Boston Man Uncovers Ancestral History From Long-Lost Freedom Papers In Maryland Home

Aaron Hayes used the freedom papers to uncover more about his long-lost relative.

Boston resident Aaron Hayes used the discovery of long-lost freedom papers to reveal more into his familial history.

Hayes is descendant of freed man Samuel Jones. However, Jones’ own identity as a freed Black man was concealed for generations until one lucky discovery six years ago.

Hayes discovered Jones’ freedom papers after cleaning out his mothers home in Anne Arundel, Maryland. A pandemic-induced clearing out of the home led to the unique finding.

His mother pointed out the artifact as the two ruffled through some old belongings, stumbling upon the historic documents. Hayes did not realize the paper held more significance than at first glance.

“And I opened it up and looked at it and was very confused as to what this might be,” he said to WCVB. “And she said, ‘That’s your ancestor’s freedom papers.’ And I said, ‘Hold on!'”

The discovery led Hayes down his own rabbit hole to find more about his ancestor’s life. When he returned to Boston, he visited a library within American Ancestors, partnering with historians and conservators to uncover the story of Jones.

With the help of conservator Todd Pattison, Hayes was able to find out the legitimacy of the document. However, the rarity of this find makes this discovery extremely important, as many artifacts from people of color remained undervalued.

“Generally, we don’t have as much material from more marginalized people, from people that didn’t have access to collections and weren’t collected by institutions,” said Pattison. “I think there has been a bias in institutional collecting that we collect, you know, Founding Fathers materials, and we collect wealthy people because we have historically tried to tell that story.”

The actual document was produced in 1834. The text itself stated that Jones was 21 years old when he signed the crucial paper. Its writing declared that he was born and raised a free man in a Maryland county. Hayes expressed his own gratitude toward the recently uncovered ancestor.

“Knowing that, probably I’m here because he did this step,” said Haynes. “Just a feeling of being grateful of what I have and feeling grateful for what my family has been through and knowing that through these trials and tribulations we can just overcome any obstacle.”

His family seemingly passed down the treasured paper unknowingly for years. However, its re-emergence came at the perfect time for Hayes to uncover this history. The moment is not lost on him either, understanding the gravity of holding his ancestor’s freedom papers.

“I haven’t realized just how much it just weighs in on just the history of not just my family but of this country itself,” said Haynes. “And what it means to be just as an African American man, knowing that I have a relative’s freedom papers.”

Now, Hayes hopes that others can find these keepsakes that remain a testimony to Black American history.