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The Queen Family Heritage Foundation is an independent genealogical research group dedicated to identifying the descendants of Mary Queen, also known as the “Poppaw Queen,” who was transported to the Western Shore of Maryland around 1715. The goal of this project is to reunite the direct descendants of Mary Queen and allied families, to promote Queen family research, and to preserve family histories, traditions, and relics.

Who was Mary Queen?

MARY QUEEN, also known as the “Poppaw Queen” or “Queen Mary” was born—a free woman of color—between 1680 and 1690 near the Popayán Province, in South America. During the time of “Queen Anne’s War,” she embarked a two–year voyage to England after the British privateer Captain Woodes Rogers laid siege on the port town of Guayaquil in modern–day Ecuador. Around 1715, Mary was brought to the South River Hundred, in Anne Arundel County, Maryland by Captain Thomas Larkin. She entered an indenture with merchant-planter James Carroll, at his Fingaul plantation in All Hallows Parish, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, but was illegally enslaved and never set free. In his last will and testament dated 12 February 1728, James Carroll bequeathed Fingaul, along with his White Marsh properties—including the “Bright Seat Farm”—to Jesuit superior, Rev. George Thorold, S.J. Two of Mary’s daughters—Nanny and Phillis—remained at Fingaul, while she and her son, Ralph, were later sent to the ‘Old Bohemia’ plantation, in Warwick, Cecil County, Maryland. Many, if not all, of the Queen families enslaved by the Maryland Jesuits descend from the maternal lines of either Nanny Cooper (a.k.a. “Queen”) or Phillis Queen.

In 1796, some of Mary Queen’s descendants petitioned for their freedom in the Courts of Maryland and the District of Columbia on the claim that she was born a free woman. Many recovered their freedom, while others were unsuccessful and remained enslaved by the Jesuits.

Recent DNA studies reveal that descendants of some Queen families in the United States share a common ancestor from Maryland that likely inhabited the Jesuit-owned “White Marsh Farm” plantation in the mid–18th century. We believe that Mary Queen is the “matriarch” of many of these Queen family lines.

Are you a descendant of Mary the “Poppaw Queen”?

If you have ancestral connections to any of the Queen family lines found in Maryland between 1715 and 1838, you may be a good candidate for the Queen DNA Project.

You may be a descendant if:

• Your family tree bears the surname Queen (variations include: Quinn).
• Your family is African American or of mixed heritage (even if you’re DNA results reveal that you have 1% of West African origin.)
• Your family is Roman Catholic, or used to be Catholic.
• Your family has historic ties to southern Maryland, particularly Anne Arundel County and Prince George’s County, but also St. Mary’s County, Charles County (particularly Port Tobacco, MD), Howard County or Baltimore County.
• Your ancestors were enslaved by the Jesuits.