United States History Commons^™

Abolitionist Aunty: Jane Chester, Christopher Mundis, Katie Heiser

Women of the Eighth Ward

Presented on Friday, February 21 as part of Messiah College’s 2020 Humanities Symposium. This exhibit, “Vulnerabilities & Securities in Historic Harrisburg: From Abolition to Suffrage,” was produced by the Center for Public Humanities Student Fellows and Dr. Sarah Myers’s Public History Class.

Jane Morris Chester was born enslaved in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 5, 1801. Around 1828, she escaped enslavement and made a treacherous journey north to Harrisburg, where she married George Chester. After George’s death in 1859, Jane, fondly called “Aunty” by Harrisburg citizens, continued to operate the restaurant and opened a premier catering business for Harrisburg elites, including …

Conductor Of The Old Eighth: Harriet M. Marshall, Ian Mcilrath, David Ford, Josh Acevedo

Women of the Eighth Ward

Presented on Friday, February 21 as part of Messiah College’s 2020 Humanities Symposium. This exhibit, “Vulnerabilities & Securities in Historic Harrisburg: From Abolition to Suffrage,” was produced by the Center for Public Humanities Student Fellows and Dr. Sarah Myers’s Public History Class.

Harriet McClintock Marshall was born in 1840. Her mother, Catherine, was one of the founding members of Wesley Union African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and Harriet worked with her mother to continue establishing the church's reputation. Wesley Union, located on Tanner's Alley, was a haven for those seeking freedom through the Underground Railroad. Harriet's and her mother's work …

Renaissance Woman: Gwendolyn Bennett, Eva Cunningham-Firkey, Kennesha Kelly-Davis, Janelle Soash, Faith Swarner

Women of the Eighth Ward

Presented on Friday, February 21 as part of Messiah College’s 2020 Humanities Symposium. This exhibit, “Vulnerabilities & Securities in Historic Harrisburg: From Abolition to Suffrage,” was produced by the Center for Public Humanities Student Fellows and Dr. Sarah Myers’s Public History Class.

While she was still an undergraduate, Bennett established her reputation as a poet when her poem “Nocturne” was published in The Crisis (the journal of the NAACP), and her poem “Heritage” was published in Opportunity (a magazine published by National Urban League). Just a year later, Bennett read “To Usward, ” her tribute to novelist Jesse Fauset, at …

The Political Pen: Alice Dunbar-Nelson, Kate Kuc, Melissa Boyer, Chloe Dickson

Women of the Eighth Ward

Presented on Friday, February 21 as part of Messiah College’s 2020 Humanities Symposium. This exhibit, “Vulnerabilities & Securities in Historic Harrisburg: From Abolition to Suffrage,” was produced by the Center for Public Humanities Student Fellows and Dr. Sarah Myers’s Public History Class.

In 1895, Alice Dunbar-Nelson published her first collection of short stories and poems, Violets and Other Tales. She also published a few plays, such as Mine Eyes Have Seen (1918) in The Crisis, the official magazine of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People. Dunbar-Nelson often used her creative works to address racism and …

Ardent Activist: Anne E. Amos, Anna Strange, Michaela Magners

Women of the Eighth Ward

Presented on Friday, February 21 as part of Messiah College’s 2020 Humanities Symposium. This exhibit, “Vulnerabilities & Securities in Historic Harrisburg: From Abolition to Suffrage,” was produced by the Center for Public Humanities Student Fellows and Dr. Sarah Myers’s Public History Class.

Amos was involved in the temperance movement in Harrisburg. As a founding member of the Independent Order of Daughters of Temperance, she served as the Grand Recording Scribe and District Grand Deputy of the Good Samaritan Council, no. 1. The Council listed under her address on South Avenue functioned as a political hub in the Eighth Ward. Serving …

Musician And Church Leader: Hannah Braxton Jones, Isis Ortiz-Scarlett, Max Weaver, Jarod Fry

Women of the Eighth Ward

Presented on Friday, February 21 as part of Messiah College’s 2020 Humanities Symposium. This exhibit, “Vulnerabilities & Securities in Historic Harrisburg: From Abolition to Suffrage,” was produced by the Center for Public Humanities Student Fellows and Dr. Sarah Myers’s Public History Class.

Hannah's leadership and administrative skills extended beyond the church to civic organizations such as the House of Ruth, Good Samaritans, and Daughters of Samaritans. In addition, she was a dedicated music teacher. She did all of this while providing for her family by working as a domestic, one of the few jobs available to African-American women at that …

Rhythms Of Resilience In The Eighth: From Abolition To Suffrage, Jean Corey, Katie Wingert

Women of the Eighth Ward

Presented on Friday, February 21 as part of Messiah College’s 2020 Humanities Symposium. This exhibit, “Vulnerabilities & Securities in Historic Harrisburg: From Abolition to Suffrage,” was produced by the Center for Public Humanities Student Fellows and Dr. Sarah Myers’s Public History Class.

