East New Market, Maryland
The comprehensive history of a small town on Maryland's Eastern Shore, Dorchester County — its people, places, and the quiet rhythms of life along the Chesapeake.
Explore the townJonesborough, Tennessee
History, Family & Story
A collection of histories, genealogies, and stories spanning Maryland's Eastern Shore, the mountains of Tennessee, and generations of families.
Our Projects
The comprehensive history of a small town on Maryland's Eastern Shore, Dorchester County — its people, places, and the quiet rhythms of life along the Chesapeake.
Explore the townThe old Jonesborough High School, built in 1926, was transformed into 13 luxury condominiums to preserve this nobel structure. A story of preservation and reinvention.
Visit Academy HillDr. Anthony Lafayette Manning (1831–1878) was a larger-than-life poet, physician, and eccentric of Maryland's Eastern Shore. Thirteen of his rediscovered poems have each been preserved and set to music.
Read his storyNumerous completed family histories with many more in progress. Rooted primarily in Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia, tracing lines back through generations of American life.
Browse familiesThe Olde Providence Recreation Association, Charlotte's basketball all-stars, a 5-second NFL career, baseball in Baltimore, and the legendary 1890s Orioles — stories from the field and the stands.
Read the storiesFrank Collins — the local historian behind CollinsFactor, based in Jonesborough, TN. Learn about the person keeping these histories alive.
Meet Frank CollinsA physician, poet, and enigma of 19th-century Maryland — Dr. Anthony Lafayette Manning left behind a scattered literary legacy that has taken years to piece together. Thirteen of his poems have been discovered as of 2026, each now set to music with his words as lyrics.
The mystery of his missing book of poetry and prose remains unsolved. This project documents what has been found — and continues to search for the rest.
Explore the projectHis poetry, like the man himself,— From the Dr. A.L. Manning Project
moved between grandeur and shadow —
equal parts physician's precision
and poet's abandon.
CollinsFactor has been a labor of love since 2005, the research completed and website built by Frank Collins. I hope you find something here that connects you to the past — whether it's a journey to find the original documents, a family name you recognize, or a story that deserves to be remembered.
Have a question, a correction, or a family story to share? I'd love to hear from you. Get in touch.