Mathias de Sousa (dates unknown) From Indentured Servant to Freeman Mathias de Sousa was one of the first individuals of African descent to settle in the Maryland colony. De Sousa arrived with the Ark and the Dove in 1634. He was initially an indentured servant to the Jesuits and later a freeman and mariner. In March of 1642, he participated in a meeting of the Maryland Assembly in St. Mary's, making him the first person of African descent to participate in an English-American legislative body. Unfortunately, we know very little about his life.