Archaeologists in Maryland are digging in Dorchester County for what they believe might be the home of Harriet Tubman鈥檚 father.
Maryland’s State Highway Administration said in a statement Tuesday that archaeologists in the administration are searching an area southwest of Cambridge, on land that鈥檚 part of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
They鈥檙e hoping to include the home in the , a 125-mile drive with more than 30 sites related to Tubman鈥檚 life.
鈥淔inding Harriet Tubman鈥檚 father鈥檚 home would be an amazing discovery,鈥� Dr. Julie Schablitsky, the highway administration’s chief archaeologist, said in the statement. 鈥淏eing able to add a new chapter to her life through archaeology and share it with the traveling public is an honor.鈥�
Tubman (born Araminta Ross) was born enslaved to Ben Ross and Harriet Green in 1822. Ross was eventually freed, but Tubman and her mother were enslaved on a different farm. She escaped, and made multiple runs back into slave territory to help enslaved people escape through a network of helpers and safe houses called the Underground Railroad.
Tubman also worked as a scout and a spy for the Union Army during the Civil War.
She lived in Ross’s house around 1840, the statement said.
鈥淎ny artifacts the archaeologists find will mean so much to the community,鈥� local African-American historian Hershel Johnson said in the statement. 鈥淓ven if they can鈥檛 establish where Ben Ross鈥檚 house is, any insight into how Harriet lived will be invaluable in understanding the history that led to her involvement with the Underground Railroad.鈥�
