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We have transformed this page into a blog on the work in which our project is involved. The work of exploring and explaining the Underground Railroad in our region and our region's relationship to the UGR across the country continues to unfold. We would like to use this blog format - so popular today - to share aspects of the story as they develop. January 24, 2010 - Grant Awards - Meeting Covers Stewardship
1. Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region is pleased to announce the receipt of a grant from the Art Center for the Capital Region for work on the annual conference. Also we have received a grant from the New York Council for the Humanities for the conference. We are very pleased to receive this support. It will go toward making the 2009 conference at the end of February an outstanding event.
2. January 21-23, 2010 saw the gathering of representative of about 30 African American Hertitage Site representatives at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Paul and Mary Liz Stewart went represneting URHPCR. The meeting was convened by the National Trust for Historic Preservation Northeast Office. States represented included all of New England, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The program included workshops and speakers focusing on the topic of sustainability for the sites. Fundraising, grants, management and stewardship of resources were among the topics discussed by speakers.
1. Welcome to the new year! Our board met January 13th and nominated officers for the upcoming year. These will be confirmed at the annual meeting at the February conference. They are Al DeDalvo for President, Erin Tobin for Vice President, Paul Stewart for Treasurer and Joe Cavazos for Secretary.
2. Register NOW for the February Underground Railroad Conference! There so many exciting things happening in this program. Great speakers, music, books, gifts, and wonderful discussion. Activities for young and old alike, students and teachers, scholars and the non-scholarly. See the conference registration section for details.
December 31, 2009 - Welcoming The New Year
It's December 31st and the new year is just tomorrow. This has been a year with lots of excitement for the project. Our Historic Structure Report was published in February putting into print one of the most comprehensive sketches of the life and work of Stephen and Harriet Myers available. A grant through the 1772 Foundation was welcomed to help with the work on the Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence. Another wonderful conference with exciting speakers and scholars took place in February. The wonderful sponsorship of Union Collge allowed the Schenectady program to be extra-special. In April we had a wonderful Jazz Event program. Construction started at the Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence with a contracting company in May. In July a wonderful program for the 4th of July drew a large crowd to the rear yard of 194 Livingston. Our project was celebrated through Scholar In Residence status for the co-founders and an office at Russell Sage College. We started planning for the 2011 conference this year. Two trips to Canada by the co-founders allowed new connections for the project. We finally heard from the Department of the Interior regarding our advocacy for the Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence to be granted National Landmark Status. We have also ventured into the world of Face Book to augment our web site and mailing list for outreach to project supporters.
Some things are easy to predict for the coming year for the project. We will be working to strengthen our relationship with Russell Sage College and the other colleges in the area. We will be looking forward to doing more work with students. Hopefully there will be advances with the National Landmark efforts. We will celebrate another year of walking tours and conference program. If all goes well we may be in a position to have the Myers Resdience open on some kind of basis by the end of the year. Other things are not so easy to predict.
At any rate we wish you all a happy and prosperous new year! Stay with us, as there is much work to be done.
The long awaited installation of electric power to allow the basement to be heated over the winter has finally happened. After a confusing information from National Grid and others the pieces finally fell into place for power to be installed. On this first day of winter at the winter the temperature was a milder 30 degrees allowing the work to progress.
December 16, 2009 - Working To Obtain National Landmark Status
Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region has been working to obtain National Landmark Status for the Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence. While it is unclear if it will obtain that staus it is hoped that it will get that designation. This is the highest designation for any historic property. URHPCR certainly thinks the Myers Residence deserves it. We have been in touch with Congressman McNulty in the past and now Congressman Tonko regarding this status.
In late November we received correspondence from the Department of the Interior regarding the Myers Residence. The letter seemed daunting in terms of what kind of information it asked for to help further elaborate the importance of the Myers Residence. We readily engaged responding to it in as much as the Myers Residnce and Stephen and Harriet Myers is an important story in the larger story of the Underground Railroad.
You can read the DOI letter here: Department of the Interior Letter.
You can read our response to the DOI letter here: Response to the DOI Letter.
We invite you to give us feed back on these two letters. Write us at info@ugrworkshop.com
On November 17th Paul and Mary Liz were welcomed as "Scholars in Residence" at Sage College in Troy. This honor benefits the project by giving it access to the campus facilities, student workers, interns and the help of the college. In turn the college becomes associated with the work of the project allowing its students wider experiences and opportunities for community involvement. Some pictures from the reception at Buchman Pavilion are shown here.
November 15, 2009 - Reception At Sage for URHPCR Office
You are invited to join with The Sage Colleges, Troy and URHPCR at a reception celebrating the opening of the new RHPCR office at the Troy Campus of the Sage Colleges. The reception, to be held in Buchman Pavilion, is planned for Tuesday, November 17th from 4:30-6pm. Organized and hosted by TSC, Troy, Sharon Robinson, Dean of the Russell Sage College, and Susan Scirmshaw, President, will join us in the launching of this new partnership.
Dean Robinson, along with Andor Skotnes, Professor of History of the Americas at The Sage Colleges, Troy have been instrumental in facilitating this partnership. We look forward to all that this office and the association with
The Sage Colleges will make possible for our project and for The Sage Colleges.
You can read the Gazette article about this event here: Gazette article November 14, 2009.
