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Fred Kelso, Historian
Fred Kelso is a historian now living in Oxford, Pennsylvania. During his time
here in Port Deposit Fred invested countless hours interviewing and researching to
create his early Cecil County and Port Deposit African American History
series of articles and factual data. The
Heritage that he has uncovered we are proud to present on our website.
Brief Biography
Fred Kelso was born and raised near Coatesville, in Chester County, PA.
His great great grandmother, Estella Etta Haines, was born in Port Deposit in
1869. Estella's father, Freeland Taylor Haines, was a powder monkey who was
killed in the Port Deposit Granite quarries at the age of 26 in 1873; he is
buried at Hopewell Methodist Church. Freeland's wife was Mary Olive Currier
of the Perryville Curriers; her parents are buried at Asbury Methodist Church
between Port Deposit and Perryville.
Fred returned to his roots in 1991, when he moved to Port
with his wife Becky, specifically to the Cameron House on Bainbridge Road.
Becky started an ice cream parlor called the Port Deposit Dipping Company, on
Main Street, which she ran successfully for two years until they started to
raise a family. Fred, Becky, Neal and Sarah now reside near Oxford, PA.
Fred has been interested in genealogy and local history
since he was 11, and did extensive research on Port Deposit during the years
they lived there. He is particularly fascinated by the rich African-American
history of the area, which lay largely unmined until he began his work. He has
also explored the history of local industries, with an emphasis on the granite
quarries.
Fred is an engineer by day and a researcher, writer, and
sometimes teacher by night. He has given several talks on his research projects
to local groups including the Historical Society of Cecil County, the
Genealogical Society of Cecil County, and the West Caln Township Historical
Society (PA). He has also contributed information on Pennsylvania slaves and
slaveholders to the website
www.afrolumens.org. This data includes information on his own Quaker
ancestors who owned slaves in Chester County in the 1700's. His article on an
African-American baseball team called the Port Deposit Black Sox appears on the
website of the Historical Society of Cecil County at
http://cchistory.org/baseball.htm.
2. In 1997, Fred published a book entitled "Port Deposit
Collections: Trade and Commerce", which includes articles on the Port Deposit
Granite Quarries and the Rock Run Covered Bridge across the Susquehanna, as well
as the local railroads, lumber schooners, and steamboats. These articles
originally appeared in a local newspaper called the Port Deposit Post. Current
books-in-progress include "The Early History of the Mushroom Industry in the
U.S." and "Canooing to Shelly's Island: The Lives and Times of Loyalists in
Southcentral Pennsylvania".
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