When Jim Chrismer researched black Harford County residents who fought in the Civil War about 20 years ago, he discovered that there was virtually nothing known about black history in the county.
And people said there wasn't much history to find.
"I was told that I might find about eight blacks who fought in the war," said Chrismer, who has been a history teacher at John Carroll School in Bel Air for the past 38 years. "Today I can identify over 200."
As a result of the gaps in black history in the county, Chrismer and other county educators, genealogists and historians are doing their part to help document and preserve the county's black history.
Chrismer spent the last 20 years researching and documenting the history of Harford County African-Americans who served in the Civil War. Henry Peden, a local genealogist, compiled a record of pre-Civil War African-Americans. And Patrick Spicer, attorney for the Board of Education, published an account of the county's response to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision, Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka.
In the late 1980s, Chrismer's research turned up little or nothing, he said. The books written about the Civil War only mentioned the white soldiers, he said.
"I found out very quickly that there were a significant number of free blacks who were enlisted in the military to serve during the Civil War," Chrismer said.
Many of the soldiers from the county were members of the 4th United States Colored Troops, he said. One soldier in particular, Alfred B. Hilton, caught Chrismer's eye. Hilton was one of three brothers who served in the unit. He was also one of 16 blacks awarded a Medal of Honor for his service, said Chrismer, 63, of Bel Air.
Over time, Chrismer compiled enough information on Hilton to write his biography in 2000. However, he has been unable to find photographs of Hilton, though he did find mention of two, he said.
"Alfred Hilton was injured during a battle in Virginia," Chrismer said. "The records indicate that at his death there were two photographs that I surmised were probably sent to his family here in Harford County. But so far, I have been unable to find any photos of him."
At that same time, through his work with the Bel Air Historic Preservation Committee, Chrismer helped persuade the county to change Gravel Hill Park's name to the Alfred B. Hilton Park, he said.
Before Chrismer uncovered the information about Hilton, no one knew about him, Chrismer said.
"Black history was not popular until the 1960s or 1970s," Chrismer said. "Before that, there wasn't any interest in minority history, so no one knew anything about Alfred Hilton."
Things changed after comedian Bill Cosby wrote a book called Black History: Lost, Stolen or Strayed, Chrismer said.
Since then, Chrismer has been on a personal crusade to ensure that the contributions of all people, especially black people and women, are made public, he said.
Chrismer's presentation on Hilton was recently made into a CD through the local cable network, he said. Chrismer will speak at the Bel Air Library at 7 p.m. Feb. 20, about Hilton.
Peden, the Bel Air genealogist, has been working on black history leading up to the Civil War. About a year ago, he began researching African-Americans from the county from 1774 to 1864, he said.
"When African-Americans came to the historical society to find information on their ancestors, there was nothing for them to access," he said.
Using archives, court records, libraries, census records, and family histories, he spent more than 500 hours compiling information on more than 10,000 African-Americans in Harford County.
When the book became too large -- about 800 pages long -- he put the information on a CD that he named "African-Americans in Harford County Maryland, 1774 to 1864." The CD, which costs $24.95 plus tax, includes the name, birth and death date, and available information about each person.
"I found some interesting little things about people," said Peden, who has compiled about 125 genealogy books in the past 30 years. "I found applications for guns, and passes to move around the county... things like that."
A detailed account of the county's response to the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ruling of 1954, written by Patrick Spicer, the attorney for the county Board of Education, was published last week.
The publication details how county school officials responded after the landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court found that state laws establishing separate schools for black and white students were in violation of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Harford County school officials took about a decade to comply, said Chrismer.
The failure to comply began with the concerns of Charles Willis, superintendent of the county's schools at the time. He was a staunch conservative, and he created a plan to desegregate the students one grade a year, Chrismer said.
"He planned to desegregate the children in first grade the first year, and then first and second grade the second year, and then so on," Chrismer said.
But when the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People learned of the plan, it filed a lawsuit. Desegregation was completed in 10 years, Chrismer said.
"Willis was afraid there would be an upheaval, or chaos," Chrismer said. "People were horrified at even the possibility of that happening. There were still two colored schools -- the Central Consolidated School, and the Havre de Grace Consolidated School -- open in the county in 1964, 10 years after the Brown v. Board of Education decision."