(Peterboro, NY – June 2014) In 1848 John Brown arrived at the home of Gerrit Smith in Peterboro to discuss the use of physical force as a technique to end slavery. Although the Vice President of the American Peace Society, Smith was frustrated over the lack of success of both moral suasion and political activity to end slavery, so he was ready to listen to Brown.
According to a first-hand account of the relationship between Smith and Brown written by Smith’s business clerk Caleb Calkins, Smith reluctantly approved of Brown’s general plan to destabilize the institution of slavery and sent several gifts of money to support the plan. Smith was a member of The Secret Six, a group of abolitionists who supported Brown with donations – with Smith providing most of the money. Boston educator Franklin Benjamin Sanborn, one of the six abolitionists, met with Smith and Brown in Peterboro on February 23, 1858 to finalize the decision to aid Brown’s plan – which led to the raid at Harpers Ferry. That spark ignited the Civil War, and is one of Peterboro’s connections to the Civil War.
For three days in June 2014 Alice Keesey Mecoy (pictured), great-great-great Grand Daughter of abolitionist John Brown will walk at the same places as did her ancestor. Mecoy will speak at Peterboro Civil War Living History Day on Friday, June 13. On Saturday, June 14 at 11:30 a.m., Mecoy will present New York to Harper’s Ferry – John Brown’s Journey, the historical account of John Brown’s resolve to end slavery. On Sunday, June 15 at 11:30 a.m. Mecoy will share Life after the Hanging of John Brown – A Family’s Legacy, the history of his wife and children, especially the women, after Brown’s hanging and the war. Mecoy has researched her family history since 1976 focusing primarily on the women in John Brown’s life, whose dedication and sacrifices contributed greatly to the war against slavery. Mecoy has compiled a comprehensive Brown family genealogy of 4000 names in a database from John Brown’s father Owen to descendants born in the current year. It was Mecoy who chaired the reunion of the Brown family for the Sesquicentennial of the Raid at Harpers Ferry.
The National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum will host Mecoy’s programs at its home in the Smithfield Community Center, 5255 Pleasant Valley Road, Peterboro NY during the 22nd Annual Peterboro Civil War Weekend June 14 and 15, 2014. John Brown was selected by abolition scholars to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009. Mecoy spoke during Brown’s Hall of Fame commemoration in 2010.
John Brown (pictured) admired Harriet Tubman and called her “The General.” At 12:30 p.m. following Mecoy’s program on Saturday, Michele Jones Galvin and Joyce Stokes Jones, relatives of Harriet Tubman, will read from, sell, and sign their 2013 book Beyond the Underground: Aunt Harriet, Moses of Her People. Growing up in Auburn, Jones spent years in search of information on the sistership of her grandmother and Tubman. Jones’ family research evolved into the saga of seven generations of women of African descent tied by bloodline to Harriet Tubman.
At 1:30 on Saturday, June 14, and at 1:00 on Sunday, June 15, historical novelist Janet Ashworth presents Swift Currents of Change, a 2013 publication on Harpers Ferry as the epicenter of an event that proved to be a prelude to the War Between the States. Ashworth, a retiree and graduate of Syracuse University, blends her lifelong passion for history with her creative joy with fiction in this novel, for which she is already writing the sequel.
The 22nd Annual Peterboro Civil War Weekend is an educational fundraiser for the Smithfield Community Association, a not-for-profit organization that preserves and promotes history in the Town of Smithfield. Loyal sponsors help offset the expenses of the weekend. The event is an all-volunteer effort. Full day admission to the encampment, historical sites, exhibits, demonstrations and vendors in a twelve acre event is $8 for adults, $3 for ages 6 – 12, and free for under 6.
For more information: www.civilwarweekend.sca-peterboro.org, mail@sca-peterboro.org, 315-280-8828.
Pictured above from left Michele Jones Galvin and Joyce Stokes Jones relatives of Harriet Tubman, and authors of Beyond the Underground: Aunt Harriet, Moses of her People.