Historically Speaking
Published
by The Afro-American Historical Association of the
Niagara
Frontier
, P.O. Box
63, Buffalo
NY
14207
Sharon
Holley and Madeline Scott, Editors
Volume 27 Number
2 October 2003
NEW
ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT
In May, I
became President of Afro-American Historical Association succeeding Wanda
Hackney who had served as President for the past three years.
Other officers who moved up in May are; Dr. Felix Armfield 1st VP and
Dr. Barbara Nevergold 2nd VP. Board
members elected were; Sonia Walker and Dr. Lillian Williams.
The
Ancestral Heritage Cemetery Tour was held in June and July to capacity crowds
in spite of the new $5 fee. Hopefully
this popular program will be as successful in 2004.
Three
new titles have been added to our microfilming/preservation project.
They are the “Clemmon & Leah Hodges Files,” the “Albert
Thompson Personal Files,” and the “Albert Thompson Photo Album.”
The Association currently has 63 titles in the collection which can be
viewed at the North Jefferson Branch Library, Butler Library at Buffalo State
College and the
Fordham
Regional
History
Center
also at
Buffalo
State
.
This year we are pushing for more community papers to be filmed and
added to the microfilmed collection. We
are asking Churches, individuals and organizations who wish to have their
papers microfilmed to contact us. (716-691-4257, or
P.O. Box 63
,
Buffalo
NY
14207
).
On
Wednesday, November 3, 2003
the Association will co-sponsor
along with Buffalo State College’s
Fordham
Regional
History
Center
, a lecture and slide show by Dr.
Milton Sernett, Professor of African American Studies at
Syracuse
University
.
The title of Dr. Sernett’s presentation will be the “Underground
Railroad in WNY.” This event
will be held in the
Burchfield-Penny
Art
Gallery
in Rockwell Hall on the Buffalo
State College Campus. The event is
open to the public and will begin at
7:00 P.M.
27TH
ANNUAL CARTER G. WOODSON ESSAY CONTEST
The
theme for the Annual Carter G. Woodson Essay Contest is "Striving for
Unity: African Americans in
Western New York
."
Students in grades 4 - 12 will be asked to write an essay of 500 words or less
on this theme. The essay may include how individuals, groups or
organizations have presented programs or started initiatives to strive for
unity, equality, civil and human rights, justice, etc. among African Americans
in this area. The essay should describe the history of the person or
group and give examples of how the work they are doing contributes to building
unity. The contest will close in February 2004 with an awards program.
Informational flyers will be available at the North Jefferson Branch Library,
332 East Utica
Street
in November.
JUST
BUFFALO LITERARY CENTER
Just
Buffalo
Literary
Center
will once again present "If All
of
Buffalo
Read the Same Book". The
year the featured book is: The Price of a Child by Lorene Cary.
Ms. Cary will be in
Buffalo
October 2-4 to participate in a
number of booksignings, readings and discussions. Among her appearances
will be the North Jefferson Branch Library,
332 East Utica Street
on Thursday, October 2 from
5-6 p.m.
and the
Michigan
Ave.
Baptist
Church
on Saturday, October 4, from
4-6 p.m.
Her final reading, reception
and farewell party is scheduled at the
Langston
Hughes
Center
on Saturday, October 4 from 8-10.
For more information, contact Just Buffalo at 832-5400.
NEW YORK
STATE FREEDOM TRAIL COALITION
Individuals
and Organizations with an interest in Underground Railroad History and
Archives in
New York
State
are planning statewide conference scheduled for October 2004 in
Auburn
,
NY
. The groups are organized under the title of the New York State Freedom
Trail Coalition. Information about the upcoming conference and other
activities may be found on the website of the Underground Railroad History
Project coordinated by Paul and Mary Stewart of
Albany
,
NY
, www.ugrworkshop.com.
FIRST
SHILOH
BAPTIST
CHURCH
SENIOR
MINISTRY
The Senior
Ministry’s annual luncheon was held in the Spring of 2003 in the beautiful
Clemmon Hodges Senior Citizen’s Center, ninety seniors attended.
The guest were welcomed by Mistress of ceremonies, Mrs. Inez Hall.
Rev. Dian Davis led the memorial service for deceased
Shiloh
members .
