Skyla S. Hearn: Weeks 36, 37

As the fellowship is winding down, I’ve been thinking about where this path will lead. Eight years ago I had no idea that I would become as entrenched in this vocation as I have. My journey began as a digital archives assistant at the Special Collections Research Center at Morris Library, Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Other than wanting to rid myself as Assistant Manager at the Daily Egyptian, the student ran newspaper at SIUC, I’m not sure what energy directed me to apply for the assistantship at the SCRC but I’m glad I did. Since being on the archival vocational path, I have made some fruitful decisions that have landed me exactly at the right place, during the right time and with the right people. There have been challenges along the journey but none that I regret facing and overcoming.   

 

Over the last weeks, I have been arranging and describing the Wyatt Photograph collection for their permanent home in the Harsh Research Collection stacks. I almost feel like I don’t want to let them go. These pictures, in all of their forms, from slides to Polaroids, black and whites to color, 3x5 to 11x17, which document the full human experience, have become a part of my life. With their assistance, I have showcased the legacy of a powerhouse of a human being, gained reassurance when my confidence was shaken and developed stronger skills as a multimedia archivist.

 

 

I have also processed a small collection of papers that once belonged to a Chicago native and self-made multimillionaire Mr. Dempsey Jerome Travis better known as Dempsey Travis. It’s funny. When I was a kid, it seemed like his books were everywhere. Travis was a real estate tycoon and genius, author, civil rights activist and philanthropist. He spoke on radio programs about the importance of owning property, taking optimum care of personal property, land and one another. He was a man of the people who wanted the best for his people. There are multiple Dempsey Travis archival collections at various repositories in Chicago. Most archivists would rather not have split collections but we all know that things happen. If Dempsey were alive, he might give a big grin and say there’s enough of “him” to go around. The collection that I have processed focuses primarily on his manuscripts, which gives a glimpse into his unique writing practices. There is also correspondence, organizational files, photographs, memorabilia, etc. Travis wrote almost thirty books on African American history and culture including an autobiography entitled I Refuse to Learn to Fail. His life was truly a testament to the title.

 

 

Being an archivist is great. I’m allowed to snoop through other people’s things, then share the juicy findings I uncover with others by attributing order or intellectual control to what was once a random wad of processed trees in a guide, or finding aid, which leads other people through their things.

  

I joke about being stashed away down in the dungeon (the processing unit) but truth be told that’s where all the magic happens. There are only a few days left before this fellowship ends. I will miss walking through the doors of the Woodson Regional Library, which then lead me through the doors of the Harsh Research Collection where some of the greatest African American archival collections live. I feel accomplished knowing that I have contributed to the Harsh Research Center. After all, that is what this fellowship was all about.

A Slave Named Juris Prudence

I spent much of the last week trying to understand what will probably be my last case study for the Legacy of Slavery in Maryland project. Following a review of my techniques in the Schweninger Collection reappraisal I found a handful of potential case studies for myself and one for a colleague.

I re-examined a few reels to check for errors or omissions on my part as I picked out cases from LOSIM’s geographic zone of interest. Only a few hundred records originated from agencies or bureaus pertinent to the five Eastern Shore counties of Kent, Queen Anne’s, Talbot, Dorchester, and Caroline, which are the subjects of the Department of Education grant. Following my first pass, the reappraisal, I combed through them again: I wrote down citations for cases clearly marked from county, circuit court, or other bureaus from these five counties but also cases at the state level in the Court of Appeals for the Eastern Shore. Sometime later I examined my reference spreadsheet of these handpicked county cases and realized there could well be Eastern Shore people involved in non-Eastern Shore lawsuits. Using the URLs I collected for every case, I read each target card to discover Eastern Shore connections in the case descriptions. Although only a few were revealed themselves in the Court of Appeals for the Western Shore cases, it was completely worth it.

The case was of Julia Ann Bailey. Although the case starts in Baltimore City and thus eventually to the Court of Appeals for the Western Shore, it truly begins in Kent County on the other side of the Chesapeake; that was why I initially missed it since the Kent County connection was not evident by the record's provenance. Bailey was born in 1816 of a 24 year old Kent County slave named Lucy. Although Lucy's previous owner Gideon Longfellow recorded a delayed manumission in 1803 and stipulated that her future children would not be slaves, John Anderson claimed ownership of Bailey in the Baltimore City Court and the Court of Appeals for the Western Shore.

Longfellow’s manumission for his eleven year old slave read, in part, for "divers [sic] good causes and considerations...[I] release from slavery liberate manumit and set free my Negro Girl named Lucy...when she shall arrive at the age of thirty years; and in case the said Negro Girl Lucy shall or may hereafter have any child or children before she arrives at the age aforesaid that then such child or children shall be free at their birth." Longfellow then sold Lucy to Henry Taylor; since she was to be freed in just over fifteen years I expect her value was far lower. Taylor gave Bailey, then a small child, to his daughter "who took her into possession and held her till after her father's death." At seventeen Bailey departed for Baltimore City where Lucy lived; Taylor's daughter and her husband John Anderson, "supposing her to be free under the said manumission," did not lay claim to her for another two years. For reasons unexplained by Anderson he did not press any claim to Bailey's three sisters.

