Bowie Ancestors Project

These burials were disinterred accidentally in 1987 during the construction of a private home in Bowie, Maryland. Law enforcement was alerted when the burials were uncovered and they determined that the human remains were old, and ruled out recent criminal activity. After determining that the remains were from a historic context, the burials were exhumed so that home construction could continue.

Historical documents indicate that there was a cemetery in this area of the housing development. These burials were likely part of this larger cemetery, and we believe that the rest of the cemetery remains intact behind the housing development. Historical research revealed that the cemetery was a burial ground associated with the Magruder Plantation, where a large African-American community was enslaved. 

In the 1980s, when the burials were exhumed, there was no legal provision for the reburial of accidentally disinterred human remains. Therefore, the remains were turned over to the University of Maryland for curation. Today, Maryland State law prohibits the removal of human remains from burial sites. Many burial sites are not marked, especially those affiliated with Native American and enslaved African-American communities. If unmarked burials are discovered accidentally, homeowners must contact the Maryland State Attorney General's office. 

The Bowie Ancestors remains are currently respectfully housed in a dedicated, locked room on the University of Maryland campus. As descendants of the Magruder Plantation enslaved community are identified, they will be able to visit the remains in this space until they are repatriated.

No, these individuals were enslaved at Magruder Plantation, located in Bowie, Maryland. The University of Maryland’s 1856 Project is investigating any possible connections between the community enslaved at the Magruder Plantation, and the communities enslaved by the Founders of the Maryland Agricultural College. 

The University of Maryland is working with diverse stakeholders, including descendant communities, to ensure that these women and men are reburied respectfully and in a way that honors the lives they lived. 

Plans for reburial will be guided by the wishes of the descendant community.

More information on the reburial ceremony, including its location and plans for memorialization of the site, will be shared as plans are developed in collaboration with the descendant community. 

Two separate analyses of the remains were conducted, one in the late 1980s and another in the 2010s. These analyses determined that the burials are of seven individuals of African descent (four women and three men), aged from late teens to over 60 years old. Their skeletons reflect the physical labor and nutritional stresses that these women and men endured in enslavement.

Human remains are commonly used for teaching and research on university campuses. Many university skeletal collections were originally sourced following the standard practices of the time. In the past, it was also common for inadvertently discovered human remains to be turned over to educational institutions for use in research and teaching. This is not in keeping with contemporary ethical practice. Following present-day ethical practices, human remains included in university collections are usually from individuals who donated their remains with informed consent for educational purposes. 

Research to identify living descendants and learn more about the Bowie Ancestors is supported my the Department of Anthropology and The 1856 Project's Mellon research incubator grant.

The 1856 Project is seeking information on possible descendants of the Magruder Plantation of Bowie, MD enslaved community.

Genealogical research to identify potential descendent community members is ongoing. Starting from the names of the people who were manumitted by the owner of the Magruder Plantation, census records and other genealogy records are used to identify descendant families. Although the manumission records may not include biological relatives of the Bowie Ancestral remains, these records identify a community of people that very likely had social ties to the Bowie Ancestors.

To the best of our knowledge, the remains have not been used for classroom teaching for at least 25 years. Some research was performed by the Smithsonian Institution in 2010 to gather additional biological profile information to assist with repatriation. No destructive research (i.e., DNA or isotopic analysis) has been performed.

The names of people enslaved at Magruder Plantation are listed on the Will of Henderson Magruder, dated to 1829. Researchers are using genealogical research to identify living descendants of this enslaved community. Although genealogical research is unlikely to lead to direct biological relatives of the Bowie Ancestral remains, it is the hope that this research can be used to identify a community of people that may have had social ties to the Bowie Ancestors.

We are providing information on this website, and will hold information and listening sessions. 

Members of the public can reach out to the project team using this contact form with any information they'd like to share.

If you think you may be a descendant of the Bowie Ancestors, please fill out the contact form, and someone will reach out to you. 

Descendant community members are encouraged to contact the project team for more information about the project and for potential opportunities for involvement. To do so, please reach out to the project team using the contact form.

There are many resources for genealogical research. Listed are a few resources to help you begin your research.

• Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society
• ancestry.com
• Maryland State Archives
• MSA: Legacy of Slavery in Maryland

Descendant community members are encouraged to contact the project team for more information about the project and for potential opportunities for involvement. To do so, please reach out to the project team using the contact form.