Recommended Reading | Advanced Research

Five Hundred Years on Five Thousand Acres
Thesis chapter detailing Contact-era interactions between the local Native American tribes of the Pocomoke and Assateague and English settlers. By Mercedes Quesada-Embid.

The Indians of the Lower Eastern Shore
Essay about the effects of colonization on 17th- and 18th-century Indians of the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland. By Christine Richardson.

Map of Indian tribes in 1600
Delmarva Peninsula showing location of Indian tribes c. 1600. From C. A. Weslager's Delaware's Forgotten Folk: The Story of the Moors & Nanticokes (1943)

Map of Indian tribes in 1630
Delmarva Peninsula showing location of Indian tribes c. 1630. From Joannes De Laet's Nova Anglia, Novvm Belgivm Et Virginia map.

"Principal Portion of the Territory Ruled by Powhatan"
Map of tribal groups from C. Whittle Sams' Conquest of Virginia. Delmarva portion.

Recommended Reading | Advanced Research

Delmarva Settlers : Features transcribed primary documents from the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, biographical profiles of the Eastern Shore's earliest settlers, narratives addressing the unique concerns and challenges these early settlers faced, and a selection of research materials and tools revelant to the study of social, economic, religious, and political development during Delmarva's early colonial period.

Immigrant Servants Database : "A project designed to help Americans trace the European origins of their colonial ancestors. Historians estimate that over 75% of colonists who settled South of New England financed their voyages to the New World as indentured servants, convict servants, and redemptioners. This project aims to identify all immigrants described by these terms in American and European sources from 1607 through 1820 and to reconstruct their lives and families."

Registers of Servants Sent to Foreign Plantations, 1654 - 1686 : "This database of indenture contracts includes over 10,000 indentured servants contracts from four different registers. The contracts indicate not only the servant's name and length of indenture, but also the name of the servant's parents and owner, his home province and city, occupation, destination, and ship of embarkation. These records provide a detailed composition of indentured servants in the 17th century Atlantic World."

They Lived In Somerset: 17th Century Marylanders : Online copy of a print book identifying over 5,000 17th-century residents of Somerset County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Compiled by Wilmer O. Lankford.

Biographical Profiles

Early Settlers of Delmarva Sixteen biographical profiles of the first European settlers and colonists on Delmarva written by students of Salisbury University. This collection was previously featured on DelmarvaSettlers.org. Notable People and Families Families and people who established themselves or had an important presence in East New Market, Dorchester County (Maryland) in the 1700s and 1800s. "A Diamond in the Rough" Profile of Eastern Shore Methodist Pastor, Joshua Thomas.

Immigration

Early Settlers of Maryland Query The New Early Settlers of Maryland comprises 34,326 entries from Gust Skordas' Early Settlers of Maryland and Carson Gibb's Supplement to the Early Settlers of Maryland. Immigrant Servants Database Reconstructed passenger arrival list for people who came to Colonial America as indentured servants, redemptioners, and transported convicts between 1607 and 1820. Searchable. Registers of Servants Sent to Foreign Plantations, 1654 - 1686 Virtual Jamestown's database that includes over 10,000 indentured servants contracts from four different registers (Bristol, Middlesex, London I & II). Searchable.

Politics and Economics

Oath of Loyalty Analysis of two lists, one from Northampton County, VA (1651/1652) and one from Somerset County, MD (1689) and what they convey about 17th-century political attitudes on Delmarva. Comparative Inventories Comparison of Contents of Inventories of Somerset County residents, William Ennis, Sr. and His Sons (1684-1706) and His Sons-In-Law (1687-1721). Distribution of Wealth Distribution of wealth in early Somerset County by income bracket, generated from Early Settlers of Old Somerset: A Revision and Expansion of Bogerternorton Hundred and Surrounding Areas of Old Somerset County, Maryland, Volume 1, Inventories, 1665-1700. Occupations A list of occupations and positions held by early Delmarva Settlers culled from 17th century Somerset County judicial records. 'As Our Province Depends Wholy Upon Trade' Article about 17th-century trade on the Eastern Shore of Maryland using archaeological and historical sources.

Population Information

Also see: Census Records and Tax Lists They Lived In Somerset: 17th Century Marylanders : Online copy of a print book identifying over 5,000 17th-century residents of Somerset County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Compiled by Wilmer O. Lankford. Virginia - 1585 "The Names of Those as Well Gentlemen as Others, That Remained One Whole Yeere in Virginia, Under the Government of Master Ralph Lane." Virginia - 1587 "The Names of All the Men, Women And Children, Which Safely Arrived in Virginia, and Remained to Inhabite There." Virginia - 1623 "List of the Livinge and Dead in Virginia at the Eastern Shore." Virginia - 1624 "A Muster of the Inhabitants of the Easterne Shore Over the Baye." Tithables Tithables in seventeenth-century Somerset, as recorded in the Somerset Court and Maryland Council Records.

Society and Culture

Family Networking Family trees of early Somerset County settlers to show social connections and networking. Colonial Titles Some of the most common titles used in the colonial era and their meanings.

Recommended Reading | Advanced Research

Brief blurb and list of links to contact/colonial-era resources relating to free and enslaved black individuals and communities.

Biographical Profiles

Delmarva Heritage Network Biographies Brief biographies of several African-Americans who shaped the history of this region and the larger nation. The Johnson Family The Migratory Study of an African-American Family on the Eastern Shore. By Ryan Charles Cox. Chapters covering race, economics, social networking, and the colonial courts.