In 1821, two or three years before Lucy was freed, Anderson sold a home and farming materials to Mary Ann Kennard for $950. Some of the items included: Two adult slaves named George and Rebecca, three juvenile slaves named John, John Harris and Matthew, six plows, twelve sheep, seven "milch" cows, four weeding hoes, various kitchen utensils, sixty "barriles" of corn, a wheat fan, and three beds amongst other goods. Kennard, perhaps out of generosity in 1825, sold back the now eleven or twelve year old boy named "John or John Harris" to Anderson for $1. It was not unusual for slaves with common names to be distinguished from each other by using last names but, if John and John Harris were always the same person as the 1825 bill of sale suggests, the original 1821 sale involved four slaves instead of five. By 1830 Anderson had no slaves. In 1832 Anderson again sold various farm animals and furnishings, this time to Samuel G. Kennard, for $65. Some of the items included: Two cows, nine pigs, ten juvenile pigs or "shoats," two beds, bedsteads, and beddings, a mahogany desk, table, and bookcase, a walnut breakfast table, and "a lot of Kitchen furniture." By 1835 Anderson did not have much in assets; that year he only possessed $142 in taxable property. Perhaps this state of relative poverty compelled him to sue for Bailey’s return even though he never apparently claimed her in his assessable property taxes.

During the trial, beginning June 1, 1835, Anderson's counsel's argued that Bailey was born a slave because "the general principle of law that the issue follows the condition of the mother" and that Bailey was unable to "procure a living by personal labor" This first argument was based on a 1681 law and subsequent legislation and jurisprudence stating that the civil rights of children will be the same as their mother; since Bailey was born before Lucy's manumission, regardless of what Longfellow's manumission stipulated, she was a slave. The second argument was based on a large 1796 law that, in part, required manumitted slaves to be physically fit enough to provide a living for themselves and be under the age of 45; since Bailey was at birth dependent on others for care, her manumission was invalid.

The Baltimore City Court rejected both arguments. To the first argument it ruled that Longfellow's pre-emptive manumission of Lucy's children was valid. Anderson could not defeat the "deed in which the destiny of that issue has been freed by the only person whose rights were to be affected by it.” To the second argument it ruled that slaves were an "entirely a distinct property" and it was "undeniable that the owner of female slaves, had the same Kind of distinct interest or property in the future in their future increase that he had in the increase of his flocks and herds and might dispose of them prospectively as use or profits to another master or relinquish his ownership to them as they should be born." The court cited an opinion in the 1823 case Hamilton v. Craggs (1823), which incorporated the opinion of the 1781 Court of Appeals decision in Negro Jack v. Hopewell.

I asked Jennifer Hafner, my supervisor Emily’s office mate, to retrieve the opinion with her Lexis account. In two minutes I had Hamilton v. Craggs, commentary on several key precedent creating cases, and portions of Jack v. Hopewell. In Hopewell the issue was the last will and testament of William Cole dated February 7, 1732. He gave slaves to his wife Elizabeth and ordered them and their increase to be freed and given her lands upon her death. A later instrument granted his wife one of the slaves named previously in the will, who was petitioner's grandmother. The St. Mary’s County Court ruled against the strength of Cole’s will to declare Jack remained a slave. It was appealed to the General Court, which reversed the decision. It was then appealed to the Court of Appeals, which affirmed the General Court’s ruling. Jack’s lawyer J.T. Chase argued that Cole unequivocally granted freedom to slaves not in esse (existence) and, he went on to say:

“[I]t is well established, that either real or personal property may be left to persons not in ease, and who, when born, may receive the benefit of it as fully as if they had been in existence at the death of the devisor”

He continued by reading a portion of another decision:

"...not only that thing may be devised which is truly extent, or hath an apparent being at the making the will, or at the death of the testator, but that thing also which is not is rerum natura while the testator liveth, as the corn which shall be sown or grow in such a soil after his death, or the Lambs which shall come of his flock of Sheep next year…Nor (he said), does any doubt exist respecting the power which every man possesses to give by will a life estate in a personal chattel, with a remainder over."

A lot of jurisprudence was cited in Hamilton v. Craggs. That case itself denied freedom to the son of a manumitted slave who birthed him after her manumission was recorded but years before it was in effect. Craggs also cited Negro Anna v. Woodburn Adm’r. of Burroughs (1817). Anna reached a manumission past the legal age of 45 but also inherited quite enough property for her maintenance. Anna’s lawyer argued that the spirit of the law emphasized that the age of 45 was little more than an arbitrary point where a slave may not be able to provide for themselves without support. Anna was over 45 but had sufficient property to meet the spirit of the law. The court saw differently and explained the age and maintenance conditions must be met before a manumission is valid regardless of “adventitious” circumstances. Despite this poor outcome the opinion was apparently useful to, or benign to Chase in support Bailey’s petition.

The Baltimore City Court awarded Bailey her freedom and $8.83.

Anderson appealed the decision to the Court of Appeals for the Western Shore, which reversed the lower court decision. Declaring "[the judgment] be revoked, annulled and held entirely as void and that the said John Anderson be restored to all things which by reason of the judgment to the foresaid he hath lost; and...that there should be a new trial." The results of this new trial are unknown because the Baltimore City Court dockets and minutes are not available for this period.

By the 1840 census Anderson's fortunes improved and his twenty person household included six free persons of color, probably farm laborers, and six slaves; he is listed as having two female slaves under 10 years old and one female slave between the ages of 36 and 55. Bailey would have been 24 in 1840. By the 1850 census Anderson owned a single eighteen year old female slave.

