The Route to Your Roots: Aug. 29 program on Delaware Underground Railroad brings history to life
A free program designed to assist researchers in uncovering and sharing information about Delaware’s involvement in the Underground Railroad will take place at 6:30 p.m., Monday, Aug. 29, at The Old State House, 25 The Green in Dover.
Sponsored by The Underground Railroad Coalition of Delaware and the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, the program, titled “The Route to Your Roots: Bringing Delaware Underground Railroad History to Life,” is the third of a four-part series of meetings that the coalition presents annually throughout the state. For additional information, call the First State Heritage Park Welcome Center and Galleries at 302-744-5055.
The program will be presented in two parts. Part I features the true story of the manumission (granting of freedom) of two slave children - Ruth and Thomas Summers - which took place in 1797 in the Kent County Recorder of Deeds Office, located in the Old State House. The children were manumitted by their own father, James Summers, a free African-American, who had obtained them from their former owner. Historic site interpreter Thomas Pulmano, dressed in period clothing, will dramatize part of the story in order to show how research can go from dusty notes to a lively and informative experience for the public.
Part II will feature a research jam in which avocational researchers and budding genealogists will be given 10 minutes each to introduce themselves and their Underground Railroad (or closely related) research topic, followed by comments and advice provided by a panel of veteran Underground Railroad researchers and members of the audience. Those interested in presenting their research topics at the research jam should reserve a spot on the agenda by contacting Debra Martin of the Underground Railroad Coalition of Delaware at 302-576-3107, dmartin@ci.wilmington.de.us; or Beverly Laing of the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs at 302-736-7437, bev.laing@state.de.us.
The Underground Railroad was a pre-Civil War network of secret routes and safe houses used by black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The Underground Railroad Coalition of Delaware is dedicated to sharing the profound stories of the people who escaped from slavery and those in Delaware who assisted them in seeking freedom. To this end, the coalition provides a forum for gathering and encouraging research, linking local, regional, national resources and sharing information with the public. The coalition also promotes the preservation of Underground Railroad sites so that future generations may experience the power of these genuine historic places.
