Finding Harriet Tubman with Julie Schablitsky

The Extreme History Project: The Dirt on the Past

Join us as we talk with Dr. Julie Schablitsky about the recent discovery of the spot where Harriet Tubman’s father, Ben Ross, had his home, and where Harriet would have spent some of her childhood. Harriet Tubman was born as Araminta Ross in March 1822 on the Thompson Farm in Maryland. She and her mother were enslaved by the Brodess family and moved away from the farm when she was a toddler. Ben Ross felled and sold timber, which was transported by free black mariners to Baltimore shipyards and used to build ships. Harriet Tubman learned to navigate difficult terrain while working with her father. Interacting with mariners also provided knowledge of waterways on the East Coast, which may have helped her lead people to freedom via the Underground Railroad. Julie Schablitsky is Chief of the Cultural Resources Division at the Maryland Department of Transportation. She graduated with her doctorate from Portland State University in Oregon with an emphasis in archaeology. After graduation, Julie carried out research on the Donner Party of California and the medieval estate of Amisfield in Scotland. Her Maryland research includes African America, cemeteries, and the recovery of DNA from artifacts.