Alex Champion--Maryland State Archives

Skyla S. Hearn: Week X

Last week, May 17^th through May 20^th I had the time of my life. The excitement began Friday night. I took a flight from Chicago to Atlanta to spend the weekend with my younger sister-cousin, Tia, to celebrate her matriculation from graduate school. She earned a Master of Art in Education from (the HBCU) Clark Atlanta University. The weekend was monumental. President Obama spoke at the Morehouse graduation on Saturday. Taronda Spencer, the college historian and archivist at Spelman University died Sunday morning. Sunday morning into the early afternoon I attended the best Sunday service I have ever attended in my life. Monday morning, with the hot Georgia sun beaming on my head and body, I, along with hundreds of others cheered on as our loved ones graduated from Clark Atlanta University. Less momentously, the rapper Chief Keith was being arrested for nefarious behaviors, also somewhere in Atlanta, during my stay.

 

African American history/herstory seems to be weaved into the fabric of my daily life. I could successfully argue that African American history/herstory is all around us and takes place in every conversation---I’ve had over the last nine months with either Michael Flug or Beverly Cook, my supervisors at the Harsh Research Collection.

 

 

When I shared with Michael that I was visiting my cousin in Atlanta, he jokingly asked if she lived in “one of those” gated communities. A lot of information was unpacked from that statement. The conversation went on for minutes to reveal that my cousin does not live in a gated community that supports class separation amongst African Americans. I wasn’t surprised to learn about such communities but it didn’t occur to me to think of such communities in the hospitable South---or at least not in African American communities in the hospitable South.

 

After that conversation, he encouraged me to meet with his good friend Taronda Spencer, the college historian and archivist at Spelman. I thought it would be a great idea especially since my cousin is also a Spelman Sister, which would provide her the opportunity to meet another Spelman Sister, etc. Unfortunately, Taronda and I would never have the opportunity to meet. Another link in unmet events for the weekend include a visit to the Woodruff Library. I read that the Teenie Harris photograph exhibit was on display at the Woodruff so we drove there to learn the building was closed due to graduation.

 

During the professional development calls, which have taken place once a month throughout the fellowship, the fellows engage in conversation with archival professionals---various types of archivists, directors of archival repositories and so on. Our first call was with the wonderful women at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh who were, at the time, working on the Teenie Harris Photograph Collection. We later spoke with Andrea Jackson, of the Atlanta University Center---Woodruff Library is one of the libraries in Andrea’s consortium.

Patrons at the Teenie Harris Exhibit at the CMA in Pittsburgh

Sometimes conversations and interactions are like attributing intellectual control over an artificial collection, when it begins the ending is completely unknown…

 

 

Skyla S. Hearn: Archives of an Archival Fellow Pt.II

As-Salaam Alaikum  (Peace be unto you!)
There have been some shining moments in my life this past week, which I will get to but I wanted to share with you a tad about today's experience before I 'talk' your 'ear' off about last week. Sometimes I feel golden. Yesterday I was surprised with  an offer of two tickets to Saviors Day. Considering my line of work, one that regards every human interaction with the elders as a "once in a lifetime opportunity" I was more than elated to accept the tickets, reschedule plans and make our (my daughter and my) way to the UIC Pavillion by 2pm. I'll spare you the details of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan's address, which was filled with advice and information we could all learn from regardless of spiritual backgrounds and political affiliations, but I will tell you that when he walked to the stage with thousands of people, including minime and me, standing, applauding and cheering with adoration tears streamed down my cheeks... Louis Farrakhan is more than a spiritual leader, educator, and activist. He's also a grandfather, father, husband and overall honorable man. I was beyond moved to be in his presence. And would be ever elated to one day maintain his archival collection!

 

 

Hon. Elijah Muhammad, Hon. Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Master W. Fard Muhammad

The 2013 Saviours' Day convention marks the 83rd year of the Nation of Islam's existence in North America. Each year, to commemorate the birth of its founder Master W. Fard Muhammad (February 26, 1877), thousands of members and supporters of the Nation of Islam from around the world make the journey to attend the annual convention during the last week of February for a weekend of fellowship, networking, information dissemination and spiritual renewal. Also during Saviours' Day, some of the best academic minds, entertainers and activists come together for strategizing, organizing and mobilization. The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan's Saviours' Day messages are always timely as he marvelously deals with current events, spiritual realities, prophecies and solutions to the problems plaguing the Black community in particular and humanity in general. The Saviours' Day 2013 Keynote Address is scheduled to be delivered in Chicago, IL., on Sunday, February 24. (This information was obtained from the following website: http://www.noi.org/sd2013/about.shtml)

 

Father Phleger and Reverend Willie T. Barrow were also in attendance and seated close by the Minister as he spoke. When Minister Farrakhan referred to Mother Reverend Barrow my heart did a back flip. I whispered to my daughter that Rev. Barrow aka "The Little Warrior" was best friends with Reverend Addie Wyatt and that they "came up" in the struggle together. How wonderful, I thought that she was in attendance for Saviors Day, revered by the Minister and seated on the stage for all to see. I realize that the time may have passed to witness some of The Greats as they were in their  heyday but I will happily take any opportunity I'm offered to experience them as they are today.