This exhibit seeks to honor the spirit of perseverance and resilience demonstrated by many individuals who fought for their rights and contributed positively to the community of the Old Eighth, Dauphin County, and beyond. In this year, we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the 15th Amendment and the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. 2020 is also the …

Civil War & Emancipation - With Biography Of T. Morris Chester, Digital Harrisburg, Drew Hermeling

Look Up, Look Out

Harrisburg was an integral city for the Union during the Civil War. Harrisburg’s canal, roads, and railroads provided an extensive transportation network that connected the state capital of Pennsylvania with the rest of the northern states. Camp Curtin, named after Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin, was founded at the fairgrounds just outside of the city’s northern boundaries at the beginning of the war. As a staging ground for the Union Army, thousands of soldiers passed through the camp between 1861 and 1865 and in turn shaped the small urban center. The influx of soldiers sometimes exceeded the accommodations at Camp Curtin …

Business And Social Life In The Old Eighth Ward - With Biography Of Colonel W. Strothers, Drew Hermeling, Digital Harrisburg

Look Up, Look Out

Despite its reputation as a lower-income and vice-ridden region, the Old Eighth Ward was a thriving place for businesses, both large and small. In fact, much of the neighborhood’s reputation for unhealthiness was a result of the prominent industries that called the ward home. One such factory was W. O. Hickok Manufacturing Company, also referred to as the “Eagle Works,” the oldest and most prominent industrial plant in the Old Eighth Ward and one of the first manufacturing plants to use electricity for light and power. Additionally, Eagle Works’ founder, Orvil Hickok, served as a councilman for the borough …

Educational Reform In The Old Eighth Ward - With Biography Of William Howard Day, Drew Hermeling, Digital Harrisburg

Look Up, Look Out

In the early days of the Old Eighth Ward, education was segregated and the responsibility of church communities. Thomas Dorsey founded a school for “colored children, both free and bound,” in 1817 in the Wesley Union AME Zion church building. Eventually, a three story building, located between the Jennings Foundry and the Wesley Union church, known as “Franklin Hall” became the primary educational home of the Ward’s pupils. However, Franklin Hall was poorly suited for educating children. J. Howard Wert, writing in the Patriot, described the conditions there, stating that they

“were of the poorest; the rooms were destitute of …

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Great Speakers Of The Old Eighth Ward - With Biography Of Frances Harper, Digital Harrisburg, Drew Hermeling

Look Up, Look Out

The Old Eighth Ward was one of Harrisburg’s most diverse neighborhoods in the later 19th and early 20th centuries. The district’s varied ethnic and racial composition was unparalleled elsewhere in the city, and its residents were engaged in a range of occupations. Many were run-of-the-mill laborers who found employment in the nearby railroads and manufacturing facilities. Others represented a variety of professional classes: small business owners, lawyers, preachers, nurses, and teachers, among others. From the period before the Civil War to the opening years of the 20th century, the Old Eighth hosted numerous social events including public speeches from influential …

Gettysburg Historical Journal 2016

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

No abstract provided.

"Where We May Oftener Converse Together": Translation Of Written And Spoken Communication In Colonial Pennsylvania, Jenna E. Fleming

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

In this paper I examine the differences between colonists’ and Indians’ perceptions and use of language in early Pennsylvania. Through consideration of translation challenges in both spoken and written contexts, I conclude that while residents of the region created systems for coping with linguistic issues, basic disparities between native and colonial forms of communication persisted in complicating diplomatic relations. The title of the paper is taken from the August 26, 1758 entry in The Journal of Christian Frederick Post and is part of the Pennsylvanian government’s proposal for closer relations with Indians.

Carlisle Indian School Students Database, Amelia Trevelyan

Carlisle Indian School Students

This data collection helps to identify students who attended the Carlisle Indian School from 1879 to 1918. Data were collected from periodical publications in the Carlisle Indian Industrial School (CIIS) archive, such as The School News, The Red Man, The Indian Craftsman, and The Morning Star. Many of these publications are now available online in the Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center.

In Defense Of Colonel Richard P. Roberts, Commanding Officer Of The Pennsylvania 140th Regiment, Gregory Jason Bell

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Richard P. Roberts was the colonel of the Pennsylvania 140th regiment from its organization in September 1862 until his death at Gettysburg in July 1863. During this time period, Captain David Acheson of Company C fostered a “growing dislike” for the colonel that led him to portray the colonel negatively in his writings. Unfortunately for the colonel’s reputation, Acheson’s letters have been widely published, leading at least one historian to accept Acheson’s poor opinion of the colonel as fact. However, other primary sources exist which collectively demonstrate a positive regimental opinion of the colonel and further suggest that Acheson’s criticisms …

Press Bulletin, Vol. V, No. 7, 1942, Kaz Oka

Japanese American WWII Incarceration Camp newspapers

Poston newspaper covers relocation center events such as health issues, Japanese ancestry soldiers visiting Poston, economic policy for residents, social gatherings, employment programs and opportunity, Army inspectors, industrial enterprise, music events, local government, nursery experiments with rubber planting, residents leaving, announcements for house items and change of residence, safety classes by Red Cross, school events like P.T.A volunteers and back-to school, Girl scouts, church news, softball results, queen contest and county fair.