Quander Stone

This stone, possibly a sharpening stone, is carved with the name “Charles Quander” and “Mt. Vernon 1777 Va.” The name on the stone may refer to Charles Quander, a free Black man from Maryland, who married Nancy, a formerly enslaved woman. Nancy gained her freedom in 1802 through George Washington’s will. During her enslavement, Nancy lived and worked at one of Washington’s farms adjacent to Mount Vernon. In 1835, a newspaper reported that Nancy Quander assisted a group of local free African American men with improving the landscaping around George Washington’s tomb at Mount Vernon. This stone could be a memento owned by Nancy and Charles Quander connected to Nancy’s enslavement at Mount Vernon. Today, the Quander family can trace their ancestry back to 1500s Africa and is considered one of the oldest African American families in the United States.  

Object Details

• Sharpening Stone
  Unidentified Maker
  Virginia
  ca. 1835
  Stone
  Museum of the American Revolution, 2003.00.0354