Reverend Willie T. Barrow "The Little Warrior"

Father Michael Phleger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last week was triumphant. I delivered all the image files for "Faith in the Struggle: Rev. Addie Wyatt's Fight for Labor, Civil Rights and Women's Rights"to the vendor, finalized the amount of text panels that I am responsible for writing and began the description of the Wyatt Photograph Collection. Check, check and check. Modern technology is a wonderous and powerful tool when partnered with the proper accompaniments such as updated computers, peripherals, updated software, etc. If all the tools are not aligned then the inevitability of not completing deadlines is imminent so  allow for the predictable unpredictables. That's right. Despite my ability to be the "Don of the Techies", around these parts, I can not man perservered through the anguish of the slowly running and outdated operating system of my heavily relied upon computer but by week's end all the images were delivered to the vendor and the Harsh Archival Processing Team Members in Chicago were able to communicate with our colleague in Corpus Christi, Texas about the text panels and images.

 

 

Inshallah My Good People....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skyla S. Hearn: Archives of an Archival Fellow Pt.I

Mos Def aka Yasiin Bey: Life In Marvelous Times

Feeling Great, Feeling Good. How are You?

We should mark the moments that make our lives exceptional. We often make significant strides to discuss, sometimes at length, the situations and people that have upset us, caused stress, turmoil and dismay. Ultimately, I feel the need to celebrate myself and to celebrate all the people who enable positivity, good feelings and continued happiness that continuously flows through my life source. Like they say, sometimes the smallest things are the biggest and most important. What seems least significant makes strongest impressions. Life is a continuous walk and I'm always prepared for a journey.

The Highlights

Last Thursday, Ms. Beverly Cook, one of my supervisors here at the Woodson Regional Library/Harsh Research Center, and I took a mini-road trip from the south side of Chicago to the North West suburb of Wheaton to acquire the remaining archival collection of Mrs. Glennette Tilly Turner, an educator and historian. If I were to give you one piece of advice, it would be to never trust MapQuest directions. Despite getting turned around several times before reaching Mrs. Tilly Turner's home, we had quite the enjoyable afternoon. Mr. and Mrs. Turner greeted us with warmth, hospitality, tea and ginger bread muffins. In addition, we were extended an invitation to a home cooked meal and to take part in having lunch with friends. Included in the friends were Mrs. Vera and Mrs. Darwin McBeth Walton. What a treat to dine and conversate with such outspoken, exceptional, extremely enlightened, and remarkable women. (Mr. Turner left us ladies to "our time".) Before Thursday, I had (what I thought to be) little knowledge of Mrs. Tilly Turner's contributions and even less knowledge of Mrs. McBeth Walton's. The truth is I knew more about Mrs. Tilly Turner than I realized but some how blocked the information while in her presence, which was that of grace and greatness. When Ms. Cook asked if I wanted to be a part of an "acquistion mission" I jumped at the opportunity because (1) I like to acquire things; (2) I like to interact with people; and (3) I understand the importance of Creators/Donors feeling connected to either the repository or the staff of the repository where their archival collections will be housed. I consider getting to know Creators/Donors an added plus especially since they are entrusting assets to us and are still alive! I didn't take too much time "researching" Mrs. Tilly Turner becasue I wanted to hear from her what I hadn't learned from readings and conversations with Mr. Michael Flug, Archivist Emeritus.

You see, I'm star-struck by people like Mrs. Tilly Turner, Mrs. McBeth Walton, Aaron McGruder (before cartoon network) and so on... They are truly inspirational forces that support original thinking, education, and so on...

Mrs. Glennette Tilly Turner

Mrs. Darwin McBeth Walton

Amanda J. Carter: Week 38 (May 20 – May 26) @ Fisk University



Capers C.M.E. Memorial Church in Nashville, another McKissack construction

 

 

 



McKissack & McKissack Architectural and Engineering Firm Collection

Thirty-eight weeks down and one to go!  Fortunately, I have finished all the major portions of the collection.  I have even created 58 box labels and 848 folder labels and with Evelyn’s help was able to attach just under half of them.  I will add the other half next week.  Barring some minor editing of the scope and content notes, the finding aid is complete except for the blueprints section which will be verified and added next week.  Then I will need to take a few photographs of items in the collection to post to HistoryPin and put the finding aid on CD to send to National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC).  It is so great to see this all coming together just in time to end the fellowship, especially in the face of the various challenges experienced throughout the year.

Early next week our final report is due.  Since I will not be finished with the blueprints section until later in the week, I will be sending in a preliminary finding aid with my paperwork on Tuesday.  Once I finish the blueprints section, I will then send in the completed version.  That means I will probably spend the weekend gathering all of my paperwork over the year so as to condense it into a file to be sent in with the final report.  It will be busy, but well worth it to see the progress of this fellowship from start to finish.            

Future Prospects
I have not had any definite offers as of yet, but I have had multiple interviews so I know that something will be available soon.  I also recently received correspondence with the Human Resources department of one job for which I applied earlier in the month.  They wanted to let me know that a decision will be made within the next few weeks.  All in all, I am not concerned about my future prospects.  I know I am capable of handling an array of archival, special collections, or general library duties so my only hope is that I find a job that is an excellent fit.


