Captain George Pointer

Eight-year-old Mary Ann Plummer Harris piloting the boat with her grandfather, Capt. George Pointer.

© Richard Swartz

The story of Captain George Pointer and his family is a window into American society. We see some of America’s greatest triumphs and worst evils. Countless families have faced similar challenges and many more may face them in the future. The Pointer family legacy is one of struggle, resilience, and hope that shows us how far we have come and what we still need to work towards.

Captain George Pointer’s life was truly remarkable. He was born enslaved but would eventually buy his freedom and shape his family’s legacy. He would rise through the Patowmack Canal Company to become the supervisory engineer. Most of the enslaved and indentured workers did not leave personal records, but Captain George Pointer did. He told the story of his 43-year career in a handwritten letter.

 

 

Early Life

George Pointer was born October 11th, 1773, on a plantation believed to be in Frederick County, Maryland (now Montgomery County). There are a few possibilities of which plantation he was born at, but many scholars believe that he was born on the plantations of William Walace. The identity of his parents is unknown. He was rented to the Patowmack Canal Company when he was thirteen. Many of the specific tasks George Pointer was forced to do is unknown. One document case was when he was 15. George Pointer accompanied a 38-day survey expedition of the upper sections of the Potomac River, led by Mr. John Smith and Col. Gilpin. At the recommendation of his supervisor, his enslaver agreed that if “I [George Pointer] would pay him 300$ In a given time that I should be my Own man". After saving money for six years, George Pointer purchased his freedom. For unknown reasons, George Pointer decided to stay on the Potomac River. He continued to work for the Patowmack Canal Company for the rest of his career.   

A Place to Call Home

In 1787, the directors of the Patowmack Canal Company provided George Pointer with a small cottage. It was located in Maryland near Little Falls and is currently located at Lock 6 of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. The exact location of the cottage is unknow as there are many ruined buildings at that location. Historians speculate that company gifted the cottage to the then teenaged George Pointer to watch over the storage house. This storage house held the vital black powder used to form the canal. George Pointer would live there for the rest of his tenure with the Patowmack Canal Company. He did not live there alone. His wife Elizabeth “Betty” [Townsend] Pointer, lived with him for over forty years. Together they would raise three children: Mary, Elizabeth, and William A Pointer. The Patomack Canal Company paid Betty Townsend to board six enslaved workers at her house.

A Letter Sent, a Legacy Forged

The Pointer Cottage was home and like many other aspects of Captain George Pointes life, needed to be fought for. In 1829, Captain George Pointer learned construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal threatened his home. In response, he wrote a letter to the C&O Canal Company relaying an account of his life and requesting compensation for his home. Historians have not found a reply letter, but it appears he was successful. Captain George Pointer and his family still lived there years later.

 

African American Civil War soldiers holding guns at dusk, located at the National Mall in D.C.

NPS/Terry Adams

A Living Legacy

Captain George pointers letter to C&O Canal allowed historians to connect the stories of his descendants together to the modern day. Their stories touch on so many aspects of American society that we can still see today. Namely, the experience of African Americans.

Before the Civil War, even if African Americans were free, they could be captured, kidnapped and sold into slavery. Freed white indentured servants did not have that fear. In 1838, Captain Pointer’s granddaughter, Mary Ann Plummer Harris, had her freedom threatened. She and two witnesses were required to testify in court to affirm her free status. She was issued her Certificate of Freedom on November 24, 1838. Even with this legal status, the long shadow of racism never went away.

Captain George Pointer’s decedents carried forward his legacy of service and advocacy. In 1863, his great-grandsons, John and Joseph Harris, enlisted in the First Regiment of the United Stated Colored Troops Infantry. They fought in the Civil War to preserve the Union and end chattel slavery in America. They faced unequal pay, racism from both the public and the military, and the threat of execution or enslavement if captured. Their courage to fight for freedom helped liberate millions of enslaved people.

 

The Lafayette School in D.C. was one of the four schools that was built on Pointer's Land.

NPS/ Susan Finta

Although Captain Pointer saved his cottage, his descendants later lost homes because of discriminatory development practices in our nation’s capital. In the 1840s, his granddaughter, Mary Ann Plummer Harris built their family’s home, Dry Meadows, on a two-acre farm. In 1928, Joseph Harris and Mary Moten were forced to sell Dry Meadows through eminent domain to build a school serving a whites-only housing development. Descendants of Captain Pointer were forced to sell their homes four times. The effects of discriminatory eminent domain, redlining and gentrification are still felt today.

Even today, there are still decedents of Captain Pointer carrying on his legacy. On October 9th, 2023. Many of his family members joined with Great Falls Park Rangers to honor and celebrate the 250th birthday of Captain Pointer. The park is working with his decedents to bring their ancestors story to as many people as possible.