Historic Eden Cemetery

09/29/2021

September is International Underground Railroad Month

On Thursday, September 23, 2021, the Delaware County Council in Pennsylvania designated September as International Underground Railroad Month. The resolution was presented by Councilperson Kevin Madden at the Delaware County Historical Society.

Please read a portion of the text here

Whereas, Delaware County is home to many historic homes, halls, mills, and farms that were vital parts of the Underground Railroad network; and,

Whereas, untold numbers of men and women, including abolitionists and formerly enslaved persons, who risked their own freedom to help freedom seekers escape bo***ge; and,

Whereas, the Historic Eden Cemetery, in Collingdale, is the burial site of many freedom seekers and abolitionists with connections to the Underground Railroad including Henrietta Duterte, James Forten, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Stephen Smith, William Still "Father of the Underground Railroad" and William Whipper; and, ...

Now, Therefore, Be, It Resolved, that We, the County Council of Delaware County honor those who struggled and sacrificed for the freedom of all people and hereby declare September 2021 to be International Underground Railroad Month in Delaware County as we continue our long march towards the day when every person knows the full unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAxQ888EvU4&list=OLAK5uy_mYGlFUcxQHICNXWd9KpKSSUdnZJcjsLbQ&index=7

09/29/2021

September is International Underground Railroad Month

Martha Jane Parham Ridley, 1840 - 1919
Cornelius Ridley, 1839 - 1922
Citizens of Eden

Freedom Seekers

Living on neighboring plantations in Southampton County, Virginia, separately they self liberated during the Civil War, and reunited in Media, Delaware County, PA

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/154628482/cornelius-ridley

Their great great grandchildren at Eden

09/29/2021

September is International Underground Railroad Month

On Thursday, September 23, 2021, Philadelphia City Councilperson Jamie Gauthier introduced a Resolution designating September as International Underground Railroad Month in Philadelphia

Read the text of the Resolution here
http://phlcouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/CM-Gauthier-Underground-Railroad-Month-Resolution.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mPQ_hKhrTw&list=RDuNbmrpuq1QY&index=8

09/29/2021

September is International Underground Railroad Month Closing Ceremony

Wednesday, September 29, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. EST (virtual event)

The National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program will host a virtual “Closing Ceremony for International Underground Railroad Month.” At this event, the Network to Freedom Program will announce the recipients of its Network to Freedom Awards and highlight the newest listings accepted in its 42nd Round of Applications.

The event will be a live virtual event. Advanced registration is required.
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx...

https://www.nps.gov/.../2021-09-20-closing-ceremony..

09/29/2021

September is International Underground Railroad Month

Siah "Josiah Hulett" Carter, 1839 - 1892, Citizen of Eden, Sailed to Freedom

Freedom Seeker

On May 18, 1862 Siah Carter sought freedom and rowed a small boat out to the Union Navy's iron-clad warship, the USS Monitor, anchored off of City Point in the James River. He enlisted in the US Navy for a three-year term, the first "contraband" to join the USS Monitor’s crew.

Married Eliza Tarrow, a formerly enslaved person, and together they relocated to Philadelphia PA

Commanders Officers Crew

09/29/2021

September is International Underground Railroad Month

Sailing to Freedom: The Maritime Underground Railroad
Wednesday, September 29, 2021 6:30 PM
(vistual event)

Join authors Dr. Timothy Walker, Dr. Cheryl LaRoche, and National Park Service Ranger Shawn Quigley for a conversation about the new book, Sailing to Freedom: Maritime Dimensions of the Underground Railroad

Join the National Park Service for a conversation about the new book, Sailing to Freedom: Maritime Dimensions of the Underground Railroad

09/28/2021

When Black History Is Unearthed, Who Gets to Speak for the Dead?

by Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, October 4, 2021 issue

"Underneath America lies an apartheid of the departed."

The movement to save Black cemeteries has been growing for decades, led by Black women like Barnes and Gonzalez-Garcia, who have families to care for and work full-time jobs but volunteer countless hours and formidable organizing skills looking after the dead and upending American history. They transcribe death certificates; they collect oral histories. They bring in community organizations...

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/10/04/when-black-history-is-unearthed-who-gets-to-speak-for-the-dead
"

Efforts to rescue African American burial grounds and remains have exposed deep conflicts over inheritance and representation.

09/23/2021

September is International Underground Railroad Month

Hester “Hetty” Elizabeth Emory Burr
1796 - 1862, Citizen of Eden

Abolitionist, Business Owner, Reformer

Member of the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society
Involved with the Women's Anti-Slavery Conventions of 1838 and 1839
"A Stalwart" of the Colored Female Free Produce Society of Pennsylvania
Co-founder of the Moral Reform Retreat with Hetty Reckless

"Hetty" Burr was an active member of the Underground Railroad. Raised money for the defense of the men indicted for treason for the Christiana Resistance of 1851.

https://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-109
https://www.thoughtco.com/the-christiana-riot-1773557

Freedom seekers in Pennsylvania resisted an attempt to capture them and the violent incident created a national uproar in 1851.

09/22/2021

Decolonizing Archaeology: The African Burial Ground 30 years later

Friday, September 24, 2021 4:00 PM EST (virtual event)

The Flatbush African Burial Ground Coalition presents this teach-in.

Dr. Michael Blakey will unpack the lessons of creating the National African Burial Ground monument in lower Manhattan.

Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo will share the history of the Moses Macedonia African Cemetery and their current path to halting the further desecration of that site.

https://www.growhousenyc.org/flatbush-african-burial-ground

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/decolonizing-archaeology-the-african-burial-ground-30-years-later-tickets-170201365867

On the eve of the 30th year anniversary of the discovery of the Lower Manhattan African Burial Ground, Dr. Michael Blakey shares lessons.

09/22/2021

A COMMEMORATION OF WILLIAM STILL'S COURAGEOUS LIFE

Thursday, October 7, 2021 6:00 PM EST (virtual event)

Join host, Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens as she leads a discussion on the life of African-American Abolitionist, William Still.

the Program in African American History, The Library Company of Philadelphia

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09/21/2021

BLACK LIVES AND FREEDOM JOURNEYS
THE LEGACIES OF THE STILL FAMILY OF PHILADELPHIA | 7-8 OCTOBER 2021
(virtual event)

The 200th anniversary of the birth of Philadelphia activist William Still offers an exceptional opportunity to consider his remarkable life and legacy.

October 2021 provides an opportunity to commemorate Still’s birth by thinking historically and broadly about Black American activism...

co-sponsored by the Univ. of Penn McNeil Center for Early American Studies...

The 200th anniversary of the birth of Philadelphia activist William Still offers an exceptional opportunity to consider his remarkable life and legacy. Born to formerly enslaved parents on 7 October 1821, Still is best known for his work with the Underground Railroad. A clerk at the Pennsylvania Ant...

09/21/2021

WALK IN WILLIAM STILL’S FOOTSTEPS

Abolitionist William Still was born on October 7, 1821. To commemorate the bicentennial of his birth in 2021, Faye Anderson leads a walking tour, “William Still at 200: Walking in the Abolitionist’s Footsteps.”

The walk begins at the site of the office of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society where Still was reunited with his brother, Peter Freedman, and Henry “Box” Brown was delivered to freedom.

Stop at places associated with the Father of the Underground Railroad including Independence Hall, Mother Bethel AME Church, Still’s boarding house and Lombard Street Central Presbyterian Church...

https://phillyjazz.us/2020/10/04/william-still-at-200-underground-railroad-philadelphia-walking-tour-faye-anderson