Until the next and final week,

Amanda J. Carter

Franklin Library, Fisk University
IMLS HistoryMakers Fellow 2012-2013

Ardra Whitney: Week 37 @ Avery Research Center

Fellowship Extras: A video clip from my trip to the Charleston Museum two Saturdays ago on May 11^th. I had been taken photos of the museum's various exhibits and didn't realize I had switched my iPhone camera to record. Scroll to the end to see more photos of my visit.

Monday, May 13^th - Tuesday, May 14^th:

I continued my processing work on the Virginia Geraty Papers: foldering collection materials, labeling folders and drafting the collection’s finding aid. By Thursday, I had completed work on approximately seven out of nine boxes from the collection. On Tuesday, I finally got a chance to add Cynthia McCottry-Smith’s interview on the Phillis Wheatley Literary and Social Club and Manager of Archival Services, Aaron Spelbring’s interview on the Abolitionist Map of America project to Avery’s Z: drive. Avery’s Resident Scholar, Dr. Dwana Waugh and myself have been trying to upload these interviews for some time now but there always seemed to be some computer issue preventing us from doing so. I remember one time when we were trying to upload the interviews, the computer we were working on didn't have the Z: drive mapped to it. Another time, we tried burning the interviews to CDs but the files were too big to transfer. At any rate, they’re on there now. Phew!

At noon, I corresponded with Processing Archivist, Georgette Mayo and Administrative Assistant, Savannah Frierson, via e-mail about enlisting the help of some volunteers to assist me with wrapping up processing on the Virginia Geraty Papers. Ms. Frierson and I drafted an announcement calling for volunteers, which she out to students in the Avery Scholars program. The scholarship program was established to increase enrollment at the College of Charleston of “first generation, underserved and economically disadvantaged students.”

Wednesday, May 15^th - Thursday, May 16^th:

In the morning, I prepared a brief report on my work to-date at Avery Research Center for this month’s final IMLS Fellows Conference Call with The HistoryMakers. After that I checked my College of Charleston e-mail account and saw I had received an e-mail from student, Jada Nicole Brown; expressing her interest in volunteering for the Virginia Geraty Papers processing project. I was thrilled to her response and happily replied— asking her about her availability. Now I’m just waiting to hear back from her, so we can arrange her volunteer schedule. Also on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, I updated Avery’s Facebook and Twitter pages with posts about African American history, culture and current events. Doing this gave me the opportunity to check out Virtual Photo Walks on Google+ and YouTube. Viewing the project made me think it might be a viable social networking tool to promote tours of Avery online, in addition to walking tours pertaining to black history in Charleston.

Friday, May 17^th:

I returned to Beaufort, SC to continue my research on the Beaufort District Collection’s materials relating to Hoodoo and African American folk magic traditions. Librarian, Charmaine Seabrook took photos of former Beaufort Sheriff J.E. McTeer’s scrapbooks for me to include in my poster presentation for the 2013 SAA Conference in New Orleans. Earlier in the week, Librarian, Grace Cordial sent me a request form for permission to publish reproductions and graphic images from the Beaufort County Library; I completed and printed the form to give to her once I had uploading the scrapbook images to my computer. Afterwards I reviewed materials I didn’t get to see during my first trip, like typed correspondence from Albert F. Sulprizio suggesting ways McTeer could secure funds for a motion picture of his book: Fifty Years as a Low Country Witch Doctor.

While the Beaufort County Library holds personal collection items from Sheriff J.E. McTeer, it holds none from McTeer’s infamous rival, Stephaney Robinson, a.k.a “Doctor Buzzard”. My research left me wondering if there was a relative, friend or some other person connected to Robinson that I could contact to learn more about him. Luckily, one of the items I discovered during my research at the library was an article on Artists, Andy and Bernice Mitchell Tate. Back in December the husband and wife created an art exhibit based on the legends and factual history of Doctor Buzzard. Mrs. Tate also had an exhibit at Avery in September of 2012, titled: Remembering “Her” Time. The exhibit was a tribute to Tate’s mother, Veronica Robinson-Mitchell, and explored the collective spirit of African-American female identity and womanhood. I am making plans to contact Mrs. Tate, so that she can share with me what she and her husband learned about Doctor Buzzard in preparation for their exhibit, Doctuh Buzzard’s Rootworks. 

Fellowship Extras Continued:

Free Badge: Copper, Charleston, 1783-1789. "Like the copper labor badges issued to working slaves in Charleston, free badges were dispensed as a method for identifying 'free negroes' within Charleston's city limits".

 Indigo: Natural Blue Dye in the Lowcountry— An Original Exhibition.
"Because of its range of blue color and lightfastness, [indigo] was easily the most popular natural blue dye for many centuries. Before the advent of synthetic dyes in 1856, all yarn and fabric was dyed with natural dyestuffs. Indigo, a leguminous plant grown in many parts of the world, did not thrive in Europe. Obtaining quality, affordable indigo was a challenge for Europeans and colonists until the 18th century when a young girl from the South Carolina Lowcountry, named Eliza Lucas Pinckney, achieved this goal. Carrying out her father’s instructions with the benefit of an enslaved labor force, Pinckney succeeded in making the South Carolina Lowcountry a prime cultivator of indigo, which in turn allowed the plant to become a rich cash crop— second only to rice."

The Loeblein Gallery of Charleston Silver displays a number of exquisite works dating from the colonial era through to the Victorian age.

Chamber pots on display in the museum's bathroom entrance.

Privy trivia on the back of the bathroom stalls.

