This colored man was a native of Fort Edward, and at times lived in Whitehall, particularly in the summer of 1831, when he worked for “Dyer Beckwith and a Mr. Bartemy.” In 1841 he was enticed away from Saratoga, kidnapped, and sold south in slavery, where he remained until rescued in 1853. The book is well written, even thrilling in certain parts,coming so soon after Uncle Toms Cabin as it did it had considerable circulation‘before the war. It was published simultaneously in Auburn, Buffalo and London, England.
In Dr. Hall’s book of his friends to which we have before referred there is a caricature of David Wilson with some verses written by Robert Turner. We are tempted to copy all verses, but will content ourselves with the last stanza:
Wake up, wake up the melodies
That with thy spirit dwell;
Nor let their music only through
Our northern valleys swell.
Thy soul grants inspiration, and
Thy heart can guide the pen,
To give thee glorious station there
Among thy fellow men
You surely have taken a lot of pains concerning the answer of my query. I wonder where you found this material.
I notice that Mr. Holden does not seem to be too favorably impressed with his historical accuracy except possibly as to the “Jane McCrea”. On rereading the “Solomon Northup” book, of course I do not know about its accuracy except that the legal procedure part of it seems to be precise and is corroborated by the New York Times story of the 20th of January 1853 reporting the case in District of Columbia Court of the 18th of January. This leaves an opportunity for Wilson to build up an imagined story as to the alleged facts which did not directly come into court.Continue reading “Transcript of a letter to Mrs. Morton from L. R. Lewis, Attorney at Law, Hudson Falls, N. Y. – March 29, 1962” »
The historical heritage of a town and a village is not, nor should it be, in the hands of one person or single group of people. Pride in one’s native folklore and historical fact is an inherent characteristic. To strengthen this characteristic state governments have made a local history unit obligatory in the school curriculum. Early enough to develop youthful interest in one’s community and late enough to insure an understanding of local events in relation to national and world history.