Myrtle Baptist Church congregation, Newton, 1896-1897: Photograph courtesy of Myrtle Baptist Church. Enlarge image.

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.

Julia Haywood standing next to 21 Sims Court, West Newton, late 1930s: Julia 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. Enlarge image.

Eliza Riley was Louisa's eldest child, born in 1849, the same year the certificate was written. By 180 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.

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 the photograph of the Myrtle Baptist Church congregation at 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.

 

 

This photograph 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

Enlarge image.