African-American Schoolhouse Musem Documents 20 Stories & Records 17 Performances

At Saturday’s event at the African-American Schoolhouse Museum in Worton Point, the Museum documented 20 Story Gatherings and recorded 17 music performances of traditional and original music from Kent County, MD artists.  They project March 2010 as the release date for the CD containing these records. The lead song will be “Stand on the Mountain”, written by Kent Countain, Pam Ortiz. Pam shares a very moving story prior to the recording of the piece, saying that it was written in honor of a friend, Maurice Miles from Gaithersburg, MD., who in 1963 (despite challenging circumstances), made his way, with much determination, by bicycle from Rock Creek Park to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. to hear Martin Luther King, Jr. delivery that national address; I Have a Dream.

Miles being so moved by the experience he spoke of it to his church congregation again and again for several years. Ortiz was also a member of that Church, before moving to Kent County with her family. She copyrighted the song in 1997, originally in the folk genre. In Saturday’s rendition singer Jerome McKinney of Butlertown, MD. delivered a soulful and stirring version arranged and performed by Sombarkin’, a powerful trio of singers lead by the Schoolhouse Museum’s founder/director Karen Somerville; Ortiz accompanied on keyboard.

The list is already long for request copies of the yet to be titled CD. Anyone interested in getting on that list can leave a request for the Schoolhouse Museum compilation by leaving their contact information at the museum site www.aasmhc.org, send and email to somersinger@peoplepc.com or call 410-810-1416 ext. 1.

A Rainy Saturday Doesn’t Dampen Program at One Room Schoolhouse in Worton Point

This is a slide show of the program at the African American one room schoolhouse in Worton Point, Maryland.  See the post on the program below this one for details.

African American School House Museum at Worton Point

Although a series of thunderstorms brought heavy rain to Kent County this Saturday morning, the downpours didn’t stop a great day from taking place at the African American Schoolhouse Museum at Worton Point, MD. The activities included a fish fry, live music recording, story gathering, and an open house. By afternoon the sky cleared and the sun came out so members of the group restoring this old school raised the American flag over the “Worton Point Colored School No 2.” It is the first time in 50 years that the stars and stripes have flown in the schoolyard of this place that is full of precious memories to so many people.

Built in 1890, this one room schoolhouse served African-American students in grades 1 through 6 in this corner of Kent County. In 1958, Barbara A. Jones, the last teacher to work here, dismissed the pupils for the last time. The African American Schoolhouse Museum and Heritage Foundation is restoring this museum and creating exhibits of photographs, artifacts and oral histories of the lives and contributions of black families of early Kent County, Maryland. It was a wonderful to see the enthusiasm for this worthwhile project, which the rain wasn’t able to dampen one bit.

 

From Chestertown Spy: Glory & Hallujahs for GAR Hall on Friday

“The sacred duty of honoring the memory of those who died in defense of our country, or who having survived the misfortunes of war have since fallen by the wayside, seems to devolve entirely upon the colored people of our town. At least they are the only ones who observe the day in Chestertown.”

So said the Kent County News exactly 120 years ago today, June 1, 1889, in reporting on Memorial Day activities here.

The reference was to the ceremonies sponsored by African-American veterans who fought for the Union in the Civil War – members of the Charles Sumner Post of the Grand Army of the Republic.

The doings of these local war heroes, more than 400 of whom from Kent County fought in the Civil War, has been largely forgotten by most in Chestertown in recent decades. That’s about to change somewhat.

Article Continues on Chestertown Spy

Eastern Shore Police Association Honors 33 Fallen Officers from the Shore

Well over a half-a-century since a cluster of line of duty deaths occurred in Crisfield, MD., three men who were killed in the line of duty have now been fully recognized. These fallen lawmen literally made up the thin blue line in the Somerset County town during the first third of the 20th century. This belated memorial recognition came about because of the work of First Sgt. Stanley Harmon of the Crisfield Police Department. A fifty-something officer, he joined the department after retiring from Baltimore County.  Taking an interest in the agency’s past, he uncovered the long-forgotten names in his research and set out to make sure they were properly memorialized in granite for the service they had given to the citizens of Crisfield. On May 13 they were added to the National Monument during a candlelight ceremony in Washington, D.C. (Click here for more details on Crisfield’s Officers.)

On May 22 the Eastern Shore Police Association’s unveiled a new memorial wall honoring officers who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving the citizens of the Shore.  Chiseled into the granite are the names of 33 officers, including two from Cecil County.  At a solemn ceremony at the camp outside Cambridge, this monument was unveiled and it included the names of the men from Crisfield.

Three Fallen Crisfield Police Officers Added to Memorial During National Police Week

In the early decades of the twentieth century three Somerset County lawmen gave their lives while protecting the citizens of Crisfield, MD. These tragic deaths caused a sensation at the time but once the men were lowered into their graves, the memory of the tragedies slowly faded into the mist of time. Except for hard to find old yellowing newspapers and a few scattered public records, information on these fallen officers was hard to find.

But that changed a few years ago after First Sgt. Stanley Harmon joined the Crisfield Police Department. Having recently retired from a law enforcement career in the Baltimore Metropolitan area, where he’d served in a variety of units, including homicide, the 50-something officer was interested in the history of his new department. While doing research to dig up the history of the agency, he came across the names of Night Chief Daugherty, Chief Kirwin, and Policeman Daugherty, the officers that had fallen in the line of duty while maintaining the peace in the Chesapeake Bay town. After making the discovery, he created a memorial at the Crisfield Police Station and got them listed on the Officer Down Memorial.

