And for unfortunate reasons, we’ve allowed this history to almost become forgotten.” “Harriet Tubman doesn’t have the resources to go to the south and become the legend she became. “If it weren’t for this community and the people who came here and were passionate about these human rights causes, the Civil War doesn’t happen when and how it did,” Smith said. Smith said Gerrit Smith, Madison County and Central New York had a profound effect on the nation. In honor of Russell’s family, a foundation will be installed and a delegation from Peterboro will meet with Hill’s relatives and host a formal presentation. Out in Broome County in the town of Triangle, Burdick said she found Russell’s death certificate and confirmed the identity of her parents. The family was freed by Gerrit Smith and his wife for $3,500 in 1841.įor years, Smithfield Historian Donna Burdick had been looking for the gravestone of the last of Russell’s children – Emily Russel Hill. James Canning Fuller of Skaneateles to find Harriet, free her from slavery, and bring her to Peterboro. In 1841, Ann Fitzhugh Smith, who became “schooled” in abolition, wanted to find Harriet and set her free. Her owner was Colonel William Frisby Fitzhugh and later his daughter Ann, who married the philanthropist and abolitionist Gerrit Smith of Peterboro. Russell was born a slave in 1806 on a plantation called The Hive, near Hagerstown, Maryland. Now in 2019, Peterboro serves as the destination for those wishing to honor the abolition efforts and pay homage to those who fought for freedom.Īmong those touched by abolition efforts in Peterboro is Harriet Sims Russell. While it is a time to advocate for the future, Emancipation Day is also a time at the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark to remember the past and the work of its namesake. needs to deal with the legacies that have been brushed to the side. “‘Why do you guys still want to talk about this?’ Well, we want to talk about it because even though he was willing to go and die for a country in which he wasn’t a fully valued member, there’s more to the story.” “When we discuss what it means to be an African American, I’m told often by the media and those that I’m engaged with that we ‘need to get over with it’,” Smith said. And while the fight against slavery is over, the struggle for equality is not. The Gerrit Smith Estate has served as a powerful gathering spot for some of the biggest names in abolition history, from Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Harriet Tubman. And when he got home, he couldn’t even eat at local restaurants. “My dad risked his life to fight for Central New York and this community. “I’ve seen pictures of some of my relatives and family members proudly decked out in their military regalia, going off to fight on behalf of a country for whom they were not fully invested citizens,” said Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark committee co-chair Max Smith. – Peterboro is a place with deep roots in the abolition movement, and at the 10th annual Peterboro Emancipation Day, it was a time to remember the past and advocate for the future.
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