By: Jabuki

John Hanson (circa: birtdate unknown -1860)

John Hanson was the descendent of a slave. An early Hanson immigrant to Maryland was the John Hanson who was this John's grandfather. Like many, he arrived as an indentured servant, bound by contract to a farm owner. In 1661, his first master, William Plumley, sold his contract to Edward Keene and recorded the contract with the court of Calvert County, Maryland. These same kinds of court records were also used to transfer title to land and slaves. But, in six years, the immigrant John had worked his way out of debt. A few years after he purchased his own first small farm. Source: Dick Gregory (The column can be seen at [2].)