On November 11th a team from Tilly Architects came up to visit the Myers Residence and look over the work that had been done by Western Restorations Company, Inc. The team consisted of Stephen Tilly, Bob Gabowsky, Elizabeth Martin and Andreus Hubener. They reviewed the building and the work that had been done and Stephen Tilly gives an assessment in the video below.
The team arrives in photo on left while URHPCR Board Member John Inman discusses with Elizabeth Martin in the photo on the right.
Two views of the building as it looks this November 2009.
October 25, 2009 - Spectres of Liberty Produces Video
Last year a group of art students (Olivia Robinson, Josh MacPhee, and Dara Greenwald) put together something called Spectres of Liberty. This project was intended to tell aspects of the story of the Underground Railroad through art installations. What they did was to create an installation that showed Liberty Church of Troy. Liberty Church was an important place in connection with the Underground Railroad. They accompanied their installation with a web site. We include a link to that web site here. We are pleased to say that our project here provided some insight for them into the story of the chuch. I must also say that Paul is honored to have had a clip of his voice used in their video. You can see the web site here Spectres of Liberty and the video more directly here Spectres of Liberty video.
October 11, 2009 - Fall's Opportunities Develop
Our big news of having an office at Russell Sage College is moving forward. We plan a reception for November 17th from 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm in the Buckman Pavillion. The office is in Gurley Hall of Sage College in Troy, NY. It is room 101-E. Susan Scrimshaw, the President of the college, is expected to be on hand as well as some faculty including Andor Skotnes of the History Department. Professor Skotnes has helped facilitate the arrangements toward getting office space at Sage. We look forward to all that this office and the association with the college will make possible for our project.
A wondeful walking tour took place on October 11, 2009 with a group of students from the State University at Albany. Another tour will take place October 24th from the Visitor Center in Albany at 1:00 p.m. by request of a student group from the State University. Pictures fromt he walking tour are below.
Look for URHPCR on You Tube, and Face Book. We uploaded our first video on You Tube and we maintain a fan page on Face Book.
The past couple of months seem to have rushed by as so many things have taken place. As we stand at the end of September we look forward to many opportunities. Mary Liz and Paul attended the Buxton Reunion program in Ontario, Canada at the beginning of September. Besides re-connecting with the people from the Tubman Institute at York University in Toronto (who attended the event) we made new contacts with key people from the Buxton, Ontario community. We also had discussions with the folks from Buxton about possibilities of their involvement in 2011 UGRR Conference here in the Capital Region.
A second trip about mid-September was to the National Network to Freedom conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. This program had two days of workshops and two days of tours of UGRR sites in Indiana. We just went for the workshops. It was a wonderful program featuring many scholars and workshops around practical approaches for UGRR sites pursuing programs. We had the pleasure of meeting Keith Griffler, Margaret Washington and many other noted UGRR scholars. Also in attendance were some of our familiar scholars such as Kate Clifford Larson, and Tom Calarco. Mary Liz and Paul made many contacts and some that will be useful for future conferences or to otherwise advance the URHPCR programs.
In early September we had a wonderful group from the College of Saint Rose for the September 11th National Service Day to help with maintnance tasks at the Myers Residence and associated properties. One of the students, Rebecca, did a short video and spoke about what the students were doing for National Service Day. The students worked with enthusiasm and made the event fun.
In the coming weeks Paul talk with a group of planners who will be touring Arbor Hill on October 1st and will speak at a brown bag lunch program on October 8th in Saratoga Springs at the Public Library. There will be walking tours on October 11th and October 25th. A work day at the Myers Residence is scheduled for October 3rd - Please volunteer (call 518-432-4432 for details). On October 24th Paul and Mary Liz will speak to a Geography Conference through a workshop in the Albany area.
Russell Sage College has offered URHPCR office space at the College. This will be a great opportunity to boost the project through student support and provide a place where research materials and equipment can be housed. In addition this will provide a unique opportunity to collaborate with the college on grants and other projects. We will still be working on the Myers Residence and many walking tours will still be held in Albany. The Troy office will also give us a boost in organizing Troy support and doing research in Ressselaer County. We will be able to post the location as soon as details are worked out. July 29, 2009 - Long and Busy Summer
The summer seems to be rushing by. While there have been many events and some are coming up there has not been time to chronicle them all. Last Sunday, for instance, one fellow who came from Virginia was in the area and asked for a tour under the Erie Canal Heritage Tour program. We accomodated this one individual because the Canal program is new and we want to see that source of participation increase. It was fun to give a tour to one person but perhaps not as cost efficient as one would like.
We had two nice group tours that happened for June and July on the scheduled times. The group sizes were nice and the people very focused and interested.
Construction at the Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence is at a pause while the engineeers discuss - through a very cumbersome process - how aspects of the shoring should be done. We hope the shoring can be done and finished soon so some other aspect of the construction can be pursued.
As we head into August our next walking tour is Sunday, August 16th at 1 pm beginning at the Albany Heritage Area Visitor Center at Quakenbush Square. $10 for adults and free for young people under 16. An RSVP would be nice too to 432-4432 if you are planning to attend. And the next Myers Residence and properties work party is scheduled for August 8th from 9am to 1pm. Bring your gloves and yard tools. Please RSVP if possible but you are welcome regardless. There will also be a General Conference Planning meeting for the 2010 conference Monday, August 3 from 7-9pm at Eileen Kawola's house - 39 Academy Road, Albany. Please RSVP to Mary Liz at 465-8708 or 432-4432 as space is limited.
