Kyle Bass, the playwright of Possessing Harriet, is set to present Inventing Gerrit Smith: A Playwright’s Journey, for the annual recognition of abolitionist Gerrit Smith’s birth in 1797, on Saturday, March 2nd at 1 pm at the Smithfield Community Center, 5255 Pleasant Valley Road in Peterboro, NY. [Read more…] about Abolitionist Gerrit Smith and a Playwright’s Journey
Gerrit Smith Estate
Peterboro Heritage’s 2019 Black History Events
The Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark and National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum have announced their scheduled 2019 Black History events.
The 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was proposed on January 31, 1865 and ratified on December 6, 1865. The long-sought abolition of slavery is among the shortest worded amendments. It states in the first sentence of the first section: Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude…shall exist within the United States. [Read more…] about Peterboro Heritage’s 2019 Black History Events
Civil War Podcasts Feature Gerrit Smith, Wartime Romance
Two new episodes of the Capital District Civil War Round Table Podcast are now available.
In the October episode, Gerrit Smith biographer Norman K. Dann discussed his book Practical Dreamer: Gerrit Smith and the Crusade for Social Reform. Recorded from Smith’s Land Office in Peterboro, New York, Dann talked about Smith’s activism, philanthropy, involvement in politics, and his relationship with John Brown. [Read more…] about Civil War Podcasts Feature Gerrit Smith, Wartime Romance
Congressional Pilgrimage Visits Historic Peterboro
A Congressional Pilgrimage organized by the Faith and Politics Institute made its first stop at heritage sites in Peterboro NY. Congress Members Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) and Tom Reed (R-NY) joined the Faith and Politics Institute (FPI) to host a first-ever pilgrimage exploring the confluence of two significant freedom movements with deep roots in New York State: the abolition movement and women’s suffrage. The 2018 American Experience Pilgrimage took place July 20 through July 22, with the group visiting Auburn, Peterboro, Seneca Falls, Canandaigua and Rochester. [Read more…] about Congressional Pilgrimage Visits Historic Peterboro
Annual ‘Emancipation Day’ Events In Peterboro August 4
After the morning Gathering at 10 am Saturday, August 4, 2018 for the 9th Annual Peterboro Emancipation Day at the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark in Peterboro, the annual processional will carry two wreaths to the cemetery to lay on the graves of persons “Born a Slave, Died a Free Woman.”
At 2 pm Jacob Donovan-Colin will present The Evolution of Slavery and the Heroes Who Fight It: Discussions of My Travels from Peterboro and the Home of Gerrit Smith to Montgomery AL and the Home of the Equal Justice Initiative. Colin will share images and purposes of his April trip to volunteer at the opening of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice at the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI). He will discuss the importance of the history of Gerrit Smith and why it is relevant today, why people should still care about that history, and what it means today. [Read more…] about Annual ‘Emancipation Day’ Events In Peterboro August 4
Women’s History Weekend in Peterboro, Sept 22-24
The Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark and the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum in Peterboro NY will be commemorating the New York State Centennial of Women’s Suffrage with a Women’s History Weekend September 22-24, 2017. These two heritage organizations will collaborate with partners for the Ballots, Bloomers, and Marmalade programs that celebrate local history and its connection to the state’s and nation’s history of women’s rights.
The Ballots, Bloomers and Marmalade Weekend September 22-24, 2017, will focus on Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Elizabeth Smith Miller, and Angelina Grimke. [Read more…] about Women’s History Weekend in Peterboro, Sept 22-24
Emancipation Day at the Gerrit Smith Estate Saturday
On August 5th the 8th Annual Peterboro Emancipation Day at the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark (GSENHL) will address the land grant project which became known as “Timbuctoo.”
This last day of the exhibit Dreaming of Timbuctoo will open at 9 am. The exhibit includes Smith’s deed book of 119 pages listing, by county, the people who received land gifts.
In 1846 abolitionist Gerrit Smith recruited thirteen men to find 3,000 free black men to receive 40 acres of land each, in order to enfranchise them in New York State. Rev. Henry Highland Garnet from Troy mobilized the most grantees. Dr. James McCune Smith and Charles B. Ray found more than 1,000 African-American males from New York City to acquire land from Smith. Rev. Jermain Wesley Loguen was an active abolitionist in Syracuse, and as Smith’s agent he encouraged men from the Central New York region to make the trek northward. After Rev. Loguen toured the settlements he published his account in Frederick Douglass’ The North Star which recognized the worth of the land Smith was granting. [Read more…] about Emancipation Day at the Gerrit Smith Estate Saturday
Gerrit Smith, John Brown, and the Crusade for Social Reform
Peterboro NY will launch its 2017 Crusade for Social Reform at 1 pm on Saturday, March 11, with the annual celebration of Gerrit Smith’s birthday, held at the Smithfield Community Center, 5255 Pleasant Valley Road.
Born March 6, 1797, Gerrit Smith, who lived and worked his entire adult life in Peterboro, was known for his philanthropy and activism for equality. Norman K. Dann PhD, researcher and author of Practical Dreamer: Gerrit Smith and the Crusade for Social Reform will introduce the 19th century Smith family activities, and then volunteers from the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark and the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum (NAHOF) will explain the 2017 programs that will continue the quest for human rights in the 21st Century. [Read more…] about Gerrit Smith, John Brown, and the Crusade for Social Reform
7th Annual Peterboro Emancipation Days August 6-7
The Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark (GSENHL) will be commemorating Emancipation Days Saturday and Sunday, August 6 and 7 with both traditional and new programs.
The event opens at 10 am with free parking and free registration at the Estate, followed by programs similar to those conducted in the 1920s and 1930s by a generation celebrating the emancipation of the generation before them. In 1925, more than 600 black men and women from Central New York made a pilgrimage to Peterboro, home of Gerrit Smith, to pay homage to abolitionists who fought for their freedom. Emancipation Day celebrations grew in later years, drawing crowds of more than 1,000 people, who came from Syracuse, Utica, Ithaca, Binghamton, Oswego and Fulton for parades, picnics and concerts. Although the practice faded after World War II, local descendants of freedom seekers are holding the Peterboro Emancipation Day celebration for the 7th year since its revival in 2010. [Read more…] about 7th Annual Peterboro Emancipation Days August 6-7
Lincoln Weekend Celebrates Great Emancipator
In commemoration of the end of the Civil War, the death of Lincoln, and the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery, the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum (NAHOF) has suspended its 2015 induction ceremonies to address the matter of President Lincoln as “The Great Emancipator.” Several programs will provide opportunity for the public to study Lincoln as an abolitionist.
The Thirteenth Amendment (“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,… shall exist with within the United States..”) was proposed by the U.S. Senate on April 8, 1864. The movie Lincoln features the historical drama of securing the votes needed in the House of Representative to pass the resolution. The Thirteenth Amendment was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865 and ratified by the states on December 6, 1865. [Read more…] about Lincoln Weekend Celebrates Great Emancipator