Archives Radio

This past week was more eventful than usual inasmuch as I was involved with two events--a radio interview on the Eastern Shore and a presentation in Annapolis. On Thursday the 16th, senior Legacy of Slavery in Maryland employee Maya Davis and I traveled to Cambridge, MD in Dorchester County to be interviewed by Dr. Kay McElvey on WCEM-AM 1240. A little over two months ago the Maryland State Archives help desk forwarded an unsolicited interview request from the station's administrative assistant; my supervisors Chris Haley and Emily Oland-Squires recommended (and I agreed) Maya join me because she was with the program longer than anyone.

Cambridge Radio

Since Maya works in a separate office, I do not know her well personally. During the one hour and ten minute drive (which became 1 1/2 for unknown traffic congestion reasons) she talked about the various internships and projects she performed for work and school. One of them included a survey of various sites associated with Harriet Tubman who was from Dorchester County. The Eastern Shore's highways were nearly level with the expansive cultivated scenery unlike the Western Shore where landscaping, walls, and trees give the feeling of being boxed in. It was pleasant to see many names of families and roads familiar to me through examinations of the Strong and Martenet maps on the LOSIM Website.

Despite my fears of tardiness we arrived moments before Dr. Kay herself. Although it was a warm day regardless, the woman before me radiated her own warmth as we shook hands and started our pre-interview; her information packet about me included a clipping from a periodical concerning my first public presentation on Kent Island in February. She was so friendly yet officious that I felt like we learned equally as much about her in just ten minutes of talking. Once we entered the studio she and the technician ran us through the time blocks for content and commercials, what aspects of ourselves or LOSIM's work would be covered, and the meaning of time signals given by the technician behind the sound-proof glass.


The hour went incredibly fast and it is difficult to remember what exactly was said over the air. It felt more like the three of us were simply continuing our conversation from earlier. At some point Dr. Kay proclaimed I had an excellent voice and, just barely over her breath, claimed she would tap me for a play she was involved with. I took the lead by providing LOSIM work samples including runaway ads pertinent to the Cambridge, MD area. She had me read two; the first concerned a runaway from a community Dr. Kay lived in while the other was a $3,100 reward for two dozen escaped slaves whose owner's were thoroughly researched last year. Since it would not make great radio to simply read the slave owner case studies which I brought, we closed with a discussion about the broad definition that LOSIM uses to fit under the Underground Railroad umbrella and the importance of identifying slave agency.

Dr. Kay was concerned that too few black children understand slavery partly because they see it as a source of shame and degradation. The majority of the slaves researched by the LOSIM however were fighting against their bondage or the bondage of others--demonstrating the opposite perspective of blacks as the beneficiaries, pawns, or victims of the white male establishment. I closed the interview by borrowing a page from my former colleague's David Armenti's book and played up the value of local resources to education local populations. On the Eastern Shore, where people are very proud of their local cultures and ways, that could make all the difference.

Know Your Rights

Saturday May 18 was my final presentation for LOSIM. Arranged earlier this year, Allison Seyler, Tanner Sparks, and I presented on Maryland slave and slave ownership history as they concerned the legal system. I again talked about Indian Moll and her descendants' claims against John P. Paca, the son of a Founding Father William Paca, but also shared the stories of Negro Adam (1789) and the descendants of Edward Green (1808).

Whereas the descendants of Moll used over a century of precedent stemming from a 1681 law stipulating that the civil rights condition (slave or free) follows the mother, I presented Adam as a slave attempting to use Delaware law to be freed. The court records do not say how he argued for his freedom but my research into secondary sources and finally the laws of the General Assembly of Delaware yielded two key laws that would work to Adam's advantage. These laws, in 1787 and 1789, heavily restricted interstate slave trade and horribly punished citizens who broke the law and Delaware-based merchants who participated in even the international slave trade. Adam lost his petition because the defense convincingly argued that, although he lived with his mistress in Delaware for several years and she still resided there, he was legally entailed to the unsettled estate of her late husband.

In the case of Edward Green I used his 1801 manumission by Edward Strong to highlight Maryland's efforts to regulate manumissions at the county and agency level. Because Green's manumission did not contain the required information and was entered into evidence, the defendant appealed the case on a technicality. Thankfully for Green's descendents the appeals court sustained the lower court's ruling and they were freed. My regret about the Green case study is that I will probably never learn why his descendents submitted his manumission into evidence; as far as I know there is no legal consequence of having a free male relative.
Allison Seyler spoke of the resurgence of slave owner petitions to retrieve slaves following the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Using the case study of Edward Prigg, Allison explored the role Maryland played in the most significant piece of pre-Dred Scott slave jurisprudence in Prigg v. Pennsylvania. Prigg was hired by the widow of miller John Ashmore to retrieve Margaret Morgan who, having never been claimed a slave by Ashmore's estate, had moved to Pennsylvania where she had several children with a free black. In violation of Pennsylvania's personal liberty laws, Prigg disregarded their civil rights under the presumption they were chattel and brought them to Maryland. Pennsylvania demanded he return for punishment and Maryland refused to extradite him. The United States Supreme Court voided Pennsylvania's charge against Prigg but did not demand states or municipalities assist slave catchers if prohibited by law. This safety valve eventually closed with the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and Dred Scott v. Sandford in 1857; people in free states felt they were losing sovereignty to slave interests in the national government and people in slave states were reminded of the looming danger to property and way of life in a country half free and half slave.