He also sat out to get them listed on the National Law Enforcement Memorial and that happened On May 13 during a candle light vigil ceremony. This year, the names of 387 fallen officers were added to the Memorial in Washington, DC. These 387 officers include 133 officers who died in the line of duty during 2008, plus another 254 officers who died in previous years but had been lost to history until now. I think Sgt. Harmon for making sure these fallen law enforcement officers from Crisfield were remembered.

Here’s a little more information on these murders:

• Night Chief John H. (Jack Hen) Daugherty — Sunday, July 28, 1907 — Officer Daugherty was shot and killed as he and another officer walked a prisoner to jail. The two officers had just arrested the man for selling whiskey. A friend of the man witnessed the arrest and obtained a .44-claiber revolver. The friend followed the officers and prisoner for about a half block and shot Chief Daugherty in the back of the head without warning, killing him instantly. The suspect fled the scene but was captured and returned to Crisfield where he was lynched. He was survived by his wife and five children.
• Chief of Police James Washington Kirwin – Sunday, April 20, 1924 – Chief Kirwin succumbed to wounds sustained six years earlier when he was struck on the head with a hatchet while attempting to make an arrest. Chief Kirwin had gone to a barn after being notified that a man inside had slashed another man with the hatchet. When the Chief arrived at the building, he was struck in the head. The suspect then struck the other officer in the arm. That officer emptied his revolved at the man, killing him Chief Kirwin was survived by his wife.
• Policeman Harry W. Daugherty – Sunday, April 29, 1934 — Officer Daugherty succumbed to wounds sustained three days earlier when he was attacked by a man with a chisel. He had gone to a resident to investigate reports of a disturbance. While inside he was attacked by the suspect and stabbed in the temple with a chisel. The suspect was apprehended the following morning after a manhunt involving over 1,000 citizens. He was taken to the Baltimore City Jail by the state police. Officer Daugh3erty was survived by his wife and seven children. Chief Ernest Joseph Leatherbury Sr., was already listed on the national mounument. He passed away on February 21, 2003. The chief collapsed at a meeting approximately one hour after helping subudue a suspect who was resisting his officers at the police station.

First Sgt. Stanley Harmon of the Crisfield Police Department stands alongside the Eastern Shore Police Association's newly dedicated memorial in El Dorado, MD. This monument was dedicated Friday, May 22

Grand Army of the Republic, Charles Sumner Post # 25 Open House

When the Civil War ended, over 400 African American soldiers and sailors returned home to Kent County. A small handful of these men formed the Charles Sumner Post #25, Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans’ association dedicated to the principles in their motto, “Fraternity, Charity, Loyalty.” In 1908, they built the Charles Sumner Hall, which served for many decades as a meeting hall for themselves, their Woman’s Relief Corps and the surrounding community. In the 1990s, the building was abandoned. A major restoration effort is currently underway to restore what is the last surviving African American Civil W ar veterans’ lodge of its kind left standing in the nation.

Preservation Incorporated is sponsoring an open house at the CHARLES SUMNER HALL, 206 S. Queen Street, Chestertown MD on Friday, June 5, 2009 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

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African American SchoolHouse Museum Sponsors Fish Fry on June 20

There’s a great new project underway in Kent County.  It is the African American School House Museum and the nonprofit has a web site at www.aasmhc.org.  We’re looking forward to attending some events as this important interpretive site gets underway, and the other day we received an announcement about a Fish Fry they’re holding on June 20.  You might want to check it out and support a worthwhile undertaking.  The details follow.

Fish Fry

Live Music Recordings, Story Gatherings &

Open House At the

African American Schoolhouse Museum

St. James Newtown Road – Worton Point

Saturday, June 20^th

^{12 pm to 6 pm}

 ^{Dinners w/sides: $12     Fish Sandwich: $6}

Two-pieces, Potato Salad, Green Beans, Applesauce, Cornbread

Cold Drinks, Desserts, and Italian Ice for additional cost

Family Fun – Games for Kids

 Smoke Free Event

Stay All Day

B.Y.O. chairs, blankets, canopy, tent

 For carry out you may place your orders in advance now through June 19th

410-810-1416 ext. 1

Orders placed without a name & phone # are not taken seriously

Sponsored by the African American Schoolhouse Museum &

Heritage Council, Inc.

All proceeds to benefit the Schoolhouse Museum project

Maryland Insurance Companies Must Disclose Slave Policies

A new piece of legislation just signed into law by Governor Martin O’Malley requires insurance companies doing business in Maryland to disclose any policies the companies issued to slave owners. By April 1, 2012, the State Insurance Commissioner will issue a report containing the data developed during that search. Owners of slaves would insured their slaves against death or injury. The bill’s sponsor, Senator Lisa A. Gladden said: “As a genealogist and someone interested in my own history, this allows me to look at records that perhaps are not public records and that are held by insurance companies.”The bill unanimously passed the General Assembly this year and was not opposed by the insurance industry. Similar provisions have been enacted in other states.

Queen Annes Group Works to Save Area’s Railroad History

A group seeking to save the history of Centreville and the county’s transportation past has formed the Queen Anne’s County Railroad Society.  In its initial phase the group has been busy saving the relics that still existed at the old railroad yard in the county seat.  Eventually they hope to have a museum to interpret this story.  Congratulations to this hardworking group for coming together to look at the legacy of Queen Annes.