Historian
If you do African American genealogy, you’ve no doubt heard about the “brick wall” of 1870. That’s the year of the first post-Emancipation U.S. federal Census. Before 1870, we have to rely on records from the era of slavery, …
Continue Reading about Using Census Records for Black Family History before 1865
Finding Otho: The Search for Our Enslaved Williams Ancestors, by Kathy Lynne Marshall, officially hits the bookstores today. I wrote the foreword for this book, which is a rare work on black family history in Washington …
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In December 1861, the Civil War was well underway. Both the Union and Confederate armies had marched into Washington County that summer, and western Marylanders were suffering from wartime shortages. African Americans hoped …
Continue Reading about Civil War Christmas at Ebenezer A.M.E. Church, Hagerstown
When I head off to do research in a local or regional archive, my work bag is mostly pre-packed and ready to go. Of course I tweak the contents for the specific place I’m visiting and the specific project I’m working on, but …
Continue Reading about Researching in Archives: My Archive Bag
I’ve created a driving tour of some of my favorite local African-American history sites, for the Washington County-Hagerstown Convention and Visitors Bureau. Head on over to the CVB blog to read all about it. Sites on …
Continue Reading about An African-American History Tour of Washington County
Irvin Sullivan served his country in World War I, and then returned to his native Hagerstown. He was one of many African Americans from Washington County who fought in the Great War and are largely forgotten today. Next …
Continue Reading about Irvin Sullivan, Black WWI Veteran from Washington County