In September Mary Liz and Paul will be heading for the Buxton Family Reunion conference in Ontario, Canada. Buxton is near Chatham, Ontario. It is a place where a community of Freedom Seekers settled in the pre-civil war period. It is an interesting part of Canadian history and a vital link to American Underground Railroad history. There will be many scholars there and other leaders in the movement to restore and tell the story of the Underground Railroad. This event takes place in early September.
We will also be attending the national conference of the Friends of the National Network to Freedom. This will be in Indianapolis, Indiana in mid-September. Both of these conferences will help us in our knowledge and understanding of the Underground Railroad story as well as provide important contacts as we work toward the 2010 and 2011 local conferences. The 2011 conference in particular will be the 10th conference we have done here locally and it has been styled an "international confernece" by the URHPCR conference committee. That is to say there will be speaker and issues that reach beyond the United States - as the story of the Underground Railroad has shown itself to be more than just United States history. Those escaping from slavery in the US also traveled to many other countries with Canada only being the most well known and the country receiving the largest number of refugees.
For July 4th Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region invited A. J. Williams-Myers, professor of Black Studies at State University of New York at New Paltz, to provide an address that was something of an update on Frederick Douglass' 1852 speech "What To The Slave Is Your 4th of July". So on July 4th (rather than 5th as with Douglass' speech) more than 60 people gathered in the back yard of the Myers Residence to hear professor Williams-Myers. It was a beautiful day for the most part. Some dark clouds threatened rain but the rain never came and sun returned to continue a fine day. Black Dimentions In Art (BDA, an arts organization) displayed a quilt that had been done by Pat Murray, one of its members. The quilt is to be donated to the Myers Residence when restoration is completed.
June 18, 2009 - Links Donate To Project
In a program at the Best Western Soverign Hotel in Albany on June 17 the Albany District Links Chapter donated a check for $3,000 to the work of the restoration project in an early evening program. In a program celebrating a dozen community efforts the Links showed their wide ranging commitment to assisting programs in the arts, social services, education and other areas. Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region is deeply greteful for the Links continued help and support.
June 6, 2009 - Volunteer Work Day Brightens Site
With bright sunshine and mild temperatures a volunteer crew of ten people gathered at the Myers Residence on Saturday June 6th. Some of the work done was cutting the lawns at 99 and 97 Third Streets, moving plants to the planters in front of the building at 194 Livingston Avenue, picking up trash and sticks in the yards, bagging lawn refuse and miscellaneous tasks. This was also an opportunity for the volunteers to learn about the Myers Residence and its history. The opportunity was also taken to distribute flyers to the neighborhood about the upcoming July 4th program where A. J. Williams-Myers will speak on the meaning of the 4th of July in light of our present African American president. This event remembers Frederick Douglass' talk in 1852 on the meaning of the 4th of July.
May 23, 2009 - Work Continues Through May
Work at the Myers Residence is continuing throughout the month of May. Workers have done shoring throughout the building. This phase of the work will allow the rebuilding of troubled wall areas.
Today our EPF (Environmental Protection Fund) sign went up. We have been fretting for months over HOW to put it up. The workmen for this phase of the restoration knew how to mount the sign without damaging any brick - so the sign went up. It will stay up for a period of time after the work is completed.
On May 11th the URHPCR Properties Committee met at Historic Albany Foundation's offices at 89 Lexington Street for its regular monthly meeting. Progress on the work on the Myers Residence was discussed along with ways to fund raise for the work that would be needed in the future.
Finally, after paperwork going back and forth between the evaluation engineer, the contractor's engineer and the state reviewer for several weeks the paper work was right enough to go forward. The paper work was the proposed method for shoring the house and setting things up for repair. Engineers were involved because not doing it right might make the building fall down. I am not trying to be dramatic! It is very important to put in the right kind of suppots and place them in the right places. Buildings move about a bit, especially the old ones. They breath a certain way too - that is the air going in and out of them. This building had issues in the basement, some of the walls and in an area around the roof. So special care had to be taken to correct all of these problems.
Work is finally underway and we hope it will all progress quickly.
April 30, 2009 - Thanks to all On Jazz Event
A big thank you to all the people who worked to make our jazz fund raising event a success. A special thanks goes out to Vera Michelson, Colwyn Allen and Mae Saunders but a big thaks as well goes out to the jazz committee and the honorary committee.
Danny Mixon with Blue Coda played outstanding jazz while a good crowd shared the fun and fellowship!
Sunday night is our JazzFundraiser. We hope you can all attend! It will be super!
Our next work day will be May 2nd. We will be working from 9am to 1pm atthe Myers Residence doing clean up most likely on the 190 Livingston Avenue property. This was the site of Abram Johnson's home at one time. Abram Johnson was the father of Harriet Myers. April 5, 2009 - Sunday Union College Walking Tour, Saturday Work Party
Here are some pictures of today's walking tour with students from Union College. Fifty students entering their first year at Union from around the country participated in the walking tour.
On the Saturday prior to the walking tour a team of volunteers worked to clean up some of the tree damage that resulted from wind and ice storms earlier in the season.
This work on Saturday was one of a series of volunteer work days that help keep the Myers Residence in reasonable order while we await the work of the contractors that will allow the building to be open to the public and a step in the transition to the museum like historic site that the Myers Reisence will be. March 19, 2009 - Jazz Event Set
Our Jazz Benefit fundraiser is finally set! Blue Coda Jazz Ensemble with Danny Mixon will play on April 26, 2009 from 4 pm to 8 pm at the ballroom of the Clarion Hotel at 3 Watervliet Avenue Extension in Albany. Light Fare, Cash Bar, Silent Auction. Tickets $40 in advance and $45 at the door. For more information call 436-0562 or 331-5607.
