This an online event and will be held via Zoom.  Access the event here:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87375795335?pwd=MRxeWqoj9sl19KwTxMmYxCsGmWZ0Ni.1   

Tim Benson will discuss the 1798 federal direct tax, the first federal property tax.  He will talk about the reason for the tax, what was taxed, how it was implemented, and what records are available to researchers.  He will focus on the records for St. Mary's County and bring insights into the socio-economic situation of St. Mary's County at the turn of 19th century.  He will describe his effort in transcribing the 1000+ names in the 44-page tax record into an Excel spreadsheet and give examples of how to access it.

Timothy Benson grew up in Kansas City and received degrees from the University of Kansas, University of Illinois, and Grace Theological Seminary. He retired from the Naval Air Warfare Center at NAS Patuxent River as a systems engineer in 2023 and is now a member of the  board of directors of the St. Mary’s County Historical Society. He has interest in Swedish and Mennonite genealogy, as well as U.S. History, particulary the Revolutionary War era.  He is also a pastor of a house-church in La Plata. He can be reached at tb@bensonfamilies.net.

Join Preservation Maryland President and CEO, Nicholas Redding, to learn about Maryland's only Revolutionary War Battle, its impact, and the often overlooked  tale of the Battle of St. George Island.

Nicholas has led the organization since 2014, and oversees the operations, programs and growing professional staff. Since his arrival he has overseen a complex merger and the subsequent creation of Smart Growth Maryland, a dynamic new program of the organization. Additionally, he has worked in partnership with the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Training Center to establish the Campaign for Historic Trades, a new program dedicated to developing the next generation of traditional tradespeople. Outside of the organization, he serves as the vice-chair of the National Preservation Partners Network, the national network of statewide and local preservation organizations. Previously he has served as the chair of the Maryland Partners for Open Space, the statewide open space advocacy coalition, and also served as the vice-chair of the Frederick County Historic Preservation Commission. Prior to arriving at Preservation Maryland, he served in leadership positions at several heritage and preservation organizations including Executive Director of Long Branch Plantation, a 19th century historic site in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, and as Deputy Director for Advocacy at the Civil War Trust in Washington, DC. During time spent at the Civil War Trust, Redding led a national coalition to prevent the construction of a casino on the iconic Gettysburg battlefield. Prior to the Trust, he served as a Park Ranger at Gettysburg National Military Park and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. He is a graduate of West Virginia’s Shepherd University and lives outside of Frederick, Maryland with his wife, daughter, and two beagles.

Patricia Samford, PhD will talk about archaeological finds at Westwood Manor, a plantation near Zekiah Swamp in Charles County.  The findings, which include a variety of expensive ceramic and glass vessel, silver spoon and an ivory handled walking stick, indicate that the residents were striving to mimic an English lifestyle. Patricia is currently the Director of the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Lab at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum. Patricia Samford holds a doctorate in Anthropology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and an MA and BA in Anthropology from the College of William and Mary. Her research interests include African diaspora archaeology in the American South and in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century ceramics. She was a staff archaeologist for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation for thirteen years and has also worked in North Carolina, Maryland, and Bermuda. 

This is a Zoom meeting - click here to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87375795335?pwd=MRxeWqoj9sl19KwTxMmYxCsGmWZ0Ni.1 

Maybe it has always been a dream of your to create a book out of your research, but you have felt too overwhelmed to start.  Rebecca Shamblin will help break this process down into simple, manageable steps.  She will tell us abot the research process, what to include, how to turn facts into stories, how to organize your book, how to get it printed and how to share it.  

This is a Zoom meeting - click here to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87375795335?pwd=MRxeWqoj9sl19KwTxMmYxCsGmWZ0Ni.1

Donald Brown will share his experience in finding his family, African American and White, in Calvert and Anne Arundel Counties. This will be a joint presentation with the Anne Arundel County Genealogical Society.

This is a Zoom meeting - click here to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87375795335?pwd=MRxeWqoj9sl19KwTxMmYxCsGmWZ0Ni.1