“Radical Optimists”, The Women’s Rights Trai

                  March is Women’s History Month, highlighting women’s achievements and focusing on their ongoing quest for recognition. From the country’s founding women have striven to be heard and their continual battle for equal rights and ability to remain optimistic in the face of organized resistance is detailed in Upstate New York.

                  In 1848 three-hundred women and men, including Frederick Douglass, gathered in Seneca Falls, New York to sign the Declaration of Sentiments, a document regarding the end of discrimination against women in every aspect of society. Colonial law, based on English common law, merged man and woman into one individual upon marriage and a woman had no legal standing separate and apart over her property or finances and by 1777 women had lost the right to vote in every state. 

The road to the August 26, 1920 ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, a long, difficult and circuitous one, is best traced at sites in the state of New York and includes women of all ethnicities. It declares, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” www.iloveny.com

                  Many of the people involved in the women’s rights movement were previously staunch abolitionists and civil rights advocates. At the conclusion of the Civil War and the 1870 passage of the 15th Amendment declaring, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude,” many women felt let down by their exclusion and began to protest vehemently for women’s rights. They used the organizational, fundraising and speaking skills they learned as abolitionists. 

                  It should be noted that as early as 1776 Abigail Adams wrote to John Adams during Philadelphia’s Continental Congress to, “Remember the Ladies." In 1851, former slave Sojourner Truth, speaking at an Ohio women’s rights convention, gave her famous “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech. www.sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/sojtruth-woman

                  In the 1830s abolitionists’ organizations and the Underground Railroad (UGRR), were prevalent in Syracuse in Onondaga County. More than 650 African Americans lived in the county and they and their white counterparts actively spirited people to Canada. www.pacny.net/freedom_trail

The museum of the Onondaga Historical Association has an outstanding, permanent exhibit Freedom Bound: Syracuse & the Underground Railroad that introduces visitors to the personal stories through artifacts, exhibits and video. An exhibit on the 1851 Jerry Rescue relates the story of the rescue from slave catchers of fugitive William “Jerry” Henry by a crowd of citizens. The Jerry Rescue Monument on Clinton Square is a life-sized bronze depiction of the incident. It faces north toward Canada where he made his eventual escape. The history of the Native American inhabitants and their influence on the nation is depicted in a permanent exhibit. www.cnyhistory.org

Matilda Joslyn Gage is the unsung hero of the women’s rights movement. Her father was an abolitionist and her home was an UGRR station. Her stance on the rights of women was modeled on her close interactions with the matriarchal Haudenosaunee Indians living in the area. Ultimately, she was considered too radical for Stanton and Anthony.

A 15-minute film introduces a self-guided tour. Each room on the tour is based on one of her social justice themes. The front parlor is dedicated to the works of her son-in-law, Frank Baum, author of “the Wizard of Oz” and we can see her influence in the character of Dorothy. Her home is included on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. www.matildajoslyngage.org

Ganondagan, State Historic Park, is the state-of-the-art home of the Seneca Art and Culture Center situated on the site where the Seneca and Haudenosaunee established the “Town of Peace.” Visitors can explore a replica Bark Longhouse, self-guided trails, videos and a unique museum. The museum interprets the story of the six nation Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora, that inspired the Constitution and the 1848 Declaration of Sentiments. Their symbol, bundled arrows stronger than one, is depicted on the Great Seal of the United States. www.ganondagan.org     
              Seneca Falls is renowned as the cradle of Women’s Rights. The first convention was organized by abolitionists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Philadelphia’s Lucretia Mott and held there in 1848 at the Wesleyan Chapel. Stanton lived in Seneca Falls along with her husband and seven children and her house is open daily. www.senecafalls.com

                  Women’s Rights National Historical Park is adjacent to the chapel and is an ideal place to begin a tour. An orientation film and an exhibit gallery enhance your visit. Also, on display is memorabilia from “12 Years a Slave.” The atrium’s bronze “First Wave” sculpture consists of life-sized figures of some of those in attendance at the first convention including Douglass.