Mrs.
Willie Mae Johnson (President of the Senior Ministry) presented the statement
of purpose for the Senior Ministry. The
guest speaker was Mrs. Sharon Holley who thrilled everyone with her exciting
tales about growing up in
Central Florida
.
A
delicious lunch was catered by Mrs. Woods, and the guests were given time to
get acquainted and visit. During
the second half of the program, Mrs. Nancy Hargo read a biography of Clemmon
Hodges. Mrs. Leah Hodges presented
the index to the Clemmon Hodges microfilm collection to Rev. A. McKinley Royal
and
First
Shiloh
Baptist
Church
. Copies of the microfilm will be
placed in the Buffalo State College Archives, and the North Jefferson Library.
Copies were also given to members of the Hodges family.
The
afternoon came to a close with the singing of familiar religious songs led by
Mrs. Aliscena Hargrave and Mrs. Alice Ramadham.
Senior
Hall of Fame
During
each quarter, several seniors are recognized as outstanding members of First
Shiloh . A biography and photograph is displayed on the Seniors Hall of Fame
for three months. The following seniors have had their biographies and
photographs displayed in this calendar year:
William Chavous, Berniece Dees, Cravane Givens,
Inez Hall, Willie Mae Johnson, Clara B. Jones, Madeline Little, Deacon
Pleasant Thomas, and Dorothy Phillips.
Senior
Sunday
In
September of each year a special Sunday worship service is held to acknowledge
and spotlight the church’s senior members. The guest speaker for this
year’s worship service was the Reverend Clara Castro, pastor of Living Water
Fellowship. She has been pasturing
since 1976. She has pastured the
following churches:
St.
Andrews A.M. E, , Bethel Lackawana,
and has supervised the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship
Ministry. During the
services, a special grandparents award was presented to Mrs. Mamie Kirkland by
her granddaughter, Neota Jones. There
was a special reception following the morning worship service.
Dedicated Service awards were presented to Earline Edler-Scott, Ophelia
Scott, Eula Wright, Marvin Prather, and Bessie Crowley.
Mamie Kirkland was the recipient of the Senior of the year award.
Mrs. Freddie Mae Fordham, was chairperson of the Senior Sunday program,
and Mrs, Willie Mae Johnson, is President of the Senior Ministry.
ARE
YOU INVOLVED WITH A CHURCH, CLUB, OR FAMILY HISTORY PROJECT?
If
you are involved with a church, club, family, or other kind of local history
project and would like to share the results of your work with our readers, we
would like to hear from you. If
there is sufficient demand, Historically Speaking will begin a regular
column highlighting community history projects.
Let our readers know what you are doing.
Your project might inspire other individuals or groups to start similar
projects. We will begin our
“Community History Column” in our April, 2004 issue.
Send us your articles!!
PRESERVE
YOUR ORGANIZATION’S HISTORICAL
RECORDS ON MICROFILM
There
is no reason for Afro-American individuals and groups in
Western New York
to complain that “our history is
being neglected and lost.” The
Afro-American Historical Association of the Niagara Frontier sponsors numerous
programs aimed at preventing our history from being lost and neglected.
Let the Historical Association help you and/or your group to preserve
your historical documents so that future generations can see what our
generation tried to accomplish. We
will organize (if necessary), index, and microfilm your records.
We will return the originals to you in acid free folders and storage
boxes. In addition, we will scan
the photographs in your family photo collection into digital images and store
them on CDs. (We will give you two
copies of each CD). The microfilm
and CDs will be placed in the North Jefferson Branch Library, and the Buffalo
State College Regional History Collection.
There is no cost to you or your organization for that service.
The Association funds those projects with its membership dues.
Give us a call today and let us help you to preserve our important
community history records. Call
716-691-4257, or write
P.O. Box 63
,
Buffalo
NY
14207
.
There is no excuse. Just Do
It!!
BUFFALO
AND THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
EDITOR’S
NOTE: The
following is an unedited version of a newspaper article that was copyrighted
by the Buffalo Evening News in 1930.
It was in the files of Mr. Pat Kavanah, Forest Lawn Historian.
The word “March” is handwritten at the top of the article, but no
other date is indicated.