Slavery to Freedom

African-American Record Description Description of slavery-related documents (manumissions, runaway dockets, etc) from the Maryland State Archives. Beneath the Underground: The Flight to Freedom Somerset County, Maryland, case studies of individuals who fled from slavery, or acted as co-conspirator in insurrectionary slave plots. Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 Searchable bibliographic and full text of slave narratives. An introduction is also available. Delaware Slavery Papers Birth records, manumission records, petitions for freedom, and other legal documents related to the treatment of slaves living in Delaware. Free African-Americans History of the free African-American community during the colonial period as told through family history documents. From Slavery to Freedom The African-American Pamphlet Collection, 1822-1909, from the Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division. Journal of John Woolman Eighteenth-century Quaker who traveled to the the Eastern Shore and spoke to fellow Quakers on the subject of slavery. Pathways to Freedom: Maryland and the Underground Railroad History of the Underground Railroad in Maryland designed for children in grades 4 - 8. Hands-on exercises and activities. Petition by Pennsylvania Abolitionist Society February 1790 petition to Congress from Quakers from Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and western New England.

Politics, Economics

Joseph Barker's "Negro Ledger Book" 1808-1811 Ledger recording purchases made by African-American customers at Barkers Landing on the St. Jones River in Murkerkill Hundred (Delaware).

Military

Union African-American Sailors Index Database of African-American Sailors from the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System project. Enlistment of Colored Troops 1863 War Department General Order 329 concerning the enlistment of African-American soldiers in Delaware.

Population Information

1800-1930 Accomac Free Black Census Constructed census of Chincoteague free African-American families extracted from US Census Records. Accomac County Population Distribution Examination of African-American population distribution in Accomac County from 1800-150.

General History and Heritage

African-American Heritage General resources about the heritage and historical sites of Worcester County, Maryland. African-American Historic Sites Lower Eastern Shore Selected historic sites in Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties that reflect the culture and heritage of African-Americans. African-American Historical Resources of the Eastern Shore A guide to assist in finding sources relating to African-American heritage of the Eastern Shore. African-American History of Accomac County, Virginia Resource for researching the genealogy of African-American families on Chincoteague Island, Accomac County, Virginia.

Recommended Reading | Advanced Research

Delmarva Settlers essays:
Five Hundred Years on Five Thousand Acres: Human Attitudes and Land Use at Nassawango Creek by Mercedes Quesada-Embid. Thesis chapter detailing Contact-era interactions between the local Native American tribes of the Pocomoke and Assateague and English settlers.

Recommended Reading | Advanced Research

Delmarva Settlers biographical profiles:
Alicia Traveller Custis - "Pygmalion: The Story of the Transformation of Alice Traveller into Alicia Custis" by Thomas Shiels.
Jane Jackson - "Jane Berriman Jackson: The Life of an Eastern Shore Woman" by James Edward Jensen.
Parthenia Ennis Smock Reed Morris - " Feminine Power and Widowhood: A Case Study of Parthenia Morris, Somerset County, Maryland" by Katie Ross.

Journals and Memoirs:

Clara Gunby Journal
An excerpt of the journal of Clara Gunby Huffington.

Brief blurb and list of links to resources about Revolutionary-era people.

The DAR Patriot Index
Index of names of Revolutionary patriots whose service (between 1775 and 1783) has been established by the National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution. Searchable. 

The David Library of the American Revolution
Resources in the American Revolution and Early Republic Eras.

Revolutionary War ID tag [Larger image]

1742-1792 Crop Inventories
Collection of crop information drawn from Worcester County, Maryland, probate inventories between the years of 1742 and 1792.

Great Hopes Plantation
Photographs showing the process of building a 18th-century Chesapeake house.

Somerset County Laws
Local Laws of Somerset County, relating to Public Officers, &c. 18th & 19th century.

Brief blurb and list of links to relevant resources; Early Republic?

Coming Soon

Brief blurb and list of links to relevant resources; reconstruction too?

War on the Shore

John Long, Civil War Deserter Anecdotal story about John Long, who hid in caves to avoid military service and wait until the "'unpleasantness," as he termed it, 'had blown over.'" From Salisbury Wicomico News, 1920. King Family Reunion Two brothers who fought on opposite sides of the Civil War are reunited on the streets of Phoebus after a seaparation of almost 40 years. From Wicomico News, 1902. The American Civil War in Delaware Records related to Delaware's involvement in the Civil War. Muster rolls, battle notes, lists of casualties, and more. Union Troops Prepare to Occupy the Eastern Shore Scanned copy of the New York Times from November 19, 1861, with central headline related to the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

General Resources

The American Civil War Homepage Extensive selection of links to American Civil War sites and resources. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies Seventy-volume compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies in the War of the Rebellion. Official records of the Union and Confederate Navies Thirty-volume collection of scanned and searchable documents from the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion. Civil War@Smithsonian Portrait, photo, and material culture collections relating to all aspects of the American Civil War. Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System Databases of Civil War soldiers, sailors, regiments, cemeteries, battles, and more for Union and Confederate Troops. Searchable.

Brief blurb and list of links to relevant resources; robber barons, labor movement, Spanish-American war

Coming Soon

Brief blurb and list of links to relevant resources; prohibition, suffragists, new deal

Somerset County Farming – Then and Now
A Salute to Shore Farmers. From the archives of the Nabb Research Center's History Minute.

Brief blurb and list of links to relevant resources

Coming Soon