Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History & Culture Enduring Connections: Exploring Delmarva's Black History

Enduring Connections

Exploring Delmarva's Black History

Explore the Data

The sources compiled in this database help reveal important elements of Black life on the Delmarva Peninsula including family relationships, community connections, the end of slavery, attempts to re-unite family members, work and wealth-building, and connection to the land and water.

Locations

Our records are tagged with location data to make it easier to find information about a specific place. Choose a location from the list or browse our interactive map.

Explore Locations

Occupations

Occupations oftentimes shape the role of an individual in a community. You can browse the occupations that have been explicitly mentioned in records.

Explore Occupations

Sources

View the full list of sources that we've transcribed and extracted, and read more about the kind of information you can find in each one.

Explore Sources

Featured Stories

Genealogy Journey: Johnny Sample

December 2, 2022

Historical records can provide powerful and robust stories about African Americans' resilience and grit throughout the history of this country. By diving into the family history of a local sports hero like John B. Sample Jr., Summer 2022 Smithsonian Institute intern Asia Bender hopes that people will be empowered and inspired to research their own family history—just like she did during my summer on Delmarva.

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The Freedmen's Bureau and Illegal Apprenticeships on Maryland's Eastern Shore

October 17, 2022

In the years after Emancipation, many Black families in the Delmarva region had their children taken away from them and bound into apprenticeships. The story of Martha Brown, a Caroline County woman, personifies what it took to recover your children with help from the Freedmen's Bureau.

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American Colonization of Liberia

June 22, 2022

The Republic of Liberia in Africa was a colony formed by the United States to relocate freeborn and emancipated Black people as an end to slavery. Former Enduring Connections fellow, Rihana Stevenson, writes about this piece of Delmarva history and the records that support it in this story.

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Samuel Miles: Along the Underground

June 15, 2022

In the summer of 1855, Samuel Miles fled from slavery in Somerset County, Maryland. Using sources in the Enduring Connections database, we can discover more about Miles and other Delmarva families who traveled the Underground Railroad.

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Walking Tour of Salisbury's Black History: Georgetown and Beyond

March 11, 2022

Created by Salisbury University graduate history student, Allison Stancil, in her fall 2021 digital humanities internship, this tour has made it easier than ever to trace the footsteps of the past with a walking tour highlighting Salisbury’s Black history.

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