John W. Dennis
resident of West Ocean City · active 1939
Named with his wife in the Baltimore Afro-American of 16 December 1939 as the parents of Alice Dennis, 'of West Ocean City, Md.' The first Black head of household the campaign has located at Ocean City by name and address.
In the record (1)
1939 · 1939-12-16
In December 1939 the Baltimore Afro-American named a Black family living in West Ocean City - the first the campaign has found
Under the heading 'Just Wed', datelined 'BERLIN, Md.', the Afro-American of 16 December 1939 reports the marriage of 'Miss Alice Dennis, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Dennis of West Ocean City, Md., and Sylvester Marshall of 123 W. 134th Street, New York'. It is a single paragraph in the paper's Eastern Shore column.
Every Black person the campaign has placed in Ocean City before this was placed there by a white document - a permit application, an assessment line, a council minute about an old man needing an institution. This is a Black newspaper naming a Black family at their own address, in their own community column, about their own daughter's wedding. It is three lines long and it is the first of its kind.
Unverified — sourced but not confirmed against a primary record.
Alice DennisSylvester Marshall
Source · checked 2026-08-11