This will be a sizzling event so come and bring friends!
You would think we finally had a moment to pause and rest after the conference, and we actually did on Monday following last weekend. Tuesday we spoke at the Latham Rotary and Thursday we have a program at the Eddy in Niskayuna. There is still lots of work to be done. These events educate the public but also develop support for our broad educational effort and the restoration of the Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence.
We will be creating a large picture display with information from the conference evaluations. In the mean time, while we get that together I would like to share some pictures from the confernece:
February 22, 2009 - Conference Count Down
In just a few days we will have our annual confernce at Union College. It will be an exciting event. On our days in February we tend to do more proframs and speaking events because of Black History Month but we use them talk about the confernece as well. Today, for instance, we participated in a "round table" discussion at the Schenetcady Farmer's Market where we spoke both of the Underground Railroad and the conference as an opportunity to learn more about the UGRR and its links to the present. On Saturday just past Paul spoke at an event in West Hill and spoke of the confernece too. This coming Thursday February 26th Paul will have a display at the Abrookin School in an evening program in Albany and probably get to say a few words about the confernece too.
1. Sure! Happy Valentine's Day, Lincoln's Birthday, Black History Month and so many other things! If I recall correctly Frederick Douglass died in February and did Stephen Myers.
2. We have received our HSR! I hope you get to read about it here before it is in the papers. I believe there will be an article in the Times Union tomorrow. If you want to read it or see it it is about 25 megabytes in size from the computer and about 300 plus pages in hard copy. I am placing a link here but be warned it is large and takes a while to transfer even with our DSL.
Historic Structure Report.
3. We are very excited that we have received a $25,000 grant from the 1772 Foundation. The 1772 Foundation is a Connecticut based private foundation that funds historic capital projects.
4. It continues as a busy month. Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking to several groups of students at Troy High School as part of their Black Histoy Awareness Day. Mary Liz and I spoke last Thursday to the Albany Catholic Diocese Peace and Justice Commission. Tomorrow we will speak at First Presbyterian church following the morning service and Tuesday we will speak to a group at Hudson Valley Community College at the Campus Center at noon. Look for us!
1. A vital part of the restoration work on the Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence is the work of volunteers. We have set volunteer work days at the Myers Residence for 2009:
On July 4th we plan to have a special program with Dr. A. J. Williams-Myers, professor of African American Studies at SUNY New Paltz. Dr. William's-Myers did an introduction to our Historic Structure Report. He was also the first speaker at our many annual conferences which started in 2002. Please plan to attend this special program. 2. Any day now we will have our historic structure report! I have been waiting and waiting. We were waiting for some final paragraphs on row houses in Albany. Once all is done we will announce the report to the broader community. It is a real triumph and turning point for our project! 3. February is a special month when we seem to do more programs then at any other time. Today is February 2nd. Tomorrow Mary Liz and Paul will do a program for girls at St. Ann's. In the evening Paul will do a program for care givers at Trinity Institution. Later in the week Paul will do a show for Schenectady Channel 16 TV. Later in the month Paul has a program for a group of Seniors at the community center in West Hill. There will be a program at Troy High School. One seems to be in development at Albany High. Paul will be honored for Black History Month on February 19th at City Hall for the 7th Ward of Albany. There are other programs, Finally the end of the month is our annual confernece! It promises to be a busy month!
January 19, 2009 - Happy King Day - Waiting for the Inauguration - More Raffle Details
1. Today is the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. It is a very special holiday. I remember Dr. King from those days. I never saw him or met him but he was in the news quite a bit and very much the topic of conversation in the 1960s with the issues and the marches. I recall there were some black clergy that opposed him because the marches and protests brought turmoil into communities. They preferred to work out these intractable problems of predjudice and discrimination without outwardly provocative action. But the difference was always in the results. Provocative worked better quite often. The results are more tangible and dramatic. It's also more democratic to incorporate the broader community through social protest and bring predjudice into the light where it cannot stand.
If you look at the story of the Underground Railroad and the abolitionist movement you will see that this period is the first period of broad based mass social protest against racial injustice in the United States. There were always personal protests and there were rebellions but as a non-violent protest that embraced the broader public it was these movements that are important.
2. Tomorrow will be the inauguration of President Barak Obama. This is an incredible mile stone in US history and African American history.
3. We have raffle tickets we are selling for the 8th Annual UGRR Conference. The raffle tickets are $5 each and 3 for $10. The first prize is a tour in Niagara, Canada and overnight accomodations for two. The second prize is four tickets to the Spectrum8 Theater in Albany. The third prize is a gift certificate for a UGRR walking tour in Albany. The fourth prize is a $25 gift card to the Cheesecake Factory restaurant in Colonie, NY. There is a fifth prize of three months free membership to Planet Fitness health club! I have sold more than three books of tickets as I write this. I would love to sell tons more. Can you help me? Call at 518-432-4432 and we can connect on raffle tickets.
The drawing for the prizes will be at the conference at the end of February. See the confernece information off the main web site page for details.
1. This weekend we have been involved in several projects related to URPCR. Daniel got a gasoline powered saw and we went to 194 Livingston to work on cutting up the fallen tree branches from the ice storm last month. We made good progress but there is lots more to do. It will have to wait for another day. Mary Liz has been businly working on the conference brochure and involving everybody in the house in proof reading. We have also been working on an article for Classique Magazine for the conference, and I have been working on a graphic for the conference booklet. And this afternoon Mary Liz and I went to speak at the New Scotland Town Historical Society giving our standard presentation on the Underground Railroad in the Albany area (there were about 45 people there). There have been moments when I have gotten reflective and thought I had a good moment for the blog but then we got on to something else and the moment slipped away. That is one of the challenges in trying to keep a blog!
2. I would like to be putting down some goals for the new year. Our first board meeting is coming up on January 13th and it will be in the evening at the Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless. They have a nice conference room and we have been holding meetings there for some time. I think I would like to wait to see what board members have as goals. But if I were to identify some I would say that expaning membership would be a high priority. Getting more board members would be a high priority too. The organization needs good, dedicated board members to help it run and do all the things it is supposed to do. If any of you reading this would be interested in helping call us at 518-432-4432. We'd love to talk with you.
1. From the time of our last entry on this blog to now a big snow storm came with about 8-10 inches of snow and then another snow storm on top of that but then the weather has gotten warm and nearly all of the snow has melted away. Today it is supposed to approach the 50s so even more will melt away, if not all of it. It has been a strange winter as usual and although it is always said that no specific weather is the result of Global Warming it is clear that the general temperature is not as cold as it used to be. We surely do not get the snow we used to get even ten years ago.
2. As we come to the close of the year it is common to reflect back on how things have gone. In short the year has been good, though not good enough in some respects. It has been good in that we have finally contracted with a company for work on the Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence. It has been good in that we have finally arrived at the point where we are anticipating receiving a final version of an Historic Structure Report on the Myers Residence. It has been good in that while working on the Historic Structure Report we produced an extensive statement about Stephen and Harriet Myers that was longer and more extensive than anything we have yet seen. The statement was a compilation of many things we have collected and researched about the Myers over the past ten years. It was good in that we raised additional dollars toward the restoration effort. It was good because we involved many new people in our effort. It was good because we were able to begin to put into place many of the things that were recommended through our strategic planning process for the organization. We have been allowed to purchase two other lots in the area of 194 Livingston Avenue in Albany. One next to the building and one a short ways away that was once the location of the home of Abram Johnson, an African American boat captain and father of Harriet Johnson, the wife of Stephen Myers. It was also good becuase we are moving toward our eighth Underground Railroad conference. The conferences have been a wonderful way to expand understanding of the Underground Rairload and bring scholarship on the story to the broader local community. When I say things were 'not enough' I am princiaplly referring to progress on the restoration of the Myers Residence. We were able to contract with a restoration company for some work but have been bogged down by flaws in communication parties important to the work. None the less, I think it has been straightened out at this point and I expect work to go forward as we move into the new year. Perhpas with the warm weather such as today (in the high 40s or low 50s) it might be possible for work to take place even in January and speed work along. I hope so. Also, another area of challenge has been getting volunteers to engage aspects of our educational program such as sitting booths and displays to get the word out about the story and the history of the Underground Rialroad. Organizing volunteers is imporantant work. Getting volunteers to 'own' the work is a challenge as well. This is an area of weakness for what we are trying to accomplish. Help from all in this area would be appreicated.
3. Finally, I did some looking at our membership and this is what I found:
Our total membership at the close of 2008 is 258. These are people who have donated as members or donated through our annual appeal. Of those, 35% live in Albany,
3% live in New York City, more than 5% live in Schenectady, 6.6% live in Troy. Some 64% live outside of Albany City and 51% live outside Albany County. More than half, some 52%, live outside of Albany, Schenectady, or Troy.
There are 242 of 258, or 93.7%, that live in New York State and 6.5% live outside New York State. Of those outside New York State various states are represented.
Those outside New York State live in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio and
Pennsylvania.
While there are more people who participate in our work than just contributing members this is thought provoking information. When we do our work of restoring the grounds of the Myers Residence we have numerous volunteers that are not paid members but none the less contribute to what we do. Members of the Capital District Links, local churches that have been supportive, students from local colleges and highschools, people off our general e-mailing list (nearly 1300) are actually just as much members. We'd love to have them all donate but the mechanics of donations is always something of a challenge. People donate in a way that they feel they can. Some put in effort, some put in effort and dollars, and some just dollars. We are thankful for all kinds of support though each has its place.
1. We have just received word that the husband of Mae Saunders, pictured December 12, recently passed away. He had been ill for some time. A memorial service will be held this Sunday at 1:00 pm at the Unitarian Church in Albany. We extend our thoughts and prayers to Mae and her family at this time.
2. This past Sunday we viewed "Traces of the Trade" with several other people in Guilderland. We wound up at the Guilderland Library as our host was without power. There were also technical challenges in watching the movie. The first was that my lap top did not have the right software to show the movie. We quickly borrowed a lap top from thelibrary but it had a timing mechanism on it that limited the time it would run, and then also seemed to measure the key strokes so that as we watched the movie there were periodic dialogue boxes that appeared asking us if we were still there. In spite of all this we made our way through the movie.
