Margaret “Peggy” Tulip
Significance:
Margaret Tulip was born in Charlestown, MA and brought to
Lexington as an infant. Emancipated as an adult, Margaret was
later kidnapped and re-enslaved. In 1768, Margaret sued in the
courts to regain her freedom and status as a free person. After
three trials, through determination, strength, and persistence,
Margaret won in 1770. Margaret was a wife, mother and a
grandmother who demonstrates the challenges Black women
confronted in attaining liberty. Slavery remained legal in
Massachusetts for more than a decade, and legal in America
until 1865.
Birth:
Death:
c1718
January 7, 1794
No obituary, but records show that the Town of Lexington paid for her burial.
Obituary:
Marriage:
Robin Tulip
Children:
James, Robin, Peter, Becky
Places Lived:
Charlestown, Woburn, Lexington
Connection to Lexington:
Lived in Lexington from c1719 until her death in 1794.
Wikipedia:
Book Titles:
Education:
Employment:
Enslaved by Nathanial Matson (Charlestown), Jacob Green (Woburn), Samuel Green (Woburn/Lexington), Amos Muzzy (Lexington), William Muzzy (Lexington). We have not yet learned how she earned income while free.
Quotation:
Link to page in Notable American Women:
Inclusion in the Lexington
Historical Society Exhibit?
Yes. LexSeeHer learned about Margaret Tulip through the Lexington Historical Society’s exhibit. Steering Committee member Leslie Masson volunteered to research Margaret’s case which then evolved into a multi-generational biographical research study.
Additional Info:
Bell, Edward. Margaret’s Freedom Suit against William Muzzy of Lexington Massachusetts. https://www.academia.edu
Hudson, Charles. History of Lexington of the Town of Lexington, vol 2. Lexington Historical Society, 1913.
Margaret vs Muzzy, Suffolk Files Collection, File #147651, #147830. Supreme Judicial Court Archives. Massachusetts Archives, Boston.
Preliminary Sketch
- Meredith Bergmann
