Dorothy Spruill Redford

Dorothy Spruill "Dot" Redford (born August 7, 1943 - died September 30, 2023 ) is an author, historian and former executive director of Somerset Place, a state historic site near Creswell, North Carolina. She is best known for the published account of her research into her family history, Somerset Homecoming: Recovering a Lost Heritage.

Biography

Dorothy Spruill Redford was born in Columbia, North Carolina on August 7, 1943. Inspired by Roots and her daughter's questions about her ancestors, Redford began to research her family history. Redford spent nearly ten years researching her connection to the enslaved population of Somerset Place. In 1986, her research inspired the first Somerset Homecoming, a reunion of more than 2,000 descendants of the enslaved community of Somerset Plantation. She co-authored a book about her family history and the reunion with reporter Mike D'Orso in 1988, the same year she began working as a program consultant at the Somerset Place State Historic Site. Redford received an honorary doctor of letters degree from East Carolina University in 2010.