SAMANA, Dominican Republic — Martha Leticia Wilmore , a retired schoolteacher who lives in the port town with a population of roughly 100,000 people off the northeastern edge of the island of Hispaniola, has had the same Sunday morning routine for nearly all 90 years of her life: She eats a piece of sweet bread, drinks a cup of ginger tea and gets dressed in a freshly pressed blouse to attend the service at the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) church, one of two places for worship for the community as it branched off years ago from St. Peter’s, locally known as “La Churcha .”

Ms. Wilmore is a descendant of a group of more than 300 African-Americans who chartered a boat to Samana in 1824 from Philadelphia. For her and 10 other older community members, ranging in age from 80 to 104, attending the weekly church service is a way to preserve the history of the early African-American settlers, passed down through songs and the English language. It is a history that many fear will be forgotten.