The Case:
Could a Maryland family's home once have been the headquarters for the kidnapper and slave trader Patty Cannon, coined "the most wicked woman in America?"
Legend has it that she was a villainous woman who stole slaves and kidnapped free African-Americans.
1808: Congress makes it illegal to import slaves from Africa. This leads to a huge labor shortage in the South, and slaves become a lucrative trade.
Reliance, Maryland had more free blacks than anywhere else in the country, and soon they risked being kidnapped, smuggled across the Mason-Dixon line and sold into slavery in the South.
For anyone wanting a piece of this illegal, but lucrative trade, Reliance was the perfect place to set up shop.
Now the History Detectives team investigates to see if they can prove once and for all that this is in fact the former home of Patty Cannon.
Will they be able to draw long-sought-after conclusions or will the mystery remain?
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