THE
STORY OF
BUFFALO
:
THE
CITY WAS A TERMINUS OF THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN SLAVERY DAYS
M.M.
Wilner
In
several ways
Buffalo
bore an exceptional relation to the national development of the slavery issue.
Here was the place from which the African colonization movement drew
its best business organizer. Ere
both Liberty Party and the Free Soil Party held the conventions which launched
them into national politics. Here,
on the other hand, was the home and the lifelong environment of the president
who signed the compromises of 1850, including the drastic Fugitive Slave Law.
And here was one of the principal terminals of the Underground
Railroad.
The
War of 1812 brought negroes to
this frontier as servants of southern officers.
From these the information appears to have spread among the slaves that
there was a country north of the
United States
which, if they could reach it, would not deliver them again into bondage.
Gradually the Niagara began to be visioned by many as an earthly
counterpart of that “one more ribber for to cross,” of which they sang in
their spirituals—the last of the many dangers which they must pass in order
to win their way to the freedom that to them meant heaven in this life.
For
a quarter of a century after the war, however, the number who fled was not so
great as to attract much attention. The
recorded history of the movement for
Buffalo
began in 1838. In that year, as is
related by Prof. Siebert in The Underground Railroad cam two sleigh
loads of fugitives, who had been forwarded from
Ohio
. By 1840 the work of aiding the
flight of negroes had been well organized all the way from the
Mason-Dixon line
to
Canada
. The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850
created new facilities for the recover of the human property and increased the
penalties for helping negroes. A fine of $1,000 and imprisonment might be
imposed for giving an escaped slave shelter or food.
It was an attempt to repeal by act of Congress the instincts of
humanity, and as a natural consequence it was met by increased defiance.
Nearly
all the narratives of the Underground Railroad speak of the
Buffalo
or Black Rock as the terminus of a main line for this part of the country.
The routes which converge here were those originating around
Philadelphia
to the southeast and
Ohio
to the west. There also was a
network of trials which came directly cross western
Pennsylvania
. The slave hunters, or federal
officers, were so diligent in watching the river front that at times no safe
crossing could be found anywhere between Buffalo and Lake Ontario.
A picture which may be accepted as typical of conditions is gleaned
from the reminiscences of Eber M. Petit, as follows:
“Dan was warmed and fed
and secreted in the old house until it was deemed safe for him to go on,
supposing the pursuers to have lost the track and abandoned the search.
But not so; their spies were on the line watching every little skiff in
the Black Rock harbor, when friend Andrew, just at daylight, having signaled
the boatman, left his carriage in a back street and led Daniel through
a narrow lane to where a boat lay hid, and out of the water.
It was launched in a moment, and Dan and two boatman were on their way
to
Canada
before the spies watching the other boats could give the alarm.”
Strong
as were the incentives for law enforcement at that, there appears to have been
little, if any, use of firearms along the river or on the highways.
In many cases, moreover, the fugitives crossed the river openly by the
regular ferry.
For
a time after the Fugitive Slave Law went into effect, those negroes who had
made their way into
Buffalo
by themselves usually went to the American Hotel, whose rear was separated by
only a few blocks from President Fillmore’s home.
An employe (sic) at the hotel was Samuel Murray, a free negro, who
usually was at work early in the morning before any one else was abroad.
A fugitive had only to find him in order to be assured a bite to ear
and directions or guidance to the river front.
It
was necessary, however, to have hiding places in town, where negroes could be
concealed to await a favorable opportunity to steal across the river.
The Morris Butler house, at the corner of Utica street and Linwood
avenue, built in 1857, and since torn down, had two secret chambers, one on
each side of the front door, that were accessible from the cellar.
Mr. Butler was said to be the keeper of the last station of the
Underground in the later years of its existence, though his name is not
included in the list Erie county agents published by Prof. Siebert.
These were: Gideon Barker, William Haywood, George W. Johnson, Deacon
Henry Moore, Mr. Aldrich and Mr. Williams.
Another
house that was understood to be an underground station stood on
Ferry street
near
Niagara
, and there probably were several others.
The
most exciting local incident connected with attempts to recapture negroes was
the punishment of a traitor to his color, who was accused of serving as a spy
to inform southern owners where their escaped slaves were.