Tanner Sparks presented on his work with the United States Colored Troops, a topic I've previously written about. This time he showed different pension paperwork that included a 1901 medical examiner's description of whip scars on pensioner and Grand Army of the Republic member Robert Riley. Tanner has worked with scores of USCT research subjects but never previously encountered such detail.

The audience surveys which followed the presentation were very encouraging. Of the fifteen, the two most negative comments I found were 1) despite running nearly two hours with Q&A it was "too short" and 2) we talked too quickly. A handful of people (3) wrote that they learned only a little, a grade below "Learned A Lot" (12) but a grade above "Nothing New" (0).

Alex Champion--Maryland State Archives

Amanda J. Carter: Week 37 (May 13 – May 19) @ Fisk University

McKissack & McKissack Architectural and Engineering Firm Collection

Last week I was able to finish processing all of the boxes in the collection.  I was even able to insert the two boxes of materials into the existing arrangement and merge all of the boxes together which resulted in a total of 58 boxes: 46 typical “Hollinger” boxes, four boxes that will remain closed due to the inclusion of personal information, four oversized (tall) boxes, two oversized (flat) boxes, and two boxes specially made to contain the blueprints.  However, the collection is not yet complete.  I still need to finish the historical note on the company, write the biographical note on Calvin McKissack (Moses McKissack’s biography is completed), and then verify and/or revise where necessary the scope and content notes for each series.  I also need to print and place the box and folder labels and create two CDs of the finding aid: one to be stored here at Franklin Library and the other to be sent to the Library of Congress National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC).  Finally, I will be posting a few choice images of items from the collection to HistoryPin. 

I am very excited for this collection to be coming together just in time to end the fellowship.  I know that there were some concerns early-on that the size of this collection might prohibit completion within the given nine months, but I have dedicated myself to working on this collection to ensure that it is open and accessible to researchers by the time that I leave this position.  I am thrilled beyond measure not only because it appears that I am meeting my goal, but also because this collection contains vital information on the black community in the South, and especially in Nashville, during the mid-twentieth century.      

Interesting Finds

The last interesting find in this collection is a hand-drawn image on onionskin paper of the residence of Mr. Moses McKissack.  This item was found rolled up at the bottom of a box of old and fragile blueprints.  Mr. Michael Powell was showing me how he was going to use a humidifying chamber to unroll the remaining fragile blueprints when we came across Mr. McKissack's residence at the very bottom of the box.  It was not as fragile as the rest so I used weights to flatten it as opposed to using the humidifying chamber.  I find it fascinating that this seemingly fragile drawing on onionskin paper has proven more durable than the actual blueprints under which it was hidden.   

Future Prospects

Over the last few months, I have been applying to library and/or archives positions.  I initially began applying all over the country, but soon decided that I wanted to stay near Nashville, Tennessee, since my family has decided to move to the area.  I have had a few call-backs lately, but last week I also had two in-person interviews.  I had forgotten how much I enjoyed in-person interviews, since I have not had one in a while.  They seem to be going the way of the rotary phone, especially when interviewing for positions outside of my immediate vicinity.  The interviews restored some of my hope in finding a job once this fellowship is complete, so I am now more excited than ever to find a position with a group of lovely people who enjoy spreading information and working with primary sources as much as I do.  I have only two more weeks left, but everything seems to be coming together quite naturally.         

Until next time,

Amanda J. Carter
Franklin Library, Fisk University
IMLS HistoryMakers Fellow 2012-2013

Ardra Whitney: Week 36 @Avery Research Center

It's gettin' to be that time...

Monday, May 6^th:

With the conclusion of the fellowship approaching, I was asked by Assistant Director, Deborah Wright to submit an essay on my residency experience at Avery Research Center for inclusion in the Center’s newsletter. I spent the weekend reflecting on my growth and development from these past eight months at Avery and reviewing old blog entries and monthly reports, so that by Monday I was able to submit the requested article to Ms. Wright—along with two brief announcements on recent collections I had processed.

Tuesday, May 7^th - Thursday, May 9^th:

Throughout the week, I continued foldering collection materials and labeling folders from the Virginia Geraty Papers. By Friday, I had completed roughly four and a half of the collection’s nine boxes. Also, in preparation for finalizing processing on the collection’s educational and instructional material series, I asked Processing Archivist, Georgette Mayo about retention rules governing student work in South Carolina. The series contains Gullah language exercises completed by former students of Geraty, so I wanted to confirm whether or not I would have to separate these items for restriction in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), which protects the privacy of student education records.

Friday, May 10^th:

On Friday morning, Ms. Mayo and I walked over to the College of Charleston’s Addlestone Library to attend a presentation on managing 21^st century academic archives from Bobby R. Holt—a prospective candidate for the library’s Head of Special Collections position. I enjoyed Mr. Holt’s points about needing to change students’ perception of archives, as well as the importance of implementing aggressive outreach initiatives to draw students in, and building relationships with other academic libraries and archives through partnerships. After Holt’s presentation, I returned to Avery and posted photos from the C.A. Brown High School yearbooks, which had been scanned at Trident Technical College - Palmer Campus, to Black in the Lowcountry’s Tumblr page.

