Blogs are a great way to share local history and today another fascinating local one, Whimsical Tales and Honorable Tributes, just came to our attention. Robert Hazel, the author of a number of local histories and creative works focusing on Chesapeake City and Cecil County, has been producing the weblog since December 2011. On it we’ve found interesting pieces about early movie theaters; Triumph Industries; the rebuilding of the Chesapeake City Bridge, World War II Vets; creative works about the days of Uncle Ernest; and much more. Thanks Bob for sharing these interesting pieces.
During this holiday season Chesapeake City has been celebrating with a winterfest of lights. And as dusk descended on the old canal town on the Chesapeake & Delaware, the early evening darkness on this freezing, winter night provided the perfect opportunity to grab a few photos of the beautifully illuminated 19th century community.
All is quiet on the right-of-way of the Lancaster, Oxford and Southern on this winter day.
Big Elk Creek, Saturday, Dec., 29, 2012 — On the last Saturday in 2012, a light snow gently blanketed the Big Elk Creek valley. The twisting, turning stream, flowing gently toward the Chesapeake, was the source of industrial power in the pre-electrification era and many mills lined the waterway. Today, it still retains significant cultural resources that reflect the 18th and 19th centuries in Cecil County. And a gentle snowy day amplifies the beauty of the old mills, homes, churches, graveyards, schools and other places as the timeless flow of the creek ambles along on its course through history.
A photo of Bishop Levin Copping from the Unwritten History. (Source: Internet Archive).
Many African Americans from the Eastern Shore have played prominent roles in helping to shape the history of Maryland and the nation. Some served as leaders from the pulpit, a few worked as regular conductors on the Underground Railroad, and many served as educators, newspaper publishers, and in other ways.
Here in Cecil County, one of those leaders was Bishop Levi J. Coppin. He was born in Fredericktown, Maryland, thirteen years before the Civil War started. The family Bible said, “Levi Jenkins Coppin, born Dec. 24th, 1848.”
His mother, Jane Lilly, taught the youngster to read and write, and at the age of 17, he began to study scriptures. After moving to Wilmington when he was 17, he joined the Bethel AME Church. In 1877, Levi became a minister, eventually becoming the 30th Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. During his lifetime, he also served as an editor, educator, and missionary. Coppin University is named after his wife, Fanny Jackson Coppin. She was a noted educator.
The Bishop published his autobiography in 1919. “Intermingled with this ‘Unwritten History’ is the story of my life. . . Those who are fond of reading novels about men who never lived, and things that never did and never will happen, may enjoy a change to something that is historic and real,” the foreword notes. Of the nine chapters, the first five concentrate on Cecil and Kent counties and his life here. The fifth chapter is entitled “Farewell to Cecilton.” He passed away in 1924.
This book is a helpful, seldom-used local source for anyone studying the antebellum and Civil War eras on the Delmarva Peninsula. In the antebellum period, many landowners in the lower part of the county relied on slave labor to harvest crops and perform plantation work. This valuable title provides information on the families in the area, slavery, some insight on the Underground Railroad, the arrival of Union Troops in the town, news of Emancipation in Lower Cecil, and life in general for African Americans during the slavery era.
—The Rev. Joseph Brown was the pastor at the Cherry Hill United Methodist Church.
The winter 2013 edition of The Inkwell, the Society newsletter, is at the printer now and will be mailed to members shortly after the first of the year. In this packed issue you will find in-depth history articles, a roundup of the latest local heritage news, features about people, and updates on events. It also contains columns that examine research collections and provide practical how-to tips for patrons working with materials in the Cecil County history and genealogy library.
Highlights include a fascinating, thoroughly researched story by Eric Mease about a Civil War Chaplin, the Rev. Joseph Brown of Cherry Hill. He has taken a scholarly look at the pastor’s life by working with the original diaries written during the war, which includes his detention at the infamous Libby Prison. Also there is a column about the man who knew the highs and low in Cecil County. He was H. Wirt Bouchelle, our local weather observer for 55 years.
