Historic Annapolis reports the death of historian Dr. Jean B. Russo
Dr. Jean B. Russo, a preeminent scholar of Annapolis history and the Chesapeake region in the colonial and nation’s founding eras whose meticulous probate and demographic research redefined local historical interpretation, has died, Historic Annapolis reported.
The Legacy of a Senior Historian in Annapolis
Russo earned her Ph.D. from The Johns Hopkins University in American colonial history. She joined the Historic Annapolis team in 1982, serving as Director of Research and Senior Historian. Her work utilized probate inventories and exhaustive statistical analyses to examine the daily lives of free and indentured laborers, artisans, and enslaved workers who built colonial Maryland.
After her retirement, Russo remained available for research support. She answered complex inquiries within minutes, always providing detailed footnotes. In 2016, Jean worked closely with HA’s curators and consultants for 10 years to utilize the History IT/Odyssey software and to digitize HA’s entire archival collection and complete metadata work.
Authored Works Shaping Chesapeake Scholarship
Russo authored, co-authored, and edited numerous foundational texts. Her publications include Free Workers in a Plantation Economy: Talbot County, Maryland 1690-1759 in 1989 and The Diary of William Faris: The Daily Life of an Annapolis Silversmith in 2003, which she co-edited with Mark Letzer.
She also co-authored Planting an Empire: The Early Chesapeake in British North America in 2012 with her daughter, Jean Elliott Russo, and Maryland: A History in 2018. Additionally, she served as Associate General Editor of the Archives of Maryland Online.
A Mentor to Regional Heritage Professionals
Beyond her academic credentials, Russo trained hundreds of docents and tour guides for Annapolis-area non-profit organizations and heritage tourism businesses.
Glenn Campbell, retired Senior Historian at Historic Annapolis, who worked with Russo for over thirty years, reflected on her impact:
Jean Russo brought the rigorous scholarly methods and mindset of an academic historian to her role as a public historian at Historic Annapolis. She strove to ensure that the information presented by HA was backed by solid research, and she pioneered new areas of historic inquiry and interpretation. Jean set the gold standard for professionalism in her work, and she recognized and encouraged the same qualities in her fellow staff members.
Russo freely shared her findings and methodology, prioritizing public access over personal recognition. Historic Annapolis noted that her commitment to historical accuracy and deep kindness leaves an immeasurable loss for the community.