March 19, 2025 – What happens when you find two runaway ads, 16 years apart, that describe a convict servant with the same name, nationality, trade, and a physical description too alike to ignore?

Anna Carneal-Davis will present her research methodology, tracking one man’s journey through Britain’s transportation system leading up to the American Revolution. The case study will illuminate the system of convict servitude in colonial America and pinpoint records in England, Maryland, and Virginia that help illustrate an underrepresented portion of history.

Anna Carneal-Davis is the Library Genealogy Associate at Thomas Balch Library, a local history and genealogy library in Leesburg, Virginia. She earned her M.A. in Applied History from George Mason University and her bachelor’s at Longwood University. Carneal-Davis has devoted over a decade to the public history field, working at historic sites, museums, and libraries. Her professional career enables her to explore a wide range of topics, and help others identify record sets best suited to their research.