Students working archaeological dig explore freed slaves’ community in Maryland

[Judi Lynn]

Students working archaeological dig explore freed slaves’ community in Maryland
Published: July 30, 2013
By MICHAEL E. RUANE — The Washington Post

EASTON, Md. — Some were the freed slaves of conscience-stricken Quakers. Others were freed by a sea captain in his will. Still others were freed by a slave midwife who bought freedom for herself and her family.

Together, here in Talbot County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, they may have given birth to what scholars suspect could be the oldest enclave of free African Americans, and possibly the oldest existing black neighborhood, in the country.

“It’s the oldest free black, African American neighborhood in the country that has been continuously inhabited and still in existence,” said Dale Green, an assistant professor in the Department of Architecture at Morgan State University.

The neighborhood is called “the Hill,” and for the past two weeks a team of archaeologists and anthropologists has been digging for its story in the back yard of the local women’s club.

More:
http://www.thestate.com/2013/07/30/2889690/students-working-archaeological.html#storylink=cpy

[theHandpuppet]

1. A friend of mine has been working on this project in New Jersey

Timbuctoo

"Timbuctoo was established as a community by and for free African American residents in the 1820s. Several members of the community served in the 22nd Regiment US Colored Troops during the Civil War. This community represents the hopes and aspirations of freedom loving people, many of whom had been enslaved. For many years their history was ignored and forgotten but now, through the efforts of Westampton Township and the Timbuctoo Discovery Project, their story is being reclaimed."

http://www.louisdallaraphotography.com/2012/timbuctoo-along-the-rancocas-creek/
http://timbuctooarchaeology.blogspot.com/
http://www.rancocasnj.org/PhotoAlbum/Timbuctoo1/default.asp?page=1

[theHandpuppet]

2. This type of research is so important and so difficult

As the owner/administrator of a small genealogy website, one of my goals has been to find/provide documentation of slaves and freed slaves connected to our particular surname. This has been proven to be very tough for a variety of reasons some most folks might not have even considered. For instance, so much genealogical information is to be found in cemeteries. But slaves were often buried in separate cemeteries from their white owners, and rather than the marble or granite stones to mark the grave, their burials were indicated with simple fieldstones that eroded away over time. In addition, often no public monies were used for the upkeep of these cemeteries, unlike those of the white citizenry. It doesn't take long for history to become lost.
This is just one example of why the kind of work being done in places like Talbot Co., MD, Burlington Co., NJ and Monroe County, Mississippi is so important and yet so difficult. In a post I made to our genealogy forum I discussed some of the other difficulties in researching these historical black communities and genealogies: http://users.boardnation.com/~gillilandtrails/index.php?board=2;action=display;threadid=211

However, I'm determined to keep digging.

-- Kate