U.S. scientists and engineers are trying to save a toppled slave fort in Sierra Leone — a site where Rhode Island captains bought African captives 250 years ago.
The team is part of a $5-million effort to preserve the fort’s stone walls, cannons and slave pens, weakened by tropical heat, rain and years of neglect.
Built on Bunce Island in the Sierra Leone River, the British fort is one of 40 slave “castles” that operated on the West African coast during the transatlantic slave trade.
It played a key role in America’s involvement in the trade, said Joseph Opala, an American history professor who is heading the project.
From the 1700s to the early 1800s, its British owners sold kidnapped Africans to New England slave captains in search of human cargo.
About 30,000 captives were shipped from Bunce Island to the West Indies or America, where they toiled on rice plantations in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, said Opala, director of the U.S. arm of the Bunce Island Coalition.
The descendants of those slaves still live in coastal pockets in South Carolina and Georgia, Opala said. Many share cultural traits with the people of Sierra Leone. READ MORE
It was not your typical father-daughter outing - there was no dance, no barbeque, no scavenger hunt.
Instead, 14 year old Jocelyn McGill joined her father in an overnight stay at Middleton Place Plantation, to experience first-hand her father's efforts to preserve historic slave cabins.
Joseph McGill, Program Officer for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, sleeps in historic slave cabins to raise awareness of the need to preserve these sites of memory for African American history. On his most recent overnight stay, he was joined by his 14 year old daughter Jocelyn.
Here, they share their reflections on their stay at Middleton Place.
Joseph Says:
While I am anxious to tell the world all about what happened with the Slave Dwelling Project since my last overnight stay at Brattonsville Plantation on Saturday, November 6, 2010, I must respectfully restrain myself.
My most recent stay was Saturday, March 12, 2011 at Middleton Place in Charleston, SC. I was thrilled to be accompanied by my 14 year old daughter Jocelyn on that night.
The next three paragraphs will be her account of that experience.Unfortunately, her desire to stay far exceeded her desire to write about the experience so here goes.
Jocelyn Says:
When I got there I looked around the cabin we were going to sleep in. The cabin that we stayed in was one of the first buildings I saw when I walked in. I thought it was going to be very small and dirty, but it was actually spacious and clean.
While I was there I walked around to look at the animals. They had sheep that had some lambs, goats, Ginny hens, a mule, peacocks, chickens, ducks, a horse, water buffalos, and cows.
A reporter came and asked us some questions, and after he left, we started a fire and made some s’mores. A photographer came and took some pictures, and when he left we put the fire out and went to sleep.
When I woke up I went outside and sat in front of the cabin. The reporter came back, and asked more questions. We walked around and looked at the animals, and I got to pet the horse and the mule. They said there were bob cats, but I didn’t see any.
Joseph Says:
Jocelyn still has the desire to stay at other sites in the future but I do not know if an opportunity like Middleton Place will present itself in the future. I am just thrilled that we could spend that quality time together and hope that her participation will inspire a younger audience to be interested in the Slave Dwelling Project.
In this second year of the project, it will expand to the states of Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, Maryland and North Carolina.
The overnight stays are now interspersed with lectures and public interaction when feasible. At least two additional outlets will publish the blogs of each stay. Francis Marion University in Florence, SC has provided funding for a research assistant. The South Carolina National Heritage Corridor is assisting with researching extant slave dwellings within the corridor.
The Magnolia Plantation and Garden’s foundation has provided some funding for the project. A documentary about the Morris Street Slave Dwellings in Anderson, SC has been produced. A local artist is painting a picture that will interpret and benefit the project.
I am consulting with property owners on what should be done with slave dwellings that they possess. Several well capable property owners have offered to relocate dilapidated slave dwellings to their properties for restoration. The future for the Slave Dwelling Project looks bright.
Learn More About Joseph McGill and the Slave Cabin Project
Joseph McGill, a program officer with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and a Civil War re-enactor, began the Slave Cabin Project to raise awareness of the need to preserve endangered slave cabins. Last year, McGill spent the night in eight cabins in South Carolina and two in Alabama.
This year, the project will expand, with overnight stays in Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina and Texas.
Listen:
From NPR's All Things Considered: Honoring Slaves by Sleeping in Their Cabins
It was not your typical father-daughter outing - there was no dance, no barbeque, no scavenger hunt.
Instead, 14 year old Jocelyn McGill joined her father in an overnight stay at Middleton Place Plantation, to experience first-hand her father's efforts to preserve historic slave cabins.
Joseph McGill, Program Officer for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, sleeps in historic slave cabins to raise awareness of the need to preserve these sites of memory for African American history. On his most recent overnight stay, he was joined by his 14 year old daughter Jocelyn.
Here, they share their reflections on their stay at Middleton Place.
Joseph Says:
While I am anxious to tell the world all about what happened with the Slave Dwelling Project since my last overnight stay at Brattonsville Plantation on Saturday, November 6, 2010, I must respectfully restrain myself.My most recent stay was Saturday, March 12, 2011 at Middleton Place in Charleston, SC.I was thrilled to be accompanied by my 14 year old daughter Jocelyn on that night.The next three paragraphs will be her account of that experience.Unfortunately, her desire to stay far exceeded her desire to write about the experience so here goes.