I would recommend this movie to anyone. Yes, it was long at 90 minutes, but it was well done. It told the struggle of one member of the white DeWolff family from Rhode Island and her attempts to come to grips with the fact that her family had been heavily involved in the slave trade. Their involvement was not only theirs but they dragged a whole community along with them through creation of banks to hold their profits, insurance company to insure them, and being a main buyer for all sorts of things such as metal parts, ships, food stuffs, and you name it. So the whole community - through the work of several of the DeWolffs of the late 18th and early 19th century drew a wide section of their world into teh slave trade.
At the end of the movie the holder of the DVD passed it along to us since she would be out of town for about a month. So there will be more showings. Contact us if you are interested at 518-432-4432.
3. In other news - the ice storm downed two big tree branches in the yard of 194 Livingston avenue. We will have to cut them up and clear it out. Since I cannot get to it just now they will have to stay there for a while. It will be the subject of a future clean up group. There was no other apparent damage to the property.
December 8, 2008 - Tragedy, Hope and Trade
1. Tragedy - A couple of days ago I was corresponding with an Underground Railroad friend in Ohio and was told of a tragedy in my own state. The Tudor Grant House in Oswego had caught fire and burned down. The house was built by freedom seeker Tudor Grant. Tudor Grant came to Oswego in 1832, settled there and became an outspoken abolitionist and leader of the black community. He took the trade of barber. Tudor's son George went on to Harvard and became the first African American dentist. George also invented the golf tee.
The house was rebuilt in 1900 but a fire destroyed it ealier this month. It was one of 23 sites listed in Oswego County as part of their Underground Railroad trail.
2. Hope - We have been planning for the annual Underground Railroad conference that will take place at the end of February in 2009. As part of the effort our fundraising committee has initiated a raffle. We will be selling raffle tickets from now until the confernece. The tickets are $5 each or 3 for $10. All funds will go to benefit the confernece and the organization. The prizes include an overnight stay for two in Canada at St. Catherine's and an Underground Railroad tour in St. Catherine's. Other prizes include Spectrum movie tickets, a gift certificate to the Cheese Cake Factory and other items. We hope you can buy a raffle ticket or several. Thanks in advance.
3. Trade - On Sunday December 14th several people from our email list and Mary Liz and I will be seeing "Traces of the Trade". This documentary is about a white family from New England that traced its roots and found the family's ancestors had been heavily into the slave trade. It also shows how the North in the time of slavery was deeply involved in the slave trade and supporting slavery even when northern states had abolished slavery. It should be a very interesting film. We are viewing it at the home of a lady in Guilderland. I am sure there will be some very interesting discussion following the DVD presentation. Perhaps we will be able to show the DVD on additional occasions. If you would be interested in such a viewing shoot us an email or call ar 518-432-4432.
Fascinating item in the Times Union today on page A3: Short article entitled "Tracing forced trek of slaves to American". The article featured a new web site of www.slavevoyages.org. This site provides information on the bulk of the voyages of slave ships out of England. England was the second most active country in the slave trade. This will be a very useful took for geneology for African Amefricans and it will provide a great deal of information for both the formal and the less formal researcher.
Several people who have connections to our region have been awarded the Underground Railroad Free Press Prize in September. We appologise for our late announcement! In fact it was an all New York take on this national preservation award! We would like to note that Tom Calarco, who lived in this area for many years but now is in Cincinnati, and Mary Liz and Paul Stewart have received the prize for 2008. Tom Calarco received the prize for his expansion of what is known about the Underground Railroad through his books. Mary Liz and Paul received the award for their work in identifying and working to preserve the Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence. Also receiving an award for his long time work as head of the Monroe County Freedom Trail Commission was Dr. David Anderson of Rochester. Dr. Anderson has often provided workshops at URHPCR's Underground Railroad Conference. The Underground Railroad Free Press is a national publication covering Underground Railroad news.
We are pleased to announce that we have received a $2,500 grant from M & T Bank for the support of our work with the Myers Residence, the annual conference and the newsletter. We are very thankful for this support. I would like to mention that since 2003 we have received support from many sources. Aside from what would be considered public sources, M & T Bank has become our largest private contributor. We are thankful for this continued support.
Yesterday, as mentioned earlier, I attended an event in Watervliet where a plaque was unveiled to recall the events surrounding the rescue of Charles Nalle. This is an important Underground Railroad story. The rescue was one of the events just prior to the Civil War and may have contributed to encouraging southern states to followup on their threats of succession. We are very pleased that the Arnots, the owners of the McDonald's, have provided this placque. Such recognitions broaden people's understanding of the Underground Railroad story. Special thanks goes out to Scott Chrsitianson, author of Freeing Charles (soon to be released biography of Charles Nalle), for championing the placement of this recognition placque.
We have just received word that URHPCR has received a grant of $923 from the Arts Center for the Capital Region for the performance of Matie Masse of Syracuse doing NORTH STAR NOTES which will be performed at the 2009 Underground Railroad Conference. The conference will be at Union College in Schenectady on February 27, 28 and March 1st of 2009. Information on the conference is posted elsewhere on this web site.
We are at the point in time for the year when we need to think of new people for our board of directors. If you think you would like to help our project in a deeper way please consider being a board member or committee member. These are important ways the project moves and does its work. Right now we have several committee that are active. Our conference committee is working hard to create the UGR Conference in 2009. Our Properties Committee is working to make sure the grounds we own and the Myers Residence remains well kept. Our newletter committee produes our wonderful newsletter. Our finance committee helps manage the whole effort. And of course our board of directors over sees the whole thing and helps set directions for the work. Our capital Campaign committee is working to explore as to if we should do a Capital Campaign. These are important works that help the whole project function and have the right components so that we can raise the funds needed to do the conference, restore the myers Residence and do the educational programs we do to bring this important story to the public. If you have the slightest inkling you might be able to help we would love to hear from you in that regard. Email us at info@ugrworkshop.com, or call us at 518-432-4432.
