Somerset Homecoming

About this book

Somerset Homecoming first published in 1989 is the story of one womans unflagging efforts to recover the history of her ancestors slaves who had lived and worked at Somerset Place. Traveling down winding southern roads through county courthouses and state archives and onto the front porches of people willing to share tales handed down through generations Dorothy Spruill Redford spent ten years tracing the lives of Somersets slaves and their descendants. Her endeavors culminated in the joyous nationally publicized homecoming she organized that brought together more than 2 000 descendants of the plantations slaves and owners and marked the beginning of a campaign to turn Somerset Place into a remarkable resource for learning about the history of both African Americans and whites in the region.