Anna Freeman, Jr.

Bio

Anna was the daughter of Prince and Anna Freeman of Conway, Massachusetts. She was born on August 8, 1775.

The Freemans lived in Conway, Massachusetts, and Anna, jr. had at least four siblings. The 1790 federal census for Conway lists a White Prince Freeman with five people in his household. His name is a common one for an African American man. However, an extensive family genealogy published in 1875 traced the Freeman family from their departure from London, England, on the ship Abigail in 1635 and that they initially settled in Sandwich, Massachusetts. See [Freeman, Frederick], Freeman Genealogy in Three Parts (Boston: Privately printed by Franklin Press: Rand, Avery, and Company) 1875. There are many descendants named Prince Freeman, beginning withe Prince Freeman born in 1665 to parents John and Mercy (Prence) Freeman. an interesting juxtaposition--was the name Prince originally derived from Mercy Prence Freeman's maiden name? Also of interest is John Freeman's will in which he provided on his death in 1719 age 92 "freedom for my Negroes," with " four acres of land, a horse, and a cow" and stipulated " I desire my children to put them in such way that they [emancipated individuals] may not want." (quoted in Freeman, Freeman Genealogy, p. 29.)

By the early 18th century, a dozen or more Freeman children had been named Prince by their parents, a reminder that, while Prince was a common name among enslaved African Americans, there existed cases where the name was in use by White people. Similarly, the surname Freeman was not exclusive to African Americans.