We have in the last couple of weeks sent out an annual appeal. This is a new venture for the project. It arises out of our explorations for a capital campaign. Our consultant, Linda London, has encouraged us to do an fall appeal and we are excited about the outcome. Please give generously. And thank you in advance.
If you recall the details of the story of the rescue of Charles Nalle where Harriet Tubman was involved, you may recall that he initially escaped to West Troy across the river from Troy. Well, of course, West Troy was renamed at some pojnt to Watevliet. Nalle was captured as he crossed the Hudson to the Watervliet side. He was then taken to a building where he was briefly held. Some time ago that building, which had in the intervening time become a furniture store, was torn down. In its place has been built a McDonald's restaurant. This history has been brought to the owner's attention and since they are rebuilding the McDonald's the owner has been anxious to some how mark the historic character of the spot. A plaque will be unveiled when the remodeled store opens on December 4th at 10 am. If you are available and wish to attend I (Paul) expect to be there and have been asked to say a few words. Isn't it great that something as well known as a McDonald's can share in this history. It's great that the owner has decided to mark this spots share in this important story!
You would think that operating a blog or a web site would be pretty easy and in many respects it is. Coming up with new information and ideas and updating a web site is a constant challenge. I have new respect for the people who do the blogs for the Times Union newspaper and other papers. They must be thinking of it all the time!
Over the last month we have had the opportunity to receive some donated equipment and do a walking tour for some consultants hired by Heritage New York to help us improve our walking tours. The equipment included a slide viewer and a microfilm reader. I just can't wait to get started using the microfilm reader. We have some rolls of microfilm that were loaned to us for research and we have not gotten into them. The tour consultants were Eileen Frank and Cynthia Copeland. Both have done work in relation to the Underground Railroad and tourism in other connections. Ms. Frank is an education staff at the Schenectady Musem and has authored a work book for African American history in Rensselaer County for the classroom when working for the Resselaer County Historical Society. Ms. Copeland has worked for the New York Historical Society. We walked with them and several other first time tour participants went along. We had a great time inspite of the cold wind that blew that day and some delays made the tour run longer than expected. Afterward we had dinner at the Pumpstation Restaurant. It was a great meal. I had chicken and Mary Liz had Mary Liz had salmon. Cynthia Copeland ordered calamari as an apetizer for the table. I don't think I have eaten that often. They will do a report and we are looking forward to it.
The day to day of managing a building in transition - the Myers Historic Site - is a real challenge with no staff but volunteers as we are. At various times we have been concerned about people sitting on the steps or cutting through from Third Street to Livingston Avenue with the newly cleared space as their walk way. One occasional problem is folks in the neighborhood with dogs. Someone with a dog has taken to allowing the dog onto a corner of the property and making an unsightly mess. I spoke to one of the neighbors that I did not want this person's dog regularly visiting and that the person should clean up after the dog. A day later I did see small evidence of change in that a dog dish left behind had moved on.
In this past month we have received a positive response from our request to the county for permission to purchase the property at 190 Livingston Avenue. It was at one time the location of the home of Abram Johnson. Abram Johnson was the father of both Harriet Johnson, who became Harriet Myers in 1827, and John Johnson, who built the building at 194 Livingston Avenue. Our plan is to do something on this site that would commemorate African Americans in the river trades. Abram Johnson operated a sloop called the 'Miriam' and John Johnson was a boat captain, perhaps on the same boat. This was an important area of employment for African Americans in early 19th century New York.
We have recently received word that we may have our historic structure report by the end of December. This is thrilling because this is an important part of what needs to be done for a historic site restoration. One part of this document will be a detailed history of Stephen and Harriet Myers. While not being exhaustive, it will be one of the longer expositions on their lives that is available and will be good background reading for people who want to know more about them. It is my expectation that we will find a way to make the document available to other interested people.
We are very pleased to have a wide variety of groups sharing in our talks and walking tours. On November 1st we had a group from Albany Law School. If you want to have a group do an Underground Railroad Walking Tour pleae let us know. We can arrange a time with you. Pictures are below:
September 14, 2008 - Work In Multiple Places
Yesterday was a really great day. Much to my amazement we were able to do programming in four locations at once! With the help of board memebrs and volunteers our program was able to do a table at the OPRHP Open House at Peebles Island, a table at the Capital district Civil War Program at Albany Rural Cemetery, and a table at a block party on Sheridan Avenue. In addition we did a work party at the Myers Residence where about 30 students from the College of Saint Rose, half a dozen students from Albany High, and some members of the Capital District Links helped with landscaping tasks and garbage removal. Pictures are below:
Many thanks to the College of Saint Rose, Sonji Greenway of Albany High School and the Links!
August 27, 2008 - Turning A Few Corners
Today I am really excited because I can see our project's work in restoring the Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence building at 194 Livingston Avenue in Albany turning a corner. What do I mean by this? First of all in a few days we will be receiving a draft of an Historic Structures Report document. This is a critical step in the restoration process. We have received two important grants to fund the creation of this report. The report will guide us in the restoration of the building. We are thankful for funding from the National Park service and The Preservation League of NYS for making this possible.
