Mary Ann Adelsperger

Mary Ann was a free black woman, the daughter of either Elizabeth (Betsy) or Margaret (Peggy) Adelsperger, and the granddaughter of Thomas and Eleanor Adelsperger/Addlesperger who built the log house seen below in 1777. Surrounded by brick houses of more affluent white families, this humble dwelling stood on East Main Street near Court Street until the early 1920s. It consisted of three rooms with a small “lean-to” that served as a summer kitchen. No one knows how many other houses owned by black or white families looked like this in Westminster’s early days, but the stately brick homes seen on the street today were all built later. A tavern known by various names including the Main Court Inn was built across the street some years before this house. It too survived into the 20th century. Did Thomas Adelsperger and his wife find employment in the tavern? It is a real possibility. What little is known of the Adelspergers comes from a white neighbor named Mary Shellman who grew up in Westminster in the 1850s. She recalled years later that Miss Betsy and Miss Peggy had three shelves across their front window with jars full of candy for sale. Children could buy two mint sticks, lemon sticks or cinnamon sticks, or two sour balls for a penny. Three sugar kisses and a printed verse also cost a penny. Lucky were the children invited inside to share four o’clock tea with the owners.