The National Women’s Hall of Fame was founded in 1969 and since that time 293 women in the arts, athletics, business, education, government, humanities and philanthropy have been inducted. I encourage you to visit their website where you can view photographs, learn the stories and hear their voices. It is located inside the 1844 Seneca Knitting Mill. www.womenofthehall.org

                  “It’s a Wonderful Life” is one of world’s favorite movies and it is believed that Frank Capra, after visiting Seneca Falls, modeled the mythical Bedford Falls after the city. The delightful Wonderful Life Museum is filled with memorabilia, photographs, toys and documents that relate to the stars, their characters and the movie. The real tragedy of Antonio Varacalli probably inspired George’s scene on the bridge and you can learn the true story here. Annually, the second week of December, Seneca Falls holds an “It's A Wonderful Life” Festival. www.therealbedfordfalls.com

                  The Susan B. Anthony House & Museum is located in Rochester. She lived in a 12-room brick house from 1866-1906. Tours of the house include her 3^rd-floor workroom and the room in which she died in 1906. Ida B. Wells-Barnett was known to stay there when in Rochester. Anthony is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester. www.susanbanthonyhouse.org

We Saved this Date for 200-years: Happy Birthday Harriet Tubman

Araminta Ross was born enslaved 200-years ago in Dorchester County, Maryland and it is there she honed the skills she would need to make good her escape. Her fear of being sold and insatiable yearning for freedom instigated her flight in 1849. In 1845 she had taken the last name of her husband, John Tubman, and changed her first name to Harriet to honor her mother and it is as Harriet Tubman that she stepped into history. 

This commemoration of her 200^th birthday provides a unique opportunity for travelers to occupy the spaces that impacted on Harriet’s life and attend special events in authentic locations. Many of the relevant sites are memorialized with only plaques because the structures are no longer there but the terrain is reminiscent of the one that existed in the 1800s. The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway connects sixteen Dorchester sites and the driving tour can be accomplished in a single day. The two Maryland sites that I have found tell her story best are the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center and the Bucktown Village Store. 

                  The 10,000-square-foot Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Center is located in the 17-acre park on the trailhead of the 125-mile byway adjacent to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. The center is an immersive museum on Harriet’s life from her birth documented through photos, artifacts, and life-sized dioramas. The emphasis is on her humanity and her ability to overcome the obstacles of illiteracy and being handicapped by seizures and chronic pain. 

Bucktown Village General Store is the authentic scene of the 1835 head injury she sustained. This defining moment in Harriet’s life was her first documented act of defiance and one that resulted in an injury that affected her for the remainder of her life. You can vividly trace the entire incident in the original store.

This year Dorchester and Caroline Counties have designed a series of special commemorative activities to take place throughout 2022.  Tubman 200^th Birthday Celebration, the year’s premiere opening event, will take place on March 12-13 at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park and Visitor Center. The event will include newly installed exhibits, guest speakers, living history interpretations and musical performances.

Harriet Tubman Tours and Delmarva Birding Weekends offer birding along the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, on selected dates, that follow excellent bird sighting opportunities and interpretations of Harriet’s travels in the area. National Geographic has designated this portion of the Eastern Seaboard as one of this year’s 25 amazing journeys. www.DelmarvaBirding.com

Rooted Wisdom: Nature’s Role in the Underground Railroad will have a virtual premiere on March 11^th at 7 P.M. at Adkins Arboretum. The 75-minute free film requires registration. bit.ly/RootedWisdomPremiere. 

On April 22, 2022 at 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM the UGRR Visitor Center will present a free musical performance of “Not What You Think”. The program revolves around the journey for equality and freedom.

On April 28^th the first of the last weekend of the month walking tours will take place through October. Tours will include walking, sailing and horse and buggy rides. harriettubmanmuseumandeducationalcenter.com

Take a 25 or 43-mile bike ride along the Eastern Shore paralleling Tubman’s freedom journeys. Riders will pause at sites connected with her trips. Proceeds from the October 15^th event will benefit a campaign for a new statue of Harriet set to be unveiled on September 10^th in Cambridge.