Secondly, we are about to receive documents from an engineer that will allow us to move forward with shoring work on the building for a wall in the basement that is out of plumb. This will be an important step in helping us get the building to a state where the public can begin to view it inside on a regular basis. This is a very exciting turn of events. Once the plans from the engineer are approved by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation that work can begin.
So rejoice with me! These are important steps and they will lead the project on to great things!
July 26, 2008 - Looking Forward In the Summer and Fall
Many people may wonder how a community project like the Underground Railraod History Project works on a day to day basis. What they see is perhaps a very nice newsletter with excellent articles about the past and the organization in the present, news about the restoration work on the Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence, an annual confernece at a local college or high school, walking tours led by Paul and Mary Liz Stewart, perhaps a talk delivered by Paul and Mary Liz, or perhaps they have seen the display at the Albany Heritage Area Visitor Center, they see the web site or a display at a farmer's market or block party with volunteers from the project. What most people don't see is the day to day workings of the project. How does it work?
The Underground Railroad History Project is a non-profit organization. That means it has a board of directors and a set of by-laws. Necessarily that means meetings perhaps monthly of the board. There are about a dozen memebers of the board. They are organized into committees. The most active committees are the building committee and this is because of the restoration project on the Stephen and Harriet Myer Residence. The other most active committee is the conference committee which plans the annual conference. There is also a Fundraising committee which plans our annual jazz fundraiser. There is a board development committee that looks for people to be on our board. All of these committees have people on them. We could use your help volunteering on any one of these. They are a mix of board members and non-board members.
The Underground Railroad History Project is a membership organization. That is to say the work we do is supported by a membership. These are people who make a contribution to the organization. This is usually financial but sometimes it is a contribution in work of some kind. If you are not a member and have not made a contribution I would urge you to become a member. These funds help us put on the programs we do. When there are brochures passed out, or newsletters, or people look at the pictures of 19th century african American abolitionists at a block party all of the frames, and dispaly materials cost money. Also these funds help with the work of restoring 194 Livingston Avenue, the Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence. This is commonly what a membership would be paying for at this time. There is no paid staff presently for the organization. Work done for the organization is voluntarily supplied.
On a day to day basis Paul and Mary Liz do many things for the organization. The phone for the organization (518-432-4432) is in our basement. We house the records of the organization. We do many of the "office" things one would expect like responding to mail, phone calls, and emails. Volunteers participate in this area too. Volunteers regularly come to our home to do database inputs for conference work or similar tasks. We can always use help here too.
We are working on developing a capital campaign right now to raise funds to support the restroation work on 194 Livingston Avenue. We haven't launched this yet, but are in the exploratory stages. There has been an active capital campaign exploratory group.
Finally it is important to say that various board members and volunteers do a wide range of things that help the organization. When the annual conference is planned and held, for example, volunteers have placed ads, written and distributed news releases, contacted speakers, arranged space, organized meals, put up signage, and countless other tasks. The whole endeavor is very intensively volunteer driven. We can always use YOUR help!
Today, as I sit here typing this entry, I remember that African American Family Day at the Empire State Plaza is coming up on August 2nd from 12 to 7 pm. We will have a table and we need volunteers to staff it. On September 13th there is a block party on Sheridan Avenue in Albany by the New Jerusalem Home of the Saved Church. We will have a table there and need volunteers. On that same day at the Albany Rural Cemetery there is a Civil War Encampment program. We hope to have a table there as well and need volunteers. We are also planning some clean up activities at the Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence. All of these events need volunteer help to make them happen. We would be happy to supply training to people who might be interested, but we need you to step forward.
I hope we hear from you (518-432-4432).
June 22, 2008 - Roof Work, Patching, Retarping
I wanted to post some pictures of the recent work that was done at the Myers Residence to help our readers see what had been done. I would like to say a lot about it but the few pictures supply for many words that might be said. My general feeling is that this represents progress. We have a long way to go but we are moving forward a step at a time.
June 14, 2008 - Pictures Posted From Conference 2008Please look at the pictures from our 2008 conference. Click here to see them. They are a wonderful look at the event. We would like to thank Marilyn Herbert and the New York Council for the Humanities for all the photogrpahs shown here. Her work was funded through the New York Council for the Humanities.
June 9, 2008 - Working With The Myers Residence
This past weekend (June 7, 2008) we held a clean-up day at the Myers Residence. It was a really hot day of around 90 degrees and lots of humidity. None the less a band of about 10 people came to the residence to work to get the grounds under control. We have no regular maintenance staff, and so it falls to volunteers to periodically converge on the property and get it in shape so that it is not an eyesore. This is one of the things that is very important to us. We do not want this building - which is a vacant building for the moment - to be an eyesore in the community. Moreover it is a historic treasure and as such should be cared for. We really wish a more engergetic effort could be made but we are all volunteers and work other jobs and have other responsibilities. So we do the best we can. In the 90 degree heat we picked up trash, picked up sticks, bagged it all and cut grass and weeds for all of the lots we own. The lots are 97 Third Street, 99 Third Street, 186 Livingston, 188 Rear Livingston, 194 Livingston and 196 Livingston.
We would like to thank - even before it is done - the Hershberg and Hershberg Engineering company for donating survey work for our project. All of the lots will be surveyed and thus we will have critical information that will help us as we move along for the various reports we are required to produce and grant applications that require a survey to be included.
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