Historic Williamsburg

6. Mary Stith House

Williamsburg, VA

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Mary Stith was the daughter of William Stith, the third president of the College of William and Mary. She owned this quaint shop, and in 1813, she bequeathed the majority of her land, wealth, and property, including her shop, to her freed slaves. Her will reads as follows: "All the coloured people in my family being born my slaves, but now liberated, I think it my duty not to leave them destitute nor to leave them unrecompensed for past services rendered to me. As in the cause of humanity I can do but little for so many, and that little my conscience requires me to do, therefore I subject the whole of my estate to the payment of my just debts, and to the provision which I herein make for them." Mary's will is a testament to the complex relationship between slaves and colonists. This reconstructed, one-story house now serves as a historical reenactment site.