(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
 . . . . . . . . . .



WOW2 - April 2023: Women Trailblazers and Activists, 4-17 thru 4-23 [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags']

Date: 2023-04-15  

April 20, 2021 – Julie Schablitsky , chief archeologist for Maryland’s state highway administration, was using a metal detector, hoping for nails or other signs of long-abandoned home, when she found an 1808 coin imprinted with the word ‘liberty.’ Schablitsky said in an interview, “When this thing came out of the ground, I was shocked.” Her discovery in November, 2020, gave her team hope that they might be getting close to finding the one-time home of Ben Ross, father of the famed Underground Railroad conductor, political activist, and abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Federal and state officials announced on this day that the team did find Ross’s cabin site at Maryland’s Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, on land recently acquired by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Harriet Tubman is believed to have spent time at the cabin as a child and teenager. Surrounded by wetlands and woods, she would have had the chance to learn how to survive conditions like the ones she endured to escape slavery, and to free dozens of others from bondage. “It gives us another vantage point to learn about and understand who Harriet Tubman is,” Schablitsky said. “A lot of times, we see her as an older woman leading people to freedom, when in reality she was, you know, a young child and a young woman at one point.” Researchers were able to identify the search area for Ross’s home through historical wills and land deeds, but they didn’t know exactly where X marked the spot. In addition to the 1808 coin, Schablitsky’s team had found pieces of 19th century dishes in November. Then, in March, they began unearthing other artifacts – a hinge, drawer pulls, nails, and a button. The archaeologists were able to date those objects to the first half of the 19th century, when Ross had lived there. The remnants were found at the fringe of the marsh, which has migrated up into the woods as rising sea levels have killed off forests in the area. Schablitsky remembers finding holes they had dug filled with groundwater the following morning. Some of the land in the area is projected to be underwater by 2100. In a few more years, if sea levels continue to rise, the site might have been lost forever. The artifacts will end up on display at the nearby Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center. Marcia Pradines, project leader at the Chesapeake Marshlands national wildlife refuge, which includes the Blackwater national wildlife refuge, said, “Landscapes and nature – they make us who we are. And to be able to share the story of how this particular parcel shaped the lives of Harriet Tubman, Ben Ross and all the other people who worked that landscape back then and share their stories is something that we don’t always get to do.”

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/15/2163993/-WOW2-April-2023-Women-Trailblazers-and-Activists-4-17-thru-4-23

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/