Nathania a branch miles biography
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16 and 17.
One attendee, Jacqueline Morales, told the Here & Now about her possible connections to the mansion, which was built in the 1780s and is now a historic landmark.
“One of the most important things I learned as a genealogist is being able to put meat on the bones,” Branch Miles said, “making this person real.”
The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) is using two of Prince George’s richest historical sites — the Riversdale House Museum, in Riverdale, and Laurel’s Montpelier House Museum — to research the history of slavery in the region.
She noted that there is a large gap in her family’s history between 1820, when her great-great-grandfather was born, and 1930, when the family’s known history picks up again. She believes one of her ancestors may have been associated with the mansion during the period that’s unaccounted for.
“I’m interested in making that actual connection,” she said, “But right now, there is a huge gap.
Davis said the goal of the transcribing project is to “make meaningful connections with descendant communities, build upon our institutional knowledge, and to make information more accessible to visitors.”
According to Katie Little, lead community engagement specialist with the office, the university’s project with the Riversdale House Museum is unique.
“The museum has 8,000 documents on loan from the Calvert Family and they will be hosting 20 volunteers to transcribe some of the writings into electronic formats,” Little explained.
She is a life member of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc., National Chapter Committee Chair, and is an officer, member and chairperson for the Prince George’s County Chapter. Branch Miles and the university are also participating in the work at Riversdale.
On Aug. 6, with a metaphorical shovel in hand, Branch Miles hosted a meeting at the Montpelier House Museum.
His son lived in Bacontown, in Anne Arundel County, but later made his home in Laurel, where he built homes and eventually worked on the railroads.
Morales, who went to a segregated school in the 1960s, explained that the missing record of Sampson Powell’s life prompted her to research her family history. … There is a missing link.”
According to Morales, Queen’s Chapel United Methodist Church, in Muirkirk, has a record of a James Powell who helped build the church.
No experience is necessary, and museum staff will be on hand to oversee the project.
M-NCPPC is hosting a weekend of educational events at the Riversdale House Museum on Sept. Many remained loyal to the Union, losing sons and property for the cause. She thinks he could be a relative of hers and that he may have been enslaved at Montpelier.
Three forts in the county were dedicated to the capital's defense: Fort Foote, Fort Washington and Fort Lincoln. The Rebel forces blew up rail lines in Beltsville and took the Rossborough Inn near the Maryland Agricultural College--now the University of Maryland, College Park--as their headquarters. This did not prevent Confederate general Jubal Early's troops from invading in July 1864.
UMD’s Office of Community Engagement is also working with Davis and the Riversdale House Museum staff to transcribe documents in the museum’s collection that are related to slave-holdings.
to noon.