Descendants and sponsors traveled from across New York State, as well as from California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Texas to participate in an abolition symposium and inductions of three abolitionists to the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum. [Read more…] about Abolitionists Inducted to Hall of Fame
National Abolition Hall of Fame
An Evening of Welsh Music and Poetry on Friday
The National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum Induction Weekend begins on Friday, October 21st at 7 pm with an evening of Welsh music and poetry in honor of Rev. Robert Everett who will be inducted to the Hall of Fame the next day along with Calvin Fairbank and Stephen Myers. [Read more…] about An Evening of Welsh Music and Poetry on Friday
19th Century Experiences in Madison County This Weekend
The Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark and National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum will host a number of 19th Century Experiences as part of Abolition Induction Weekend, set for October 21st through 23rd. [Read more…] about 19th Century Experiences in Madison County This Weekend
A 19th Century Black Farming & Lumber Association
In 1846, a 36-acre parcel of land in the Town of Florence in Oneida County, NY, was deeded by Gerrit Smith to Stephen and Harriet Myers, abolitionists whose home was an Underground Railroad site in Albany. Both Smith and the Myers had a vision of a village where black families could become self-sufficient and escape the limitations and prejudice of city life (Smith had a similar project, Timbuctoo, in the Adirondacks). [Read more…] about A 19th Century Black Farming & Lumber Association
Abolitionist Freedom Walk
On October 21st, 1835, 600 black and white abolitionists met in Utica, NY to form an antislavery society. Twice the 600 delegates were confronted by an angry mob and thrown out of the Bleeker Street Church. Witnessing the thwarting of the First Amendment, Gerrit Smith invited the delegates to meet the next day in the safety of Peterboro in Madison County, NY. [Read more…] about Abolitionist Freedom Walk
Beaten & Burned Out: Welsh Anti-Slavery Hero Robert Everett
Rev. Robert Everett was a Welsh-American who came to Oneida County, NY in 1823 from Wales. He very quickly became involved in the anti-slavery movement. In 1835, Utica was selected as the site for the first New York State Anti-Slavery Convention.
The meeting was broken up by an angry mob. From Utica Everett was forced to move several times as his church services were often interrupted by people who continued to support slavery. He was physically assaulted while preaching and had his horse injured and home burned down by pro-slavery activists. [Read more…] about Beaten & Burned Out: Welsh Anti-Slavery Hero Robert Everett
Stephen Myers of Albany: Abolitionist Writer, Advocate & Underground Railroad Activist
Stephen Myers was a Black activist in connection with the Underground Railroad and African American rights in general. He was born and enslaved in Hoosick, Rensselaer County, New York State and raised when it was a slave state working on progressive abolition. He was the principal agent and a key writer for the Northern Star and Freeman’s Advocate, he was also the editor of The Elevator and The Telegraph and Temperance Journal.
As early as 1831 he was assisting fugitives from enslavement making their way to Canada. He was also active in 1827 with a group of little-known significance called the Clarkson Anti-slavery Society. As time went on he was involved in organizing and serving as a delegate to many of the Colored Men’s Conventions of the 1830s to the 1860s, to secure African American rights. He was involved in voting rights campaigns through the NYS Suffrage Association, was involved in organizing a school, and sued Albany Schools over segregation. [Read more…] about Stephen Myers of Albany: Abolitionist Writer, Advocate & Underground Railroad Activist
Calvin Fairbank: Imprisoned 17 Years For Helping Enslaved People to Freedom
Rev. Calvin Cornelius Fairbank was born November 3, 1816 in Pike, Wyoming County, NY. He began his academic studies at a seminary in Lima, Livingston County, NY, and became a licensed preacher in 1840. In 1842 he was ordained an elder in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he graduated Oberlin College in Ohio two years later. At Oberlin he met John Mifflin Brown (1817-1893), a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and an Underground Railroad activist.
Fairbank was a radical abolitionist who not only spoke out against slavery, but actively worked to free as many enslaved people as he could. [Read more…] about Calvin Fairbank: Imprisoned 17 Years For Helping Enslaved People to Freedom
Abolition Hall of Fame Names New Inductees
Robert Everett, Calvin Fairbank, and Stephen Myers will be inducted into the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum (NAHOF) in Peterboro, Madison County, NY on Saturday, October 22nd. [Read more…] about Abolition Hall of Fame Names New Inductees
Central NYS & the Creation of America
The National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum (NAHOF) in Peterboro, Madison County, will host a conversation with author Daniel Koch on his upcoming book Central New York State and the Creation of America, From Prehistory to the Present (SUNY Press), on Sunday, July 24th. [Read more…] about Central NYS & the Creation of America