In memory of Sally KeyAuthor of the memorial page is Cemetery Manager

Sally Key was an enslaved black woman owned by Jacob and Elizabeth Sherman. She was born around 1771 though the exact date and place of her birth are not known. She belonged to Thomas Willson of Little Pipe Creek though how he acquired her in not known. At some point Willson sold Sally to William Peeple. Jacob Sherman purchased Sally from Pepple on 8 December 1784 for “the Sum of 58 pounds 10 shillings.”

When Sherman died in 1822 his will stipulated that Sally was to remain the property of Mrs. Sherman until the latter’s death. Sally received a bequest of $150 from Jacob Sherman’s estate.

Sally remained in the household until Elizabeth Sherman’s death in 1842. By that time, Sally was almost 70-years-old. She appears in the 1850 census, living in Westminster with Lucy Behoe, who had also been enslaved by the Sherman family.

Sally died in 1855.