The Montiers: From Enslavement to Paul Robeson and Beyond

Scott’s (Camp William Penn) book on the origins of the Montier family of Philadelphia is an eye-opening history of an enslaved woman, Cremona Satterthwaite, who eventually became a landowner in her own right in the United States in the 18th-century. The book begins with Quaker Richard Morrey (the son of Philadelphia’s first mayor), who ultimately had five children with Satterthwaite. Scott offers an examination of this unusual family relationship, including somewhat unconvincing comparisons to other pairings of prominent white men and enslaved women, like Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, and goes on to discuss the Quakers’ involvement in enslavement and abolitionism. On Morrey’s death, Satterthwaite (and later her descendants, the Montier family) inherited 200 acres of land in Philadelphia, where a Black enclave called Guineatown would eventually spring up. The Montier family thrived, and among its descendants were a number of Black luminaries, including Cyrus Bustill, who made bread for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War; David Bustill Bowser, who designed the colors for 11 African American regiments in the Civil War; Harlem Renaissance figure Paul Robeson; and William Pickens Sr., cofounder of the NAACP.