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Samuel Snowden, son of Richard Snowden (the "Ironmaster") married Elizabeth Thomas, his cousin from the West River, in 1753. In 1755 he built "Snow Hill" on property owned by his father, across the river from Birmingham. Samuel inherited large estates form his father plus a one third share in the "Ironworks". He also shared in the large estate of Philip Thomas, his father in law.
Samuel Snowden remained a firm Quaker when the Quaker Church, in 1777, declared that Quakers could no longer own slaves. He began to make plans to manumit his slaves and, in 1785, he gave 72 slaves their freedom.
In 1838, Richard Snowden, Samuel's grandson, moved his family to Wilmington, Ohio to the Quaker Community there, in order to be able to farm without slaves. His brother, William, followed in 1842, and two other brothers, James and Isaac, moved there in 1860.
Snow Hill currently belongs to the Maryland-National Capitol Park and Planning Commission and may be rented for weddings, luncheons and meetings. |