Ardra Whitney: Week 35 @ Avery Research Center

 

Monday, April 29^th - Tuesday, April 30^th:

I continued my work on the Virginia Geraty Papers by removing the metal spiral bindings from the collection’s 227 notebooks and foldering them individually. On Tuesday afternoon, I attended Avery’s weekly staff meeting where we discussed: collection and historic property assessment grants, opportunities to present on Avery’s archival collections, developing a free people of color and Philip Simmons walking tour app in partnership with Lowcountry Digital Library, educational tours and visits, Avery’s summer internship program, hanging the Cox family plaques for public viewing, recent acquisitions to Avery’s archives, and the deadline for Avery Messenger submissions—the Center’s quarterly newsletter. Before concluding my day, I contacted James Auclair at WBGH Stock Sales to inquire about using a screen shot of the Abolitionist Map of America as part of my Archivists and Archives of Color Roundtable (AACR) Newsletter article submission.

Wednesday, May 1^st - Friday, May 3^rd:

In the latter half of the week, I updated Avery’s Facebook and Twitter pages with posts pertaining to African American history, culture and current events. For example, since May starts off graduation season in the U.S., I shared an article on Facebook about Architect, Philip Freelon—lead designer for the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.—delivering the commencement address at his alma mater, North Carolina State University. I also continued drafting the finding aid for the Virginia Geraty Papers; researching Library of Congress subject headings and filling in the collection arrangement section. On Friday, I submitted the article I had written on my interview with Manager of Archival Services, Aaron Spelbring and his digitization work for Abolitionist Map of America project to the AACR Newsletter Editor, Stacie Williams. A day prior to e-mailing the article, I took a few snapshots of Mr. Spelbring in front of Avery’s digital scanning workstation to include with the submission. After the photo session (lol), I had the pleasure of viewing the tribute book from the Craft and Crum Families collection, which Mr. Spelbring had mentioned during our interview. I asked to see it because he said it contained the signature of noted abolitionist and author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe. When he showed me Stowe’s signature, I was in awe. The opportunity to observe this important and valuable piece of history reinforced for me how truly awesome and rewarding it is to be an archivist.

Amanda J. Carter: Week 36 (May 6 – May 12) @ Fisk University

McKissack & McKissack Architectural and Engineering Firm Collection

I am finally working on the last box of the collection!  There are still about two boxes of materials that will need to be inserted into the existing arrangement, but that should not take long once this last box is processed.  The last box contains black and white photographs ranging from documentation of the McKissacks’ construction work at Tennessee State University to personal family photographs that could possible date back to the 1920s.  Most of the negatives found can be matched to these photographs, yet some of the negatives appear to be unique in that they may not have the accompanying developed image.  I originally thought that I would be able to get through this box of photographs in a couple of days, but due to the number of photographs it may actually be into next week before I can finish.  I would estimate that there are at minimum 300 photographs and negatives.    

Mrs. Evelyn Jones, the volunteer who has been helping me with the collection, will also be helping me finalize the arrangement.  Since she is only here on Monday and Wednesday mornings, we will use that time to come together and ensure that the physical arrangement of the collection matches the inventory in the finding aid.  Currently, all series are grouped into their own boxes.  What we will do is to merge the boxes together in alphabetical order according to the series and then in chronological order for the projects series.  Mrs. Jones’ help will be much appreciated so that this process will be more expedient since one of us can read from the finding aid while the other can ensure or adjust the physical documents as needed.

Once we have finalized the arrangement, we will then print labels and attach them to the boxes and folders.  The final steps are to make a CD and send the metadata to National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC).  I will then take a few photographs of items within the collection to post to HistoryPin.  Since a processing archivist’s work is never finished considering the backup in most archives, depending on the amount of time I have left after finishing this one, I may process another small collection.  However, my main goal is to ensure that this one is fully processed and accessible for researchers, so I want to ensure its completion before I consider another project.   

Note the heading above has changed from “William McKissack Papers” to “McKissack & McKissack Architectural and Engineering Firm Collection.”  This title change is intended to more accurately describe the collection.  While it appears that these papers were given to Franklin Library at Fisk University by William DeBerry McKissack, the overwhelming majority of the records document the architectural firm’s business dealings during the mid-twentieth century.  Not only does the documentation revolve around the firm itself, but the personal information found within the collection relates to Moses and Calvin McKissack, the founders, as opposed to donor William McKissack.  This further supports my decision to alter the name of the collection to better describe the contents. 

Interesting Finds

The photographs are all very interesting.  There are photographs that document the progress of projects on Tennessee State University’s campus (then known as Tennessee State A & I College).  Almost all of these images have a date on the back of the photograph.  There are four photographs of a fire at one of the College Hill buildings.  There are also photographs of what appears to be travel to another country.  Images of beautiful architecture abound.  Then there are photographs of people.  These people are either part of the McKissack family or members of various groups, such as the Knights of Pythias, in which the McKissack’s were involved.  Due to the obscurity, the most unique finds in my opinion are the negatives that do not match any of the photographs in the collection.  It certainly adds mystery!

Book Contributions

I am honored that Dr. Jessie Carney-Smith has asked me to contribute some biographical sketches to a book she is working on about women of the Harlem Renaissance.  Not only do I love to learn about women’s history, but I also love to write so I am excited to research and write about influential women who may not have otherwise had their place in history preserved without Dr. Smith’s efforts. 

Until next time,

Amanda J. Carter
Franklin Library, Fisk University
IMLS HistoryMakers Fellow 2012-2013