-
Born
Mary Bowser was born in 1839 -
Slave
She was a slave since 1840-1851. She was a slave to the Van Lew family, a wealthy hardware merchant. Her family was sold to other slave masters, so she never saw them again. -
Freedom
In 1851, Mary Bowser was free. She still continued to work as a payed free servant to Elizabeth Van Lew and her mother after Elizabeth's father died. -
School
She went to school at Quaker, a school for African-Americans. -
Returned
She returned from school and went back to the Van Lew mother and daughter. -
Civil War
The Civil War had begun -
Marriage
She married a free black man named Wilson Bowser. There is no account that they had children. They got married three days after the Civil War had started. -
Spying has Begun
She started spying for the Union at the Confederate white house on April 24 and changed her name to Ellen Bond -
Fleeing
After three years of spying, she finally had to flee because people were getting suspicious. -
Last attempt
She tried one last attempt before fleeing. She tried to burn down the white house on January 23 -
Fleeing and Death
It’s not known when she died or where she died. It’s also not known where she fled to.
The date is not exact.