Make sure you keep up with the latest news from Cecil’s heritage keepers by becoming a member of the Society. And look for some additional exciting news about products for members early in 2013. We will be opening our virtual library, where supporters will be able read archived copies of the Society’s print product spanning a 60 year period. These serials have brought local history articles to readers for generations and are helpful to those digging into the past.
We will also be launching the Annual Journal of Cecil County History. The once a year product will feature long-form original scholarly submissions that add to fresh understanding or revised interpretations about the past. Another focus for 2013 will be the enlargement of the member’s only research section, which will contain e-research materials. Look for details about these and other exciting products, as our all-volunteer organization continues to work to preserve, record and document Cecil’s past.
One of the Historical Society volunteers, Kyle Dixon, is an undergraduate at Washington College where he is working on one of his senior graduation requirements. It’s a research paper that examines school integration on the Upper Chesapeake and he has discovered a valuable Cecil County collection at McDaniel College. Other researchers may find this resource to be helpful, so we are sharing a note about it here.
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Morris Rannels was the superintendent of Cecil County Schools. (Source: 1954 Elkton High School Yearbook, A Rebecca Smith Yearbook Collection, Historical Society of Cecil County
Morris W. Rannels, the Superintendent of Cecil County Schools from 1952 to 1960, oversaw the system during a time of major social change and rapid student growth. After the superintendent passed away in 2007 at the age of 92, his collection of personal papers and documentary materials, which concentrate on Cecil County, were donated to McDaniel College.
This collection concentrates on his management of the growing county school system and the challenges faced by the professional leadership team and the Board of Education. The physical plant was outdated as many structures needed renovation, the era of the one or two room facility had passed, and a booming student population required additional space. The overcrowding, school buildings in “poor condition,” and the financial demands of modernization for a system coming out of the Great Depression and World War-II were a major management problem for Superintendent Morris Rannels.
Then on May 17th, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Course handed down its decision declaring that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. When a new school year started that fall, the Board of Education refused to admit thirteen African-American students of Navy personnel to Bainbridge Elementary School, a new facility on federal property. That initiated a complex legal challenge involving the NAACP, the Navy, the U.S. Attorney General, the Cecil County Board of Education, and the Maryland Dept. of Education. After a federal judge refused to dismiss the civil suit charging local officials with violating the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the parties agreed to settle the matter out of court, according to the Afro-American. When the school doors opened next year, it was an integrated school for Navy personnel.
The large body of records consists of six containers of research materials. “Through the collection, Rannels meticulously records the status of integration in Cecil County, the financial situation of the Cecil County Public School System, student enrollment, teacher hires/resignations, and school constructions/reconstructions.” According to the McDaniel finding aid. In the next decade, full integration of the school system was handled by another Supt.
North East, Dec., 24, 2012 – A light snow began to fall on Cecil County late in the afternoon on Christmas Eve and soon a thin blanket of the fluffy stuff was starting to cover the ground. In the growing winter darkness the scene made for a near postcard-perfect evening over at the old Episcopal Church in North East. There the warm glow from the windows of this historic house of worship glowed softly on this wintry scene as the historic church awaited the arrival of worshippers for the Christmas Eve service.
With another year drawing to a close, the old church spires of Elkton catch a few rays from the setting winter sun, as the sky begins to clear. These silent sentries of time, towering over an old pike lined by 18th and 19th century buildings, have watched over Elkton for centuries.
McKinley Scott played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights history of Cecil County and almost paid for his efforts with his life. McKinley’s son Michael will share stories about his father’s life and how his actions in Cecil County fit into the turmoil of the Civil Rights era.
North East, Dec., 24, 2012 – A light snow began to fall on Cecil County late in the afternoon on Christmas Eve and soon a thin blanket of the fluffy stuff was starting to cover the ground. In the growing winter darkness the scene made for a near postcard-perfect evening over at the old Episcopal Church in North East. There the warm glow from the windows of this historic house of worship glowed softly on this wintry scene as the historic church awaited the arrival of worshippers for the Christmas Eve service.