The Chesapeake Crossroads Heritage Area is deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Jean B. Russo—a distinguished historian, scholar, author, mentor, colleague, and friend whose knowledge and dedication helped shape our heritage community and our understanding of Annapolis and the Chesapeake region.
For decades, Dr. Russo devoted herself to researching, documenting, and interpreting Maryland’s history. She earned her Ph.D. in American Colonial History from Johns Hopkins University and built a distinguished career connecting scholarship, archival preservation, and public history. She served as Associate General Editor of Archives of Maryland Online and was a longtime historian and researcher for Historic Annapolis.
Her scholarship focused on the social, economic, and cultural life of the colonial Chesapeake, bringing greater attention to working people, artisans, communities, and social networks. Her publications include Free Workers in a Plantation Economy, Colonial Chesapeake Society, Planting an Empire: The Early Chesapeake in British North America, co-authored with J. Elliott Russo, and Maryland: A History. She also co-edited The Diary of William Faris: The Daily Life of an Annapolis Silversmith.
But Jean’s impact extended far beyond her published work. Her decades of research into Annapolis properties, families, neighborhoods, and buildings became an invaluable resource for preservationists, archaeologists, historians, homeowners, and researchers. Her detailed lot histories and documentary research informed numerous preservation and archaeological projects and helped reveal the stories behind the city’s buildings and landscapes.
Jean was equally generous in sharing how she did her research. She encouraged people to ask questions, examine primary sources, and keep digging. A 2018 Baltimore Magazine profile described her teaching homeowners how to research their houses through public records and trace the families who lived there.
That combination of scholarship, curiosity, and mentorship is what so many CCHA Board members remember.
Assistant State Archivist Emily Oland Squires called Jean “an unparalleled historian and mentor.” Dr. Marcie Taylor-Thoma, Director of the Maryland Council for Civic and History Education, said, “She made us smarter and challenged our thinking.” Architectural historian Donna Ware remembered her “impeccable scholarship” and witty sense of humor. CCHA Executive Director Jane Cox recalled, “She always challenged us… and made us better for it.”
Lily Openshaw, Vice-Chair of the CCHA Board, recalled that whenever she worked on a construction or renovation project in the Historic District, she would check with Jean or her research. Board Chair Tim Leahy remembered her dedication to accuracy and to telling the whole story.
Linnell Bowen, Jean’s longtime colleague and friend, remembered her as a brilliant friend, tennis partner, office mate, and fact-checker. Jean could challenge Linnell’s marketing and fundraising ideas, make her laugh, and still leave her grateful for the conversation. “We are lucky to have known her!” Linnell wrote.
Jean’s contribution to Annapolis and Maryland history cannot be measured only by the books and articles that bear her name. Her research became part of the working record of the city. It informed preservation decisions, helped researchers and property owners, and influenced generations of people who care about getting the history right.
For the Chesapeake Crossroads Heritage Area, Dr. Russo was more than a historian associated with our founding years. She was part of the intellectual foundation of the Heritage Area—a voice reminding us that our responsibility is not simply to celebrate the past, but to understand it, document it, question it, and tell it honestly.
We will miss Jean’s extraordinary knowledge, sharp questions, humor, and willingness to challenge us. Her scholarship will continue to inform our understanding of this place, and her questions will continue to make us better historians. Her work will endure.