Jocelyn Says:
When I got there I looked around the cabin we were going to sleep in. The cabin that we stayed in was one of the first buildings I saw when I walked in. I thought it was going to be very small and dirty, but it was actually spacious and clean.
While I was there I walked around to look at the animals. They had sheep that had some lambs, goats, Ginny hens, a mule, peacocks, chickens, ducks, a horse, water buffalos, and cows.A reporter came and asked us some questions, and after he left, we started a fire and made some s’mores. A photographer came and took some pictures, and when he left we put the fire out and went to sleep.
When I woke up I went outside and sat in front of the cabin. The reporter came back, and asked more questions.We walked around and looked at the animals, and I got to pet the horse and the mule. They said there were bob cats, but I didn’t see any.
Joseph Says:
Jocelyn still has the desire to stay at other sites in the future but I do not know if an opportunity like Middleton Place will present itself in the future.I am just thrilled that we could spend that quality time together and hope that her participation will inspire a younger audience to be interested in the Slave Dwelling Project.
In this second year of the project, it will expand to the states of Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, Maryland and North Carolina.The overnight stays are now interspersed with lectures and public interaction when feasible.At least two additional outlets will publish the blogs of each stay.Francis Marion University in Florence, SC has provided funding for a research assistant.The South Carolina National Heritage Corridor is assisting with researching extant slave dwellings within the corridor.The Magnolia Plantation and Garden’s foundation has provided some funding for the project.A documentary about the Morris Street Slave Dwellings in Anderson, SC has been produced.A local artist is painting a picture that will interpret and benefit the project.I am consulting with property owners on what should be done with slave dwellings that they possess.Several well capable property owners have offered to relocate dilapidated slave dwellings to their properties for restoration.The future for the Slave Dwelling Project looks bright.
Learn More About Joseph McGill and the Slave Dwelling Project
Joseph McGill, a program officer with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and a Civil War re-enactor, began the Slave Dwelling Project to raise awareness of the need to preserve endangered slave cabins. Last year, McGill spent the night in eight cabins in South Carolina and two in Alabama.
This year, the project will expand, with overnight stays in Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina and Texas.
Listen:
From NPR's All Things Considered: Honoring Slaves by Sleeping in Their Cabins
If you have not queried Google Books to learn more about the
geographical area where you ancestors lived or to find out what information mat exist on your ancestor, you may be missing a valuable geographical resource.
Debbie Bloom, Walker Local History Room Manager at the Richland County Public Library in Columbia, recently gave a great presentation at the Southeast Branch on using social networking and genealogy where she demonstrated how she uses her eReader to store .pdf files from Google Books and Heritage Quest. She pointed out that sometimes the places you go to research do not have the internet. Census records or books saved on an eReader can be easily referenced when needed.
Image via Wikipedia
Some of the most fascinating discoveries which I have found are federal and state records which mention the names of my ancestors ans well as other works by researchers which provide further biographical details and information about collections in local archives and libraries. I have been led to a vast array of record types rich in genealogical data on people in the communities where my ancestors lived.
If you discover a book that only show a "snippet view," and you cannot access all the pages, look for the link within Google Books to Amazon.com. The "Look Inside" feature available for many books at Amazon allows you to search the indexes for family surnames or localities you are researching.
When I was young, I used to sneak into my dad's red toolbox to admire the tools he used and to make sure I knew the names of each and how each one was used. I was most fascinated by the tape measure and the level.
My fascination for tools has carried over to social media. I am always looking for the best tools to help genealogists and family historians find greater success. Two new powerful FamilySearch community tools have leveled the playing field between professionals and enthusiasts, and helps everyone measure up when it comes to our knowledge of genealogical resources, FamilySearch Wiki and FamilySearch Forums.
I volunteer at the Columbia family history center in South Carolina each week where I have had many opportunities to help patrons break through "brick walls."
I have helped to empower them by helping them to learn how to access and use these two tools when they have exhausted known resources and need a little assistance.
The benefits of FamilySearch Wiki and FamilySearch Forums are:
research assistance is free
both can be accessed from home
professionals and enthusiasts share what they know
responses to research questions are accurate and timely
The two challenges we face in researching are running out of resources and finding answers to research questions. These two FamilySearch power tools are the answer to both challenges. Just about every person whom I have helped who needed help beyond my own expertise has found answers using FamilySearch Wiki or FamilySearch Forums.
Now, I help to empower everyone to know how to find help when they get stuck:
1. When you run out of resources, search the wiki to see what resources exist for the geographical location where your ancestor lived. Search the wiki also for articles that tell more about the history of the area and the events that took place during you ancestor's lifetime.
2. If you are unable to locate resources on the wiki, go over to the forums and ask for free research assistance. Be sure to include your ancestor's name, vital information (dates, places, and events) and explain what you want to know.
3. If you discover a resource that was not included on the wiki, go back and contribute it so the next person will be able to find it more easily.
These three easy steps have proved successful for many people who have struggled with "brick walls" for some time. I have received assistance with a few of my own challenges as well. I encourage you to try these powerful tools for yourself, and please come back to share your success!
Overview: Given that history is composed of many interwoven stories, how do curators and other historians decide which stories to tell? How can key historical events, people, places and themes best be represented in a meaningful, engaging exhibit to teach others? In this lesson, students consider the messages sent by artifacts and then develop an African-American history exhibit.