When Harriet fled in 1849 she embarked for points north and ultimately her rescues took her through many states and into Canada. Many of her greatest supporters and friends were in Auburn, New York and in 1857 she took up permanent residence there. One year later her parents left Canada and joined her there. She lived in Auburn for more than 50-years and it is there that she wed, died and is buried. Auburn’s commemorative sites are tangible and visitors can celebrate her bicentennial while literally walking in her footsteps. Auburn’s celebratory events are scheduled from February to December. 

Visits should begin in the courtyard of the New York State Equal Rights Heritage Center where a bronze sculpture of Harriet Tubman stands. The center’s exhibits are interactive and use video and audio stations to enhance the experience of learning about people of conscience. The featured exhibit is "Seeing Equal Rights in NYS". https://equalrightsheritage.com

                  

The free Harriet Tubman 200th Birthday Ceremony will be held in the Heritage Center on March 12^th from 11 AM to 1 PM. It is scheduled to include a birthday cake, guest speakers and tours and will be live streamed. 

                  Visitors are invited to follow her path as a free woman in Auburn by following the 

Harriet Tubman Lantern Trail. The trail begins at Heritage Center. https://equalrightsheritage.com/harriets-lantern-trail

                 

 Senator William Seward and his wife were avid abolitionists. Their mansion functioned as an Underground Railroad stop and both Tubman and Douglass were houseguests there. Guided tours of the mansion include the basement kitchen where fugitives were hidden. The area is furnished as it was in the 1850s and explanatory exhibits are in surrounding rooms. Forged in Freedom: The Bond of the Seward Tubman Families exhibit will open on March 1, 2022. https://sewardhouse.org

                  

Harriet resided in Canada but a letter from Seward induced her to return “home” and helped her finance a $1200 plot of land upon which to build a home. Her land now encompasses a Visitor Center, her house and the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged of the Colored Race. Tours include the Home for the Aged, where she passed, and displays her bed and items donated by her family. 

Harriet died of pneumonia in 1913 and was interred in Auburn’s Fort Hill Cemetery with full military honors. On March 10^, 2022 a Harriet Tubman Day Memorial Service will be held from 7 PM to 9 PM. in the Harriet Tubman Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church where her original funeral service was held. 

The traveling exhibit, “Harriet Tubman—The Journey to Freedom”, will be on view from July 1^st to August 31^st. The 9-foot sculpture by Wesley Wofford will be the focus of special programs to be announced.

Throughout the year Auburn will present an evolving series of lectures, activities and commemorative events. Information is available at www.harriettubman200.com/events

 

Harriet Tubman was an abolitionist, lecturer, suffragist, nurse, Union soldier and an example of justice, morality and perseverance. We honor her this year for all she accomplished and her ability to serve as a guiding light for us all.

 

            

 

Tubman’s Spirit in Auburn, New York

Harriet Tubman was born 200-years ago in Maryland and embarked on an extraordinary journey that continues to resonate throughout US history. Her story serves as an exemplar of courage and perseverance against seemingly insurmountable odds. She employed her uncanny ability to conquer any situation functioning as an Underground Railroad conductor, abolitionist, lecturer, suffragist field nurse, Union spy and scout and in 1863 leader of a Union raid resulting in the destruction of Confederate supplies and the liberation of hundreds of the enslaved. Barely 5-feet tall, this exceptional woman was unable to read and write, suffered from chronic illness and pain and yet managed to leave an indelible mark on our collective consciousness.

This year marks the bicentennial of the iconic Harriet Tubman and her legacy will be honored throughout the year in a number of locations. This is an opportune time to find other aspects of Harriet Tubman’s life and the perfect place to accomplish this is in Auburn, New York. She chose to live in Auburn for more than 50-years, established a permanent residence, marry and be buried here. She became familiar with central NY as she followed established UGRR routes to Canada found and supportive local abolitionists provided safe haven and financed her work. Here you can literally follow her path and visit spaces that were meaningful to her and her work. Tubman became a resident of Auburn in 1857 and in 1858 she moved her parents here from Canada where she had settled them after their escape.

