ADAM: MIDGE INGERSOLL HAS SPENT THE LAST DECADE UNDCOVERING THE HISTORY OF THIS OLD HOUSE ON MARYLAND’S EARTERN SHORE. THE NUMBER 5 ON THIS BRICK IS WRITTEN IN OLD SCRIPT.
>> IS IT MAY 1775, MAY 187 WE DON’T KNOW.
ADAM: HANDSELL WAS ORGINALLY A TRADING POST, BUILT ON THE SITE OF A NATIVE AMERICAN VILLAGE.
IT’S ONE OF THE FEW 18TH CENTURY HOMES STILL STANDING IN DORCHESTER COUNTY.
>> OK, HERE YOU GO. LOOK AT THAT. SEE THIS?
THIS IS A CHILD’S FINGERPRINT, VERY SMALL AND DELICATE.
ADAM: MEANING THE BRICKS WERE MOST LIKELY MADE BY YOUNG SLAVES WHEN 91 ENSLAVED PEOPLE WORKED THIS LAND.
>> WE HAD THE ENGLISH, THE NATIVES, AND THE AFRICAN SLAVES.
SO YOU HAD BLENDING OF THREE CULTURES. FOOD, FARMING AND GARDENING TRADITIONS WERE ALL SHARED AT THIS HOUSE >> WE ARE REALLY SECOND COUSINS.
ADAM: THESE WOMEN ARE DESCENDANTS OF SOME OF THOSE SLAVES.
>> SOMETIMES, AS MAYA ANGELOU SAYS, "AND STILL I CRY, BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY HAD TO GO THOUGH." ADAM: SHIRLEY JACKSON WORKED WITH INGERSOLL TO INVESTGATE THE HISTORY OF THE PROPERTY. SHE
LEARNED HER GREAT-GRANDMOTHER WAS A HOUSE SERVANT AT HANDSELL, WHO WORKED AND LIVED IN THIS VERY BASEMENT.
>> THEY ENDURED THE PAIN AND SUFFERING TO MAKE LIFE BETTER FOR THEIR CHILDREN.
>> IT MAKES ME PROUD. WE WERE STRONG PEOPLE. THIS WAS OUR LIFE, HOW WE LIVED, AND WE WORKED THE LAND.
ADAM: ELIZABETH PINDER DISOVERED HER FAMILY’S SHARECROPPER PAST.
>> THAT IS HOW WE GET FROM WASHINGTON COUNTY TO DORCHESTER.
ADAM: THESE FAMILIES, NOW BROUGHT TOGETHER IN THIS PROJECT TO PRESERVE THE PROPERTY.
>> THEIR STORIES MADE IT REAL.
THEY’RE DESCENDANTS OF THE SLAVES THAT LIVED HERE.
>> I’M JUST SO THANKFUL SHE CAME AND WE GOT A CHANCE TO TELL OUR STORY. I WILL ALWAYS BE TOTALLY GRATEFUL FOR THAT.
ADAM: THERE’S A LOT ABOUT HANDSELL THAT REMAINS A MYSTERY.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE THIRD FLOOR OF THE HOME? WAS THERE A FIRE OR A BRITISH ATTACK?
AND WHAT ROLE DID THE PROPERTY PLAY IN THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD?
FOR SHIRLEY JACKSON, THERE’S SO MUCH FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS TO DISCOVER.
>> EVEN THOUGH A LOT OF THIS IS HISTORY, THEY NEED TO GO BACK AND LEARN WHERE WE CAME FROM, AND HOW FAR WE HAVE GONE SINCE 1814.
ADAM: YOU CAN TOUR GROUNDS OF HANDSELL ANYTIME, BUT FOR NOW, IF YOU WANT TO GO INSIDE, YOU CAN ONLY GO DURING SPECIAL EVENTS. THERE’S A LINK ON OUR WEBSITE.