Patty Cannon to be topic May 4 in Georgetown
Dr. Carol Wilson will present “Crossing the Line: The Life and Legend of Patty Cannon, Queen of the Kidnappers” at 7:30 p.m., Monday, May 4, at the Georgetown Historical Society’s Marvel Carriage Museum in Georgetown.
Wilson, a professor of history at Washington College in Chestertown, Md., is the world’s preeminent authority on Sussex County’s most notorious citizen, Martha “Patty” Cannon. Wilson was featured on the television program called “History Detectives” in an episode about Patty Cannon in 2003.
Cannon, also known as Lucretia, operated her criminal enterprise in Reliance 10 miles west of Seaford. Her principal activity was to capture freed black men and take them into the Deep South and sell them as slaves. Cannon’s kidnapping, robbing and murders eventually caught up with her, and she was brought to Georgetown’s Old Courthouse for a criminal proceeding after which she was returned to the Georgetown jail where she poisoned herself.
The Marvel Carriage Museum is at 510 South Bedford St. Ext. in Georgetown. Society members and the public are welcome to attend without charge. Following the talk all are invited to enjoy light refreshments with Wilson. For more information, call 302-855-9660.
