Dr. Ben Bankhurst of Shepherd University presented “The Historical Memory of Frontier War in Twentieth-Century Shenandoah Family Histories” on Wednesday, April 15, 2026. A recording is now available at Speaker series April 2026 – Ben Bankhurst, The Historical Memory of Frontier War in Twentieth-Century Shenandoah Family Histories

The talk addressed the privileged place that the era of white settlement on the eighteenth-century frontier holds in the family lore of the Shenandoah Valley and central Appalachia. For the descendants of white colonizers, the arrival of their pioneer ancestors and the conquest and settlement of the region serve as a heroic origin story, rooting them to the land while simultaneously connecting them to the grand narrative of the nation’s founding. Throughout the twentieth century, family historians with a connection to the region, whether resident or not, published hundreds of family histories celebrating their families’ colonial lineage. Dr. Bankhurst, Associate Professor of History at Shepherd University, examined how white families, in the Valley and Central West Virginia, utilized genealogies anchored in the colonial or revolutionary periods to tie them to the land and, through the positive depiction of pioneer ancestors, counter demeaning narratives of the region and its people. Central to this process was the construction of often demeaning Native American stereotypes.

Historic Shepherdstown’s Speaker Series on Wednesday, October 15 at the Shepherd University Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education in Shepherdstown, WV, presented “In Their Own Words.” Drawing from primary documents, Maryland State Park Ranger-Historian Robert Ambrose explored the French and Indian War story of Fort Frederick (Washington County, MD) by answering the simple and sometimes complicated questions of who, what, when, why and how.

Fort Frederick (Washington County, MD) is the only stone fort built (1756) by an English colony during the French and Indian War, and is one of the largest fortifications built by English colonists in North America. The 585 acre Fort Frederick State Park borders the Potomac River and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. The state park is around a 19 mile walk or bike ride on the Canal Towpath from Shepherdstown.

Robert Ambrose has been employed with the Maryland Park Service since 2009, and at Fort Frederick since 2014 overseeing the largest living history program in the state park system. He resides in Berkeley Springs, WV, and in his spare time serves as the Defensive Coordinator of the Berkeley Springs High School Football team. Since 1996, Ambrose has been involved in living history of various time periods from the 1750s to the 1950s.

Listen to Ambrose’s talk – In Their Own Words, the French and Indian War at Fort Frederick, MD.