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events
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TEMPLE UNIVERSITY (PHILADELPHIA, PA: SECOND ANNUAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
AND BLACK HISTORY CONFERENCE, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2005, 8:00 - 4:30
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY, MAIN CAMPUS, RITTER HALL ANNEX
KIVA AUDITORIUM, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Program (Tentative: Joe Becton, "Underground Railroad in Philadelphia,"
Ethan Petit, "William L. Garrison: An Abolitionist," Fred Minus, "History of
the 6th U.S.C.T. Regiment, "Philadelphia's Forgotten Hero: Octavius
V.Catto" [film], John Logan, "African American Genealogy," Peter Lemon,
"Northern Terminus," panel on "Preservation of Historic Sites" with
presentations on the Johnson House (Philadelphia), Lady Farm (Gettysburg)
and Sellers Hall (Upper Darby). Preservation panelists include Dr. Edward
Wonkeryor, Katie Schue, Craig Caba, Robert Seeley, Deacon Charlie Amen,
and Andy Waskie.
For information contact Dr. Nilgun Anadolu-Okur [email protected]
FOURTH ANNUAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD HISTORY CONFERENCE, SCHENECTADY, NEW
YORK, FEBRUARY 26, 2005
The Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region, Inc.
invites you to the 4th annual Underground Railroad History Conference:
"Underground Railroad: Discoveries and Emerging Stories," Saturday, February
26, 2005, 9am - 5 pm, Schenectady High School (a 10 minute drive from the
NYS Thruway).
Featuring Keynote Address by Paul & Mary Liz Stewart on "Emerging
Underground Railroad Stories About New York's Capital Region: What Do We
Know and Where Do We Go From Here?"
Featuring Kim Harris' Underground Railroad Opera "Friends of Freedom: an
Underground Railroad Story," an opera for family audiences written and
produced by Kim Harris.
We've outgrown the College of St. Rose! St. Rose has been a wonderful
partner these last two years, and for this we express our gratitude, but
space considerations have motivated us to relocate. Since URHPCR focuses on
Capital Region UGR history, we will begin celebrating our stories around
the Capital Region by holding this year's conference at Schenectady High
School.
For information contact Paul Stewart [email protected]
BLACK HISTORY IN PENNSYLVANIA, 28TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE, APRIL 20-23, 2005,
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
The Conference on Black History in Pennsylvania is an annual event
sponsored by the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, the African
American Museum in Philadelphia, Atwater Kent Museum, Greater Philadelphia
Tourism Marketing Corp., and Pennsylvania Council for the Arts, PHEAA, the
Philadelphia Tribune and other local and state organizations.
The keynote speaker for this conference will be Donna Brazile, a senior
fellow at the Academy of Leadership, University of Maryland, and
recently appointed national chair of the Voting Rights Institute, the
Democratic Party's major initiative to promote and protect the right to
vote. Brazile is also an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University.
Other featured speakers are Deborah Willis, Ph. D., Tisch School of the
Arts and Africana Studies, New York University. Most recently she was a
Visiting Professor, Princeton University and the Lehman Brady Chair in
Documentary and American Studies at Duke University and the University of
North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Manning Marable, Ph. D., Professor of History
and Political Science and Founding Director of the Institute for Research
in African American Studies, Columbia University. In 2001, he initiated the
Malcolm X Project at Columbia University, and Richard Dozier an architect
and architectural historian, professor of Architecture at Florida A&M
University. Before coming to FAMU, he was chair of the Architecture Program
at Tuskegee University and a professor at Yale University School of
Architecture. He holds the Bachelor of Architecture from Yale University
and the Doctor of Architecture from University of Michigan. He was one of
two architects selected by the U. S. Department of the Interior to assess
threatened structures at 12 Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
The Conference focuses on different aspects of Pennsylvania's African
American heritage. One special event will be a bus tour of black Philadelphia
led by Charles
Blockson to visit and learn about many of this nation's most significant
historic sites and national treasures.
Walking tours thought the historic Sixth Street Corridor, the Liberty Bell,
the site of the first White House and burial ground of the enslaved by
George Washington, tours of the first African American churches, the
African American Museum, Atwater Kent Museum and the Historical Society of
Pennsylvania. Sessions will be held at many historic sites, including
Mother Bethel AME Church and the Legendary Blue Horizon.
Cultural events will include a concert with jazz great, Dianne Reeves and
Little Jimmy Scott, at the Kimmel Center, Friday Night Jazz at the Art
Museum of Philadelphia, and many more events to highlight the cultural life
of Black Philadelphia.
Seating is limited for some tours, to reserve your places, please email or
call, Karen James 717-783-9871 or [email protected]
A research query from Daniel H. Weiskotten [email protected]
I am just starting to read George Fitzhugh's Cannibals All! or, Slaves
without Masters (1857) [edited by C.Vann Woodward, 1960] and see on
pages 102-104 that Fitzhugh responded in his book to a letter written by
"A. Hogeboom, Esq., Sheds Corners, Madison County, N.Y."
I take it that this is the same Abram Hogeboom who lies buried in the Sheds
Cemetery, died October 9, 1873, age 60 years.
