist and Wesley Zion churches, the Abbott Hospital, and several schools. Village residents worked on nearby farms, construction sites, public works projects, and hospitals.
Featured Object
Freedman’s Village
Freedman’s Village was established in 1863 to relieve overcrowding at smaller camps in Washington, D.C. It was built at Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Arlington estate, which is now Arlington National Cemetery. The village included several schools, hospitals, and a home for the elderly. The Freedmen’s Bureau took over management of the village in 1865.
Thousands of African Americans lived in Freedman’s Village until it was disbanded in 1900. This included families like the Syphaxes, who had lived on the Arlington estate since before the Civil War.
John B. Syphax Fights for Freedman’s Village
John B. Syphax
Arlington National Cemetery, ca. 1867
The federal government tried to close Freedman’s Village several times, but residents sought to preserve their community. Eventually the Village became an important voting bloc, totaling more than half of Alexandria County’s (now Arlington County) population. Charles and Maria Syphax’s son, John B. Syphax, was elected to the Virginia General Assembly and advocated for Freedman’s Village. But after decades of pressure to expand Arlington National Cemetery, the War Department began disbanding Freedman’s Village in the 1880s. John B. Syphax wrote to the Secretary of War requesting that residents be compensated for improvements made to their homes.
In 1900 Congress approved $75,000 for residents’ removal and resettlement. Many former village residents moved to nearby communities in Arlington and Alexandria.
The Legacy of Freedman’s Village
Queen City rowhouses and sheds with the Pentagon in the background, ca. 1942
Residential street in Queen City, ca 1942
When Freedman’s Village closed in 1900, families searched for housing in the surrounding area. Many residents relocated to Arlington communities including Nauck, Green Valley, Hall’s Hill, and Johnson’s Hill. Mount Olive Baptist Church purchased two acres to build a community called Queen City, which became home to many African Americans from Freedman’s Village.
Over the next 40 years, Queen City residents established their own fire department, school, churches, and businesses. In 1942, the federal government seized the area under eminent domain to build roads and parking for the Pentagon. Over 900 residents were displaced from Queen City, some living in trailer camps until they could find new housing. Homeowners received $2,052 for their property while renters were not compensated.
Syphax Family Legacy
Maria Syphax died on January 28, 1886, and named her son William as executor of her estate. But William Syphax died in 1891 before fulfilling his duties, triggering a lawsuit among the Syphax heirs. In 1899, Special Commissioners were appointed to settle the Syphax estate, identifying heirs, dividing the land, and assigning lots to heirs. In 1944, the federal government seizes the Syphax property, effectively ending ownership of the former Arlington Estate by African American descendants of the Custis family.
The Syphax family and their descendants have been involved in public service, education, and medicine in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.
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