from the series Tales from Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery…
By SUE HUNTER WEIR
230th in a Series
Hester Paterson was a remarkable woman with a remarkable story. 150 years after she died, her story, and those of a handful of others, earned the Minneapolis Pioneers & Soldiers Memorial Cemetery a place on the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. The cemetery is one of two listings in the State of Minnesota.
There are many gaps in her story, but in some ways, it’s amazing that we know as much about her as we do. There is little formal documentation about her—no birth certificate or census information, the types of documentation that are commonly used in genealogical research. But there is something even better: a memoir written by Dr. William E. Leonard, who was eight years old when Hester joined his household.
Hester was born in Mississippi in the early 1800s and was enslaved on a cotton plantation until she was about 60 years old. During the Siege of Vicksburg in 1863, in an uncommon act of bravery, she ran away and found her way to the camp of the 5th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. There, she was befriended by company surgeon Dr. William H. Leonard (the father of Dr. William E. Leonard), who booked passage for her on a steamboat that was headed to St. Paul. When she arrived, she took a train to Minneapolis and made her way to Leonard’s home.
The gap in her story, which may well have been the most interesting part, is how she managed to escape her enslavement. The only reference to her life before she fled the plantation, but one that sheds light on her willingness to take such an incredible risk, is young Leonard’s “horrified” reaction to the “sight of scars she had brought up from slavery when she had been whipped by brutal overseers…”
The younger Dr. Leonard described her as “a very stalwart, big-boned, imposing personage” who carried everything that she owned in a bundle balanced on top of her head. Her height, plus the bundle, made her about seven feet tall. Her first appearance in the city was such an unusual sight that children followed her down the street until she reached the Leonard home, where she became a “much loved institution.” For several years she worked as the family’s cook with an “ability in that line [that was] phenomenal.”
When she became too old to cook, Hester moved to Hennepin Island, where she owned two plots of land. She built a cabin from scraps of wood that workers from a nearby lumber mill gave her. She took in laundry and mending to make ends meet. The younger Dr. Leonard noted that “Her independence and sturdy character gained her many friends among her own people where she became a sort of leader.”
She was an ardent member of a small Baptist church, but her “domineering and energetic” nature resulted in her having serious disputes with other members. She stopped attending church for several weeks because she felt that members were not paying enough attention to her opinions. She insisted on being baptized in the Mississippi River in January, an act that resulted in both Hester and the minister needing to be rescued from the freezing water. Her one regret was that she could not read the Bible; The younger Dr. Leonard tried to teach her to read, but he was not successful.
Hester was also involved in a number of other disputes. She fought with her granddaughter’s husband because she thought that he was a poor provider for his family. She took two young women to court because she claimed that they turned over her kitchen stool and spilled a jug of milk. A letter by an anonymous writer that was published in the Tribune attempted to explain her behavior by suggesting that she was “in a manner of speaking, undergoing the blessings of a second childhood,” a subtle hint that she had dementia.
Hester became ill in her old age and was treated by the elder Dr. Leonard. When she died on February 8, 1875, the family took charge of her burial. She is buried in a block of graves purchased by the family in 1859 when their one-year-old son Earl Preston Leonard died.
Hester’s grave has been unmarked for 150 years. That will change this year. Thanks to generous donors, a new marker will be set on her grave this spring. It will read “Hester Paterson, Freedom Seeker.”
Sue Hunter Weir is Chair of Friends of the Cemetery, an organization dedicated to preserving and maintaining Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery. She has lived in Phillips for almost 50 years and loves living in such a historic community.