Does anyone know where I can find a copy of the letter that Hogeboom wrote
to Fitzhugh, and learn a little bit more about him? Can anyone help? I know
more than I care to know about Fitzhugh, thank you!
It appears that although Hogeboom was noted as being in Sheds Corners,
which is in the Town of DeRuyter, he was actually living nearby in the very
southwest corner of the town of Nelson. He appears in Nelson on the 1850
and 1855 Census, and also on Lot 173 on the maps of 1853, 1859 and 1875
maps (the 1875 map may indicate his estate).
Also, check out my research pages on some of Madison County's African
Americans, and some research I am working on showing that Theodore Dwight
Weld was at the 1850 Cazenovia Fugitive Slave Law Convention:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyccazen/Shorts/1850Convention.html
http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyccazen/MscLists/African_Americans.html
MIDDLE ATLANTIC AMERICAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE (NEW JERSEY), APRIL
1-2, 2005
The Mid-Atlantic American Studies Association invites proposals for
presentations at its annual meeting, to be held on April 1st and 2nd, 2005.
The event is sponsored by the American Studies Department at Rutgers
University (web address shown below). Our broad theme is "Cultural
Landscapes." We particularly invite participants to explore the ways race,
class, gender, and ethnicity illuminate questions about the construction
and preservation of built environments. We encourage submissions by
graduate students and junior faculty. Senior faculty members are encouraged
to volunteer to serve as panel chairs. In addition to presentation
sessions, meeting activities will include a site visit, panel discussions,
an undergraduate roundtable discussion, and media presentations. This year,
the keynote address will be delivered by John Vlach of George Washington
University. The title of Dr. Vlach's presentation will be, "New Jersey's
African-American Landscapes in Slavery and Freedom."
More details on the site visit, accommodations, travel directions, the final
program, and registration will appear in the spring issue of the this
newsletter. Please submit a one-page proposal (250 words maximum) and a
cover letter by December 31st, 2004 to:
Angus Kress Gillespie, Professor
Department of American Studies
Rutgers The State University
131 George Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1414
Email: [email protected]
Visit the website at http://amerstudies.rutgers.edu
PRESERVATION IN DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA: SELLERS HALL
[From Robert Selley: [email protected]]
SELLERS HALL ON THE VERGE OF BEING LOST!
Sellers Hall, located on St. Alice's Parish grounds, (Walnut St. & Hampden
Rd. in the 69th St. area) has deteriorated almost to the point of no
return. Deacon Charles Amen's concern has been shared by members of the
parish and the community. Recently, a self-proclaimed group of concerned
citizens and volunteers, who call themselves Friends of Sellers Hall, has
organized meetings to save the building which belonged to the first
registered resident of Upper Darby, Samuel Sellers. The parish has almost
no resources available and support is urgently needed to make essential
repairs to the roof, windows and other structural areas. VOLUNTEERS ARE
NEEDED PLEASE CALL DEACON AMEN AT 610-259-6985.
Samuel Sellers came here in 1682 and built his home in 1684 where he and
his wife Anna Gibbons lived. They were followed in the home by several
generations of the Sellers Family.
The Sellers were renowned for their early wire-weaving mills in the area, for
numerous inventions (some on a national level) and for their activity in
local politics. They were active in the underground railroad, secretly
directing fugitives from this location to other points north and west on
their way to freedom.
The home has a historic marker from the "Pennsylvania Historic and Museum
Commission." Unfortunately, the building has been deteriorating in the past
several years. John Milner, renowned historic architect, is advising the
committee on the steps to be taken. The committee is applying for a
Keystone Grant and is working to place it on the National Register of
Historic places, both with Mr. Milner's assistance. Plans are to have it
open to the public and perhaps include a museum.
Anyone who wishes to be a part of this significant effort should contact
Deacon Amen (610-259-6985) or Mary Ellen Gontaryk (610-352-1389). A fund is
being set up to stabilize the building in preparation for restoration work.
You can be a part of this effort! Checks may be made out to: "St. Alice -
Sellers Hall Fund" and sent to:
St. Alice Rectory
150 Hampden Road
Upper Darby, PA 19082
You will be placed on the mailing list to receive newsletters updating you
on the work's progress.
PUBLICATION: UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN DAUPHIN COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
[Thanks to George F. Nagle, editor of the AFROLUMENS website for bringing
this item to our attention.]
The 2004 edition of Susquehanna Heritage, a journal of the Historical
Society of Dauphin County, contains several articles of interest to
Underground Railroad subscribers. "The Underground Railroad in Dauphin
County," by Eric Ledell Smith, is an updated version of Smith's detailed
presentation at the PHMC Black History Conference at Lancaster in April, 2000.
To supplement Smith's article, the society has reprinted Samuel S.
Rutherford's 1928 article, "The Under Ground Railroad," which is an early
recounting of URR activity around Harrisburg.
In addition to other articles on local and women's history, this edition of
the journal also features an article by Professor Michael Barton, " 'Great
Union Meeting!' Herman Alricks Speaks for National Harmony in 1859."
The society's website is at http://www.dauphincountyhistoricalsociety.org/
Christopher Densmore
Friends Historical Library
December 20, 2004
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