Washington College, the first college chartered in the new nation, is founded to “nurse the souls of our youth up to the love of LIBERTY and KNOWLEDGE.” George Washington lends his name to this College during his lifetime and serves on its board. Founder Dr. William Smith (1727-1803), a Scottish immigrant, aims to keep “the legacy of the country’s founders alive, preserving their ideals and virtues into the distant future” with “youth of all religious denominations…freely and liberally admitted.”
First use of genetic genealogy at Catoctin Furnace
The first use of DNA links 27 Black workers buried in the local cemetery of the Catoctin Furnace (c1800) and reveals links to nearly 42,000 living relatives, and traces the enslaved back to their African origins.
