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Calista K. Cleary, "Little Egypt:
Black History in Three
New England Towns"
Redding, CT 1989
Courtesy of Calista Cleary
Calista Cleary's essay on the hidden history of African Americans
in Easton, Redding and Weston is a
remarkable example of the fine work
a careful and diligent student researcher
can accomplish once she has set on
a path of discovery. Equally important,
Cleary provides a roadmap to the process
of doing local history. Presented with
an intriguing question about a neglected
cemetery near her town, she sets about
the task of uncovering its history
through the use of census materials,
conversations with local historians,
visits to the cemetery site and a variety
of libraries and archival holdings,
and conversations with descendents
of the early African-American residents
of "Little
Egypt." Finally, upon
completion of her project she submitted
copies of her research to state and
local libraries, ensuring that future
historians would benefit from her work.