'A Diamond of a Resource': Journals Reveal Lost Eastern Shore Black History

The daily writings of Perry and Clara Anderson, now digitally preserved by the Chesapeake Heartland Project, document life in a rural Maryland community during the Great Depression and World War II.

A rare and remarkable glimpse into 20th-century African American life in Kent County has been uncovered and preserved. The daily journals of Perry and Clara Anderson, a married couple who lived and worked in the Still Pond area, have been donated and are now being digitally preserved at the Washington College Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience through the Chesapeake Heartland Project, a digital humanities initiative dedicated to exploring and sharing the history of African American life on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. 

Donated by community historian Karen Somerville and spanning from the 1930s to 1956, the journals offer a personal look into the Anderson’s lives as domestic workers for aristocratic white patrons, detailing everything from daily activities and animal husbandry to the weather and personal observations of local and global affairs, as seen from their farmhouse in Still Pond. They also reveal that Mr. Anderson served as a teacher in the Still Pond one-room schoolhouse as well as on the local board of education during some of Kent County’s most pivotal periods of integration within the school system.  

The entries fascinated the Chesapeake Heartland Project’s team of historians and student interns. The project collects, preserves, and shares primary sources, such as oral histories, photographs, and archival documents, to tell the stories of African American individuals, families, and communities in the Chesapeake region. The Anderson journals notably documented the births, deaths, and burials of local residents, relatives, and other people of note, serving as an invaluable genealogical resource for the area during the 1930-1950s.  

"As an archivist, few documents are more precious than journals," said project Digital Archivist and Historian Melissa Prunty Kemp, who is spearheading the work. "They contain so much rich cultural information. Through the Anderson journals we see the daily routines and activities of people in this local area across two decades. It's marvelous to see the changes in the way they record their information, how much and what types of content is recorded; how their content changes after World War II; what they select as 'fact'; their schedules of visitations to their friends, relatives, and their pastors; whether or not they travel safely, which begs of the question of why this information is periodically recorded and what happened when it was or when it was not.” 

The journey to digitize these pages has been a labor-intensive but deeply rewarding process. The journals offer a firsthand look into the evolution of a community often underrepresented in historical records. The entries become longer as the years pass, incorporating factual information about major world events like the Great Depression and World War II and revealing their impact on this local community. Cataloging their contents was supported by  the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) of the National Archives through their Major Collaborative Archival Initiatives Grant. 

"Each different person who reads the journals finds something interesting that they recognize," Kemp explained, emphasizing the collaborative spirit of the project. 

“The Anderson journals are truly a diamond of a resource,” raved Chesapeake Heartland Project Director Darius Johnson. “They capture the nuances of rural Eastern Shore life through the lens of a Black couple deeply rooted in their community. Too often, the Black agricultural experience goes unrecognized—both locally and nationally. These pages prove that Kent County’s Black farmers and families are part of a story that is central, not peripheral, to America’s agricultural history.” 

Tristan Gage ‘27, a student intern for the Starr Center last year, became a pivotal player in combing through the journals and noting dates and occurrences of significance. His work involved diligently collecting genealogical records from several volumes, work he found profoundly moving.  

"To work on the Anderson journals on behalf of the Starr Center has been an incredible, inspiring experience which cannot be understated in the scope of our collection of this community's remarkable history," Gage said. "The evidence is clear that the African American community on the Chesapeake worked diligently and vigorously to build connections, foster care for each other, and educate future generations following the Civil War."  

Gage was particularly struck by the detailed records and impeccable handwriting within the pages.  

"The Anderson journals demonstrated resilience and faith through the tribulations of World War II, segregation, and domestic rights inequality," he said, noting that his project was more than just an assignment. "History can only be taught through what is preserved, documented with a pen, and shaped by those who care. To work on the Anderson journals and have this opportunity to contribute my time to something this impactful—I am proud of myself." 

By making these journals publicly accessible through the Chesapeake Heartland Digital Archive, the Starr Center ensures this rich history becomes a shared, usable resource for all. Local residents can use it for genealogical research, while historians and researchers can analyze social structures, economic conditions, and cultural practices during a critical period in American history.  

“The Anderson journals remind us that Black life in rural Kent County is part of a much larger national story,” Johnson noted. “They offer rare evidence of Black agricultural resilience and community-building during the mid-20th century, a story that has too often been erased from the broader narrative of American farming and rural life. By preserving and sharing these journals, we not only honor local history, we also enrich the national conversation about who built and sustained this country.” 

To find out more about the Chesapeake Heartland Project’s Archive and continuing work, visit their webpage.  

 - Dominique Ellis Falcon