He came from
Detroit
, but the local blacks had been warned. A
reception committee took him into the woods, where now is Humboldt park, and
lashed him nearly dead. He
complained of his assailants, some of whom were arrested, but they were
released eventually without trial.
Copyright,
1930, by
Buffalo
Evening News.
BUFFALO
AND THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
EDITOR’S
NOTE: The
following is an unedited version of a newspaper article that was found in the
“Microfilmed Rev. J.E. Nash Papers,” Buffalo State College Archives,
Buffalo
,
NY
.
(folder #235, roll #4) Although there is no date or
source on the article, context clues suggest that it was published in
1936 or 1937. It was probably
published in one of the local daily newspapers.
OLD
CHURCH
ONCE STATION ON UNDERGROUND RAILWAY
Michigan Avenue
edifice had adventurous career in
days before Civil War
FAMOUS
IN SLAVE DAYS:
Buffalo
’s last link with the days when the question of abolition or retention of
slavery rocked the country is the old
Michigan
Avenue
Baptist
Church
. It was a station on the
Underground Railway by which slaves were helped on their way to escape in
Canada
. It is changed little from the
time when it harbored hundreds of men and women who slept on its pews and ate
in its cellar.
Austere
and simple in its exterior and interior, the old
Michigan
Avenue
Baptist
Church
in appearance does not betray its history of adventurous happenings, or the
fact that it is the most beloved shrine of the Negro population of
Buffalo
. The red brick edifice is
declared by local historians to be the only remaining station of the old
underground railroad left in the vicinity of
Buffalo
.
There
are old mansions near the
shore
of
Lake
Ontario
in
Western New York
which still bear proudly on their doors the secret insignia which marked them
in the days before the Civil War, as havens of refuge for escaping slaves from
the south on their way to
Canada
. However, the old church on
Michigan Avenue
, just off Broadway, is
Buffalo
’s last tangible link with the times when the question of whether runaway
slaves would be arrested or aided was a stirring national question.
Few
Changes in Building
According
to the Rev. J. Edward Nash, pastor of the church for almost 45 years, there
have been few changes in the church since 1845 when it was built.
Old church records tell of the pride the congregation had in its first
gas lights. They were installed
more than 80 years ago after the congregation had been formed about eleven
years. The original gas chandelier
still is in the vestibule.
The
church was built for a Negro congregation and was something of a protégé of
the
First
Baptist
Church
, which was located then on
Washington Street
. Prominent in the founding of the
congregation was Peyton Harris, an early Negro resident of
Buffalo
, who was considered comparatively wealthy.
His great-granddaughter, Mrs. Sarah May Keelan, lives next door to the
church now on
Michigan Avenue
.
The
slavery question began to rock the
United States
shortly after the church was built. The
Abolitionists had a strong following and an active membership in
Buffalo
and
Western New York
. Because their activities were
illegal, such as bootlegging was during the twenties, the most active of the
slave runners took pains to conceal their membership in the underground
railway as well as their activities.
It
is known that some of the wealthiest and most prominent of families of
Buffalo
before the Civil War were ardent Abolitionists.
They not only contributed money but personal services also in aiding
slaves to escape across the
Niagara River
to
Fort Erie
, where they were free from pursuit and bondage.
The
nearest underground railway station was
Westfield
. From there, carriages drawn by
swift horses brought escaped slaves to
Buffalo
during the night. Stormy nights
were favored for the trips to avoid traffic.
When the runaways arrived in
Buffalo
, they were brought to the
Michigan
Avenue
Baptist
Church
. They stayed there for days and
often for weeks until agitation about the fugitives died down and then they
were helped across the river. The
escaped slaves were fed in the basement and slept on the padded pews of the
church itself.
When there was an over-quota
of slaves, they slept on the hard benches, which still stand in the basement.
There
are dozens o f Negro families in Toronto and other nearby Canadian cities who
have a great affection for the Buffalo Church, for in it their grandfathers
and grandmothers rested before their final dash for freedom in Canada.
There is not a single sign
in the old church that it once was a haven for men and women running away from
slavery. The church remains the
same as it was when it was built in 1845, except for electric lights fitted
into old candelabra. From its
appearance it is difficult to believe that the edifice is one of the proudest
remaining monuments to the battle for human freedom.
