Agnes Kane Callum

Agnes Kane Callum (February 24, 1925 – July 22, 2015) was a genealogist known for her research into Maryland's African-American history. She was a founding member of the Baltimore Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, a frequent columnist for The Catholic Review, and the founding editor of a black genealogical journal, Flower of the Forest. Callum was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame in 2014.

Early life and education

She was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1925, the fifth of 12 children of Phillip Moten Kane and Mary Gough Kane. Her paternal grandfather, Henry Kane, was born into slavery at Sotterley Plantation in St. Mary's County, Maryland.

After attending Baltimore public schools, she held a variety of jobs, including salesperson for a black-owned cosmetics company, Beauty Queen Co.; insurance agent for the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company; licensed practical nurse at Rosewood Hospital; and night clerk for the United States Postal Service. She was active in her community, joining the Eastside Democratic Organization, founding a neighborhood club called "Clean Up for a Better Neighborhood," and organizing educational field trips for local schoolchildren. That same year, she founded a black genealogical journal, Flower of the Forest, named for a tract of land in St. Mary's County, Maryland, that had been owned by the Butler family for 125 years. Callum edited and published the journal for 25 years.

She was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Sotterley Plantation, a founding member of the Baltimore chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society,

Books