Senator William Seward and his wife Francis Seward were friends and confidants of Tubman’s. Their 1816 Federal Mansion is the first “safe” house freedom seekers reached after traveling through town. Seward, Lincoln’s Secretary of State and victim Booth’s assassination plot, hosted countless visitors, Webster, Clay, Custer, Douglass, Grant, and fugitive slaves. Doubtless the constant stream of guests was cover for the UGRR station that Francis ran in the rear of the house. 

A guided tour of the Seward House and Museum, where Tubman and Douglass were guests, provides a window into the era. Ninety-nine percent of the furnishings and personal effects are original and intact. Highlights of a tour are the Seward’s library, portraits of mid-1800s’ diplomats, a mantelpiece carved by Brigham Young, and a magnificent spiral staircase.

The basement kitchen interprets the slave experience and Francis’ work as a stationmaster. The kitchen is fully outfitted and visitors can see spaces that were used by escapees. A room above a shed was also used as a hiding space. Displays, artifacts and informational panels help you to more fully understand. https://sewardhouse.org

Adjacent to the Seward House Museum is the New York State Equal Rights Heritage Center. Visits should begin in the courtyard where a bronze sculpture of Harriet Tubman stands. This unique, interactive center provides an introduction to people of moral conviction from all eras through their words, videos and listening stations. The primary exhibit is "Seeing Equal Rights in NYS". https://equalrightsheritage.com

Springside Inn is situated on the western shore of Owasco Lake and it is believed that Tubman secreted fugitives in the forested area on Galpin Hill near the inn and the 1851 inn itself may have been an UGRR station. Today the terrain looks much the same. The inn offers luxurious accommodations featuring a host of amenities including continental breakfast. www.springsideinn.com

Harriet settled in Canada but it was a letter from Seward that induced her to return to 

her “own country”.  She returned in 1857 and the Seward’s sold her a $1200 ($39,000) property upon which to build a home. The complex currently consists of a visitor center, her home and the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged of the Colored Race. Orientation is given in the Visitor Center and tours of the Home for the Aged are offered. The Home features a bed used by Harriet. There are also family donated furnishings.

After the war black people made the trip to Auburn in hopes of receiving help from

Harriet. She was nearly penniless but always found a way to assist them. She met Nelson Davis, a black ex-Union soldier and married him in 1869. Westminster Presbyterian Church was the site of their marriage. The congregation at the time was abolitionist. He was 22-years her junior and was a brick maker. He died in 1888 and she collected his monthly $8.00 ($240) pension. 

Harriet died of pneumonia in 1913 surrounded by her loved ones in her Home for the Aged. She was buried in Auburn’s Fort Hill Cemetery with full military honors. The Seward family plot is also located in Fort Hill as is the gravesite of Margaret Stewart who may have been Harriet’s daughter.

A short drive to Aurora, NY will take you to the 1837 cobblestone Howland Store. Emily Howland, Harriet’s friend, lived here. The museum store is rife with artifacts and memorabilia but two items from the store are unique. Showcased on a counter is an original, handwritten UGRR pass, the only one I have ever seen. The “new” photograph of a young Harriet was recently located in Emily Howland’s photo album. www.howlandstonestore.org

Harriet Tubman Bicentennial events are scheduled to launch in February and continue through September. 

The free Harriet Tubman 200th Birthday Ceremony will take place on March 12, 2022 at the NYS Equal Rights Heritage Center from 11 AM to 1 PM. 

Visitors are encouraged to follow the Harriet Tubman Lantern Trail to visit all the sites connected with her life as a free woman in Auburn. https://equalrightsheritage.com/harriets-lantern-trail

The menu of events and activities is ever evolving and current information can be found at www.harriettubman200.com/events

 

Iconic figures can fall short of our personal expectations. Visit Auburn, NY and be infused with Tubman’s spirit and better understand the life of one whose daily life reflected a dedication to a life of service. www.tourcayuga.com