Fitzhugh-Tyson papers

The Fitzhughs and Tysons were prominent Maryland families, related by marriage to each other and to many other well-known Maryland families. The Tysons were noted abolitionists, while the Fitzhughs were Southern sympathizers.

Henry Maynadier Fitzhugh (1815-1900)

Henry Maynadier Fitzhugh (1815-1900) was born at "Windsor" in Baltimore County, Maryland. He was the son of Daniel Dulany and Margaret Maynadier Fitzhugh and a descendant of Dr. Henry Maynadier, who extracted a ball from Lafayette’s leg at the Battle of Brandywine during the Revolutionary War. In 1843 he married Anne George and they had eight children. After the dealth of his first wife, Fitzhugh married Lucy Tyson (1833-1910), a daughter of Nathan Tyson and Martha Ellicott, in 1872. The couple had one son, Henry Maynadier Fitzhugh (1875-1935). Fitzhugh wrote a memoir on the history of Maryland's Dulaney Valley in 1878 for the Baltimore County Union entitled “Notes on Dulany’s Valley, MD. by an Exile.” A typed copy of this memoir is included in the collection.

Nathan Tyson (1787-1867)

Son of the philanthropist, Elisha Tyson (1750-1824), Nathan Tyson (1787-1867) was a merchant, miller, and the First President of the Baltimore Corn and Flour Exchange, which became the Chamber of Commerce. In 1815 he married Martha Ellicott and material related to their 50th Wedding Anniversary party (1865) is included in the collection. Their daughter Lucy Tyson (1833-1910) married Henry Maynadier Fitzhugh (1815-1900) in 1872.

Martha Ellicott Tyson (1795-1873)

Martha Ellicott Tyson (1795-1873) was born and raised in Ellicott's Mills, Maryland which her grandfather, Andrew Ellicott, and his brothers had founded. In 1815 she married Nathan Tyson, a prominent Baltimore Quaker, and they raised twelve children, ten of whom achieved maturity. She was an elder of the Baltimore Quaker Meeting; an anti-slavery and women’s rights advocate; an author of two biographies of Benjamin Banneker; and a co-founder of Swarthmore College. She also wrote a book about the origins of Ellicott City. She was inducted into the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame in 1988.

Isabella Tyson (1823-1903)

Isabella Tyson (1823-1903) was a daughter of Nathan and Martha Ellicott Tyson. She was well known for her philanthropic and charitable work and was involved with both the Shelter for Orphans of Colored Soldiers and Friendless Colored Children as well as the Shelter for Aged and Infirm Colored Persons.

Shelter for Orphans of Colored Soldiers and Friendless Colored Children

This charitable institution was founded in 1867 in Baltimore, Maryland. The Shelter was originally located on Fayette Street near Front but after several years, since the building was small and inconvenient for the increasing numbers requesting admission, it moved to 196 West Biddle Street. Operational funding came largely from the African American community and the Sharp Street, Orchard Street, and Bethel Methodist Episcopal churches donated Sunday offerings. Isabella Tyson served as treasurer.

Shelter for Aged and Infirm Colored Persons

Located at 515 and 517 West Biddle Street, this charitable organization was founded in 1881. It initially began with a bequest from Arabella Fisher and after her death donations from her nephew Richard K. Fisher as well as James S. Norris, William H. Baldwin, and James Carey Coale provided the $10,000 needed to open the shelter. The entrance fee was $100 and residents were cared for until their deaths. Isabella Tyson was president.