Agnes (or Agnis) first appears in the written record at the death of her enslaver, Samuel Russell, Sr., in 1711. A year later, Russell's estate administrators inventoried his real and personal estate for probate. There, sandwiched between wooden ware and an old shallop (a boat) is listed "one negrowoman" valued at 20 pounds. Her name does not appear.
It is not until she is baptized at the St. Michael's Anglican Church on March 11, 1716 that we learn her name. At that time, she is a mature woman of about 41 years.
What happened to Agnes after Russell's death? Most likely she stayed with his widow, Elizabeth, as part of her widow's third of the estate. Or, perhaps, Samuel Russell, Jr., or one of his two sisters inherited Agnes.
Agnes herself died July 12, 1718 at the age of about 43, according to her headstone. In an unusual move, the family buried her in their plot at the top of Old Burial Hill. At a time when some people were still being buried with impermanent wooden markers, hers was stone featuring the carved motifs typical of the era. A death's head with wings caps the stone with leafy vines on both sides.
The stone read: AGNIS NEGRO WOMAN SERVANT TO SAMUEL RUSSEL AGED Abt 43 YEARS DECd JULY Ye 12th 1718
Sometime in the 1970s or so, Agnes' stone was stolen during a spate of gravestone robberies at Old Burial Hill. Today, only a small, flat slab marks her grave. To add insult to injury, her death date is incorrect. Thanks to a campaign led by the Marblehead Racial Justice Team, a project is underway to better mark and contextualize Agnes' gravesite.
To learn more, visit https://marbleheadmuseum.org/agnes/
Bibliography:
"Early Vital Records of Massachusetts From 1600 to 1850." Massachusetts Vital Records Project. https://ma-vitalrecords.org/. Accessed 2.4.2021.
Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB515/i/13855/24417-co1/247754578. Accessed 2.4.2021.
St. Michael's Church Records.
Agnes' baptismal record from St. Michael's Church Archive
Agnes' death record
Agnes' stone detail
Samuel Russell probate inventory detail
Agnes' stone inscription