Louisa Addison obtained her certificate of freedom in 1849 in Prince Georges County, Virginia. She and her family — husband Benjamin Addison and their five children — were recorded on the Federal Census in Newton in 1870. No information has been discovered about Louisa and her family between those dates. The Addison family most likely stayed in Maryland until shortly after the birth of the youngest child, Charles, in 1867.
1870 U.S. Federal Census: House 1571, Families 1652 & 1653
- Addison, Benjamin: Age 48, Gardener/Coachman - born Maryland
- Addison, Louisa: Age 44, Housekeeper - born Maryland
- Addison, Margaret: Age 15, At school - born Maryland
- Addison, Alice: Age 14, At school - born Maryland
- Addison, Josephine: Age 10, At school - born Maryland
- Addison, Charles: Age 3, At home - born Maryland
- Riley, Nathaniel: Age 22, Gardener/Coachman - born Maryland
- Riley, Eliza: Age 22, Housekeeper - born Maryland
- Riley, Margaret: Age 1, At home - born Maryland
- Riley, Emma: Age 1, At home - born Maryland
Eliza Riley was Louisa's eldest child, born in 1849, the same year the certificate was written. By 1870 she was married to Nathaniel Riley, and they had twin daughters. Although the census lists the birthplace of the daughters as Maryland, birth records show that they were born in Newton, Massachusetts.
Building a Community: In 1870, the Addisons and the Rileys shared a house on Oak Avenue in West Newton. The Addisons most likely came to the Newton area to join family and friends, some of whom may be in this photograph of the Myrtle Baptist Church congregation (right). In 1870, when the Addisons first appear in Newton census records, about 85 African-Americans made Newton their home and 3,496 lived in Boston. By 1905, the year before Louisa's death, 522 African Americans lived in Newton, and the African-American population in Boston had risen to 11,948.
The Addison Descendants: This composite photograph (above) shows Louisa Magruder Addison's descendants in Newton. It is taken from the Myrtle Baptist Church 125th Anniversary Programme. Upper left: George Haywood, husband of Gertrude Wilson Haywood, Louisa's granddaughter. Upper right: Alfred Haywood, Louisa's great-grandson. Bottom: Walter, Howard, Alfred, and Arthur Haywood, Louisa's great-great-grandsons.
Julia Haywood: Pictured standing next to 21 Sims Court, West Newton, late 1930s, Julia (left) was the wife of Alfred Haywood, Louisa's great-grandson. This house on Sims Court was the home in which Louisa Addison was living when she died in 1906. Photograph courtesy of Rev. Howard Haywood and Karen Haywood.
No photographs of Louisa Addison, her husband Benjamin, or their children exist. But thanks to generations of their descendants, who carefully preserved the certificate of freedom, we know something of their lives.