York attorney Thomas Hambly argued Prigg v. Pennsylvania before the United States Supreme Court.
slavery Archives
The campaign to save the historic Mifflin House, the extremely significant site in Hellam Township at the edge of Wrightsville, is moving on, but help is needed from the public. To bring you up to date, in August 2017 Hellam Township denied a demolition permit requested by the developer of
The York County History Center has a treasure trove of newspapers going back over two centuries. Most have been microfilmed, making these outstanding historical sources easily accessible. I often use them as sources for blog posts and my York Sunday News columns. (Some, but not nearly all of the
The 2016 edition of the Journal of York County Heritage will be officially launched on Thursday, September 15, with a reception at the York County History Center Museum, Library and Archives at 250 East Market Street in York. Doors open at 6:30, with the program beginning at 7 p.m. The
In my last post I shared my recent visit to the Surratt House Museum in Clinton, Maryland. Less than half an hour away is the Dr. Samuel Mudd House Museum. After picking up arms and ammunition at the Surratt House, the next significant stop on John Wilkes Booth’s escape route
I recently took a field trip that I had been thinking about for some time. For several years I have been researching and writing about Edman “Ned” Spangler, the native Yorker who was a carpenter and stagehand at Ford’s Theater, working there shifting scenery on April 14, 1865, the night
On April 9, 1865 Union General Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate General Robert E. Lee met at Wilmer McLean’s house at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. General Lee surrendered to General Grant. Even though there were some battles and skirmishes later, this date is usually accepted as the end of the
History is full or “what ifs.” We can only speculate on how a different path could have affected outcomes of important events in our history. We might be familiar with the life of Thaddeus Stevens and his role in Congress as a strong advocate for the Emancipation Proclamation and the
As I pointed out in my previous post on slavery in York County, even though slavery very gradually died out in Pennsylvania after 1780 Act for Gradual Abolition of Slavery was passed, that long southern York County border with slave state Maryland led to a lot of action with runaways
Can you imagine your home town newspaper with ads selling human beings? A 15-year-old being sold because her master/mistress didn’t have enough work for her (seller offering financing)…families split apart…children as young as four being sold away from their mothers? Well, it did happen here. The ad above is from