"African Americans, both enslaved and free, were vital to the economy of the Eastern Shore of Maryland before the Civil War. Maryland became a slave society in colonial days when tobacco ruled. Some enslaved people, like Anthony Johnson, earned their freedom and became successful farmers. After the Revolutionary War, others were freed by masters disturbed by the contradiction between liberty and slavery. Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman ran from...

Some descendants of William Rodgers, born about 1708 and died in 1750 in Lunenburg County, Virginia, are listed in this book. William married Margaret Caldwell about 1744. They had three children. Descendants have lived in Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and other areas in the United States. Some of the descendants of William Hearne, born about 1627 in London, and died in 1691 in Maryland are also listed. This is the author's maternal lineage....