Descendants
The mission of the Descendants' Project is to keep and grow an official registry of all people that identify as descendants whether owners, workers, enslaved, free and allied families during the museum's historical dates of significance and early museum history. To encourage enrichment through their stories and engaging descendants and their families in the museum's vision and mission, operations, events, support, and leadership.
Descendants Project
Stories from descendant perspectives add richness to Sotterley and the lives we reach, teach, and touch. Descendants from across the nation and the world visit Sotterley and already feel the connection. We want to know your powerful stories. Memories of your life and your ancestors help us tell Sotterley’s story as well as enrich the lives of others searching for their past to bring meaning and relevance to the present and future. Whether you know you are descended from Sotterley’s people or just think you are, you are welcome to fill out a form, visit, and keep in touch.
Historic Sotterley has always had descendants who were and are connected and involved with the museum. However, we knew there were others out there that were looking for their roots, other family members, searching for their history, and as a museum, we wanted to grow our “official” list of descendants. In April 2017, Sotterley dedicated the 1830’s slave cabin exhibit to the late Agnes Kane Callum, a Sotterley descendant and Sotterley Board emeritus. It was a wonderful gathering of community and descendants of workers, owners, and enslaved, with speakers and storytelling. It was then that Sotterley announced the beginning of a formal Descendants Project. We get new registrants every week, because Sotterley has descendants all over the world!
We can’t wait to meet you and hear your story!
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Descendants Project
Six Degrees
Do you know how Sotterley is connected to notable people like Fredrick Douglas or Francis Scott Key? If you have ancestors that came from Maryland, don’t be so sure you are not connected. Sotterley’s owners were from large prominent families and had large families that married into other large prominent families. There are descendants that have ancestry from more than one Sotterley ancestor. Human nature doesn’t change that much over time, so people had children outside of marriage, and possibly produced children from their enslaved; this is sad but probable and a reality over Sotterley’s long history. Because of disease and death, many adults married multiple times.
Can’t find your ancestor through the paternal line? You can find riches from you maternal lines. Women were usually the keepers of the family history too. Having your DNA done might help you find some connections, but finding your story can start as simply as talking to parents and grandparents or getting out the old family Bible. Write it down and label your photographs before it is too late!
Because of slavery, many Sotterley people escaped or left during war and ended up in Canada, England, or the Caribbean, as well as family migration that happened to all families across the United States to new lands, or looking for financial opportunities. Do you think there is no chance you will ever find any information about your enslaved ancestors? Think again. More and more records and documents are becoming digitalized. If you didn’t find anything six months ago, it’s time to try again. Making common connections, as people have at places of heritage like Sotterley, can help make those connections that lead to the discovery of our past.
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Six Degrees
Research and Resources
Here are a few digital resources to help you get started finding your ancestors:
- Beneath the Underground Railroad: Flight to Freedom Maryland State Archives
- Legacy of Slavery in Maryland Maryland State Archives
- Slavery and Memory UNESCO site by Williamsburg
- The Letters of George Plater Maryland State Archives
- Digital Maryland
- The National Archives Washington, D. C.
- Library of Congress
- The National Archives, United Kingdom
- St. Mary’s County Historical Society
- The Historical Society of Charles County
- Calvert County Historical Society
- Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project
- Piscataway Indigenous Peoples
- Unified Committee for African American Contributions
- St. Mary’s County Genealogical Society
- Charles County Genealogical Society
- Ancestry.com
- My Heritage.com
- Fold3.com
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Research and Resources
Healing and Heritage
The first step to healing, is understanding the truth about our history. This grounds us and gives us strength to endure and face our struggles today. As we study history we find out about how our ancestors struggled and persevered, and even how they made the wrong choices or the right choices. It gives us a layer of power and resilience to know our stories and where we came from, our heritage, and how really connected we all are. The American myth of the loner individualist that only relied on themselves turns to dust, as we realize our ancestors relied on others in the family, community, servants or slaves, or even total strangers to give them support somehow, through employment, through their very lives, though charity or just encouragement, love and companionship.
Once we know the true story, then we can accept our past, all of our past, the good and the bad. We can examine our own lives to see ourselves and maybe think about an issue in a new way, or seek other perspectives on the same issue. Even though we aren’t responsible for our ancestors’ mistakes, maybe on closer examination, we are still making the same mistakes. Ancestors pass on more than their DNA!
One’s own experiences of lives lived are powerful testaments to future healing, happiness and resilience. It makes us strong, and that strength and lessons learned can and should be shared with future generations.
Historic Sotterley is a place that anyone can visit and learn about lives lived to find history, heritage and healing. Listen to the past as we build our collective futures.
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