Abstract
Just after the Civil War, two African-American families left Maryland to build new lives in northern Delaware. Sidney and Rachel Stump and David and Sarah Walmsley probably did not know each other in Maryland, but they settled in nearby communities in Delaware. There work, family, church, and community connections may have introduced them. Both men labored on area farms, when they could get work, until they were at least 70 years old. Both women did laundry and sewing for neighbors in town. Both families raised their children to work hard and to value education, their faith, and “joyous play.” The Stumps and Walmsleys drew on their pasts and looked to the future as they created a distinctive cultural style framed by racism and constrained opportunities. Archaeology prompted by the Delaware Department of Transportation’s road-building activities has brought us closer to these families’ stories. In this paper, readers visit them in their homes on the edge of town, as they prepare for a most important event in their annual festive calendar, the Big Quarterly.
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De Cunzo, L. A future after freedom. Hist Arch 32, 42–54 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03373612
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03373612