History is being uncovered in Maryland as archeologists continue to find artifacts in a home they found belonging to Harriet Tubman’s father, Ben Ross.
What We Know:
- The discovery of the home was announced last Tuesday as new artifacts that date back to the 1800s continue to be found on the property. According to NBC, Ben Ross acquired the property in the 1840s after working the grounds as a slave. The original owner of the plantation wrote in his will that Ross would be freed five years after his owner’s death and inherit the land.
- Harriet Tubman, born in the 1820s as Araminta Ross, would have worked alongside her father on the property in her teens. Historians suggest that her work here was what allowed her to learn how to make ships in Baltimore and navigate the land and waterways to lead enslaved people to freedom.
- State Highway Administration Chief Archaeologist Julie Schablitsky explained the importance of the project stating.
“As someone who knows something about Harriet Tubman, I always thought, is this everything we’re ever going to learn?” Schablitsky said. “When we’re able to find extra sites, additional sites, other people who inspired her, who gave her that lesson of integrity and perseverance like her father, I think that kind of gives us that excitement that we can learn more about Harriet Tubman through her parents,” she said.
- Schablitsky also mentioned the importance of keeping Tubman’s decedents in the loop. “It means so much to the family to be able to see all of this,” said Tina Wyatt, Tubman’s great-great-great-grandniece. “It’s so important, not just for family, but for the world to understand about our history,” she added.
Maryland Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford said that discovery and the history learned from the house “adds another puzzle piece to the story of Harriet Tubman, the state of Maryland, and our nation.”
