O Say Can You See

The deposition of Thomas Warfield aged forty two years or thereabouts, being sworn on the holy Evangely of Almighty God saith, that about the year seventeen hundred and eighty two, or seventeen hundred & eighty three this deponent was overseer at Bright Seat in Anne Arundel County for the late Reverend John Carrick and had carried down six Hogsheads of Tobacco for the said John Carrick to Taylor's Landing Warehouse where Capt. John Iiams, now deceased, was Inspector, and the said Inspector was going to mark the tobacco with the name of the deponent when the deponent told him not, but to mark it with the name of John Carrick priest, upon which the said Capt. John Iiams asked him what he had to do with priest Carrick, to which the deponent answered he was Overseer for him; the said John Iiams them asked the deponent if he knew old Phillis who lived at the quarter, to which he answered that he did know her very well; the deponent then asked the said John Iiams if he knew her, and he answered he knew her very well, and said she was as free as he was if she had her right; the deponent then asked him how she came to be free, and he answered that [strikethrough] her mother was free and was brought into this Country by Captain Larkin and was sold for seven years, and was bought by Mr Chapman the deponent thinks the said Iiams told him that she was sold to one of the Chapmans; and he further says that the said Captain Iiams told him that her name was Mary Queen, to the best of his recollection; and that she afterwards belonged to James Carrick who lived at Fingal in Ann Arundel County, and who as this deponent has understood left the place aforementioned   together with the White Marsh plantation and his personal Estate to the Church; being asked how far Captain John Iiams lived from the quarter where Phillis then lived, answered about a mile, and he always lived there ever since the memory of this deponent; and he has always understood that Phillis aforementioned was is the mother of Ned the petitioner. Being asked what is the Complexion of Phillis, answered she is yellow and appears to be a bright mulatto: and further saith not.

Sworn to before the subscriber this 11th Octr 1792
James Mackubin