Black History Month - February 9, 2021

In the mid-18th century, Melrose was still part of Malden. In Malden at that time there was only one free Black landowner, Ann Welcome, who lived near the border of what is today Revere, along the road to Lynn, by the edge of Rumney Marsh. This neighborhood was known as “Black Ann’s Corner” well into the early 20^th century. 

In the winter of 1755 Ann Welcome found a baby on her doorstep. The child was of mixed race. She breastfed the baby for a couple of months, until the government of Malden got word of its existence. By established custom, foundlings could expect poor relief from town government. Malden faced the prospect of paying Ann Welcome child support for years to come.

Joseph Barrett was a farmer in Melrose whose house was located at the crest of Lincoln Street where it meets Sawyer Road, which you can see in the first image. He offered to relieve the town of all future financial burdens if he were given a one-time cash payment and was allowed to make the child his family’s slave for life, as you can see in the text of the second image. The selectmen accepted Barrett’s offer, and in an instant the baby’s legal status changed from free to enslaved. Ann Welcome was later paid a small sum for her trouble.

There is no further record of what happened to the child after it went home with Barrett.