"Digging Local: The Genetic Legacy of African Americans from Catoctin Furnace” with Eizabeth Comer of the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society

April is Maryland Archeology Month, and the City of Frederick’s Historic Preservation Commission is excited to host our fourth annual Digging Local, a special event where the public can get exclusive access to local archeological investigations. This year we are highlighting the exciting research, excavation and interpretation at Catoctin Furnace Historical Society – Preserving and exploring the history of the village of Catoctin Furnace, Maryland. In August 2023, “The Genetic Legacy of African Americans from Catoctin Furnace” was published in Science, demonstrating that it is possible to wed the power of massive direct-to-consumer ancestry databases with ancient DNA technology. Using the first reliable approach for identifying identical-by-descent (IBD) connections between present-day and historical people, we compared the DNA of 27 African Americans who labored at Catoctin Furnace, Maryland during the late 18th to early 19th centuries to that of more than nine million research participants in the 23andMe genetic database. Our presenter is noted archeologist, Elizabeth Comer, who serves as Principal of EAC/Archaeology, Inc. a woman-owned business specializing in archaeological and historic architectural investigations in the US and abroad. She volunteers for the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society, Inc., managing historic structure restoration and museum development.

Co-sponsored by the FCPL Maryland Room.

Open to all.