Mary Lane Baltimore

The history of black America's struggle for freedom and dignity, of Troy, and of Rensselaer are very much a part of the life of Garnet Douglass Baltimore. 

Garnet and his wife Mary Baltimore were an early power couple in Troy. Garnet Baltimore was the first African American to earn a bachelor’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and was an accomplished landscape engineer who made a huge impact on his hometown of Troy, NY. He was a consulting engineer at Oakwood Cemetery for 30 years.

His interracial marriage to Mary Lane Baltimore was not the norm at the time. But Mary was not one to be limited by the opinions of others. A force in her own right, she was a suffragist working throughout the region to win the right for women to vote.

From Mary Lane Baltimore’s page on Find-a-Grave:

"Miss Lane was a prominent member of the Methodist church of Good Ground, and taught a Sunday school class. Baltimore attended the church very regularly, and was introduced to Miss Lane by a member of the congregation, and the acquaintance soon grew into a warm friendship. [...]
"When Baltimore had returned to Troy, Miss Lane appeared much depressed. After that she went out but little. She was then living at the home of Mrs. J. Robinson, her mother and brother Horace having removed to Tranta [Tiana Bay, Good Ground], Long Island, where they keep a hotel.
"On Thursday, June 18, Miss Lane said she was going away. In company with her cousin, she took the train the same day to Long Island City and met Mr. Baltimore at the station. They went to New York and were quietly married."
Albany Morning Express. June 27, 1891: 7 col 2.

Click to learn more about the Baltimores.

1863 - 1948