Historian L. Lloyd Stewart’s The Mysterious Black Migration 1800-1820: The Van Vrankens and Other Families of African Descent in Washington County, New York (2013) is an extensively researched and documented book on the geopolitical and economic conditions that instigated a migration of thousands of “free” African Americans from various New York State counties and New England during a period when slavery was still legal and active in New York State.
The migration was driven by rumors of opportunity, particularly in the flax industry. By 1810, Washington County, NY had become the leading flax-producing county in the state.
The Mysterious Black Migration is a byproduct of genealogical research begun by the author in 2000. It is the second in a series of books relating to his and other Black American families’ experiences in early New York.
His first book, A Far Cry From Freedom: Gradual Abolition 1799-1827, was published in 2006.
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[…] will also discuss his most recent book, The Mysterious Black Migration 1800-1820: The Van Vrankens and Other Families of African Descent in …, which is the result of his genealogical research begun in 2000. It recounts the journey of […]