Judy Granger on Finding Pomp Russell

Judy Granger is a retired educator having worked with learners from 2-year-olds to college students and teachers. She did her masters and doctoral work in curriculum development and educational administration at Kent State University, Ohio. She has always been fascinated by genealogy as it could tell us real stories grounded in time, place, and the real lives of those people with whom they were connected. Giving voice to people long passed is a way of restoring and re-pairing their lives to ours.

This conversation was recorded on October 28th, 2025, prior to her Zoom presentation for the Coalition on November 12th, 2025. This interview represents the view of the speaker and not necessarily that of the Slave Legacy History Coalition. It has been edited by Treyton Littlejohn for clarity and length.

Naomi Gordon: So Judy, I'm wondering if you could just introduce yourself and briefly summarize your work.

Judy Granger: I am retired, but I have been an educator my whole life. My doctoral work really got me steeped in qualitative research and the power of listening closely, paying attention to people's stories. So, when this particular project fell into my lap it became an opportunity.

I stumbled across the first American anti-slavery almanac and it knocked my socks off. It listed the earliest anti-slavery societies from Maine to Rhode Island and out to Ohio. It included the names of presidents and secretaries and that information really excited me. I shared it with a small group of friends, and one of the friends... there was silence. And then she said, "Well, I have a family story, and I've never known what to do with it."

She proceeded to say that in the middle of Maine, in a very remote area, there was a cemetery holding the stone of a Black ancestor. His name was Pomp Russell, and he was buried under a New Hampshire Revolutionary War stone. She had heard, as a young adolescent, the story...and as with all adolescents, she didn't know who to ask or what to ask. So here is this 80-year-old woman telling me that she really wants to know his story. She had an ancestor, she knew nothing about him, and she felt like he was lost. Well, that set me up.

I couldn't be assured that I would find much information because there is relatively little information around Black genealogy. For a lot of people. But I knew I could take it as far as I could, and it's become a 6-year project that has expanded exponentially. Everything ties together if you're willing to look for the strands.

Naomi Gordon: So you've done a lot of research. I'm wondering what tensions, if any, have you held in pursuit of this, and might they continue to inform your approach to storytelling?

Judy Granger: You know, I think that is one of the most important questions you ask. If you're doing genealogical work for someone else, particularly around this issue, you have an obligation to tell the truth. And you don't know what that truth is going to be. But you have an obligation to tell it. I know my friend was vulnerable around this, because the issue really mattered to her. And she was horrified that her great-great-great-grandfather married into a family that enslaved.

The other form of truth-telling is being reasonably humble about this. There are very few primary sources, very few contemporaneous journals. You depend on secondary and tertiary sources. Then, you have to play that all out—looking for its holes, disproving as much as proving what you're finding and what you're thinking.

The third tension for me is that I’ve chosen to do all of these as PowerPoint presentations. Unlike this one, which is 30–35 minutes, some are up to an hour and a half or more. They're quite lengthy and densely packed with information. You’re inviting people to hear something that is essentially invisible to them, that may seem irrelevant.

So, my obligation is to do everything I can upfront to lure them in. Then, when they’re listening, help them see that this connects to the here and now. History is repeating itself, and I hope they at least see for themselves in Pomp’s story is the notion of belonging, the notion of the importance of kith and kin, of community. Of being present to each other So that they walk away owning a connection—not only to this story as part of their local history but also realizing that erasure is part of what we do and continue to do.

Naomi Gordon: It makes perfect sense. And I think it's beautiful the way you put it.

Judy Granger: I can't go anywhere where I don't tell this story, okay? I mean, literally, I went to a furniture store a week ago. And... I started to apologize, and he said, "No, no, no, no, keep telling me more." He then made the observation that we cannot lose the oral tradition. The oral tradition is a part of Black history. It is part of my history as a genealogist. It is in some ways, the most radical form of education we have because you're paying attention.

That's why we have so many book groups. People want to talk about them or sip wine, one or the other. The oral tradition is critical, and we can't lose it. And in a very real sense, even as you do these interviews and people do their presentations, it’s another way we grow belonging.

Naomi Gordon: I wanted to go back to if you're interested in any intergenerational work and how you envision this project expanding with younger generations.

Judy Granger: I think I have an advantage over people who write books. And that is because I am always looking for a place where I can do a presentation. Partly because I want them to hear his story, but also partly because I want them to gather their own courage to step up to the plate. Whether that means to do their own research or to act in the here and now to build community. The problem we find with historical and genealogical societies is they are peopled by people who are old. I have approached educators who teach history and social studies. They are interested in the story, but so far, I haven't been able to gain access to students. It's a perpetual frustration for me. Do I think it needs to happen? It's essential. Absolutely essential.

Naomi Gordon: I think I'll wrap up with just one last question. Judy, if there's anything that you won't have time to cover in your talk, I want to give you a chance to share it here.

Judy Granger: Oh my gosh, too much stuff to share. Let’s see if I can give you a nugget or two. One of the stories I'm working on right now is about a man who is identified as the first Black man in the Sandy River Plantation. Again, we are talking very rural, unsettled Central Maine. And what do I find? A monolith and enough evidence written in a history of the town by a contemporary to believe that that monolith is Caesar Tufts’ stone. By going to clean the cemetery with friends from different organizations, what do we find but a footstone? They had to look hard for these two stones. Caesar—you hear his last name Tufts—takes you right back to Massachusetts. I now know he is buried in the center of the cemetery, not on the edge, with white family members adjacent.

The stories that bubble up if you’re willing to pay attention—Pomp and Caesar’s stories—are filled with heart. That's why I say this is about belonging. I could give you another twenty…

Naomi Gordon: I know you can but that's a beautiful way to end. Thank you so much, Judy.

Judy Granger: You're welcome, Naomi. Thank you so much.

Naomi Gordon: Thank you.