Help Tell The Chesapeake Story

My name is Joe Paden. I'm an independent historical/genealogical researcher & preservationist. Please checkout my FB page, “Chesapeake Storyteller” for more on what I do, but to summarize, I put an extraordinary amount of time & personal funds to discover, preserve & promote the history, culture & heritage of the Chesapeake Bay. And, I freely share a lot of historical information, much of which is unknown history, & I greatly enjoy doing it.

There are some projects that I do - all of which are extremely important - that are so extensive that I will never be able to complete by working on them as I can afford to do so.

This is one of those projects, but with some help, I’ll be able to commit the time & afford the expense to bring it to completion.

Those who’ve lived on the Chesapeake have been a seafaring people for over 400 years, & so many of them have been taken by the Bay.

Drownings, lost at sea, killed, murdered, accidents & those who’ve passed by natural causes have all taken their last breath on the water, & this project will ensure that they’re never forgotten, or never known to us, which so many of them are now.

I’ve titled this project, the “The List of Those Taken by the Bay,” & it’s to discover, document, preserve & publish as many of these people as possible.

I began this project in 2017, & along with the help of my mother (who passed in 2022), my daughter, Arlie Paden, son, Alex Paden, a volunteer named Christopher Dunn, & the countless others who’ve submitted names, there are approximately 1,200 possible people who’ve been lost.

However, I’ve only been able to confirm, document & categorize a little over 300 of them.

The reason why there’s such a difference between the possibles & confirmed, are many accounts come from newspapers, & a significant number who were initially reported to have drowned were found later. It’s also essential that the reason they were lost is known because it’s important if someone passed from a shipwreck or from swimming.

This project is extremely monotonous & time consuming. It requires me responding to countless emails, making phone call & I even have to visit elderly people to tap into their memories.

BUT… I’m certain that this project will be extraordinarily beneficial to preserving the heritage of the Chesapeake.

I’m hoping that this year - with your help - I’ll be able to finish the bulk of the work. I will post the list online, send in email & submit to historical groups so they can post on their websites. Then the list will be updated annually with the additions of the names who’ve been discovered each year, & Lord Willing, the names of those who will be lost in the years to come will be very few.

If you any questions, please don’t hesitate to email me. If you have a name to submit, please include their full name, any nickname used, the year they were lost (or drowned, killed, passed by natural causes, etc), the reason they were lost, where they were lost, their hometown/residence, the name of the vessel if known, & PLEASE include a way I can verify it if possible.

I’m hoping I can complete this project within 250 hours of work, but it’s impossible to say, but I’m setting the fundraising goal at $2,500.

Even if you can only donate $5, $10 or $20 that will help so much. Donors of $50 will be listed under a Donor Section. Those donating $100 & more will receive additional recognition.

Thank you for reading. If you can’t donate, at least share please.

Joe Paden