President’s Message
I hope everyone had a wonderful summer. We had a very enjoyable picnic in June with lots of good food and lengthly discussions in regard to the items people brought with them for show and tell.
We will be holding our first meeting of this season on Friday, September 15, 2023 starting at 7:30 pm at the Mulbury House Senior Center, 62-70 West Main Street, Middletown, NY 10940. Bill Sandy will be our presenter. We hope you can attend the in person meeting, however if you cannot, please sign in through Zoom at https://tinyurl.com/5xw2amuc. We hope that more of you can attend our meeting in person since it adds to the fellowship our chapter has been known for. We hope to offer a combination of regular meetings with some field trips this year. If you come across anyone who might be an interesting speaker for our chapter, please let me know, and I will contact them. Also, if you have any questions or suggestions please let me know.
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Black Archaeology Sites in the Middle Atlantic, Famous and Obscure
The Middle Atlantic and Southern New England are filled with an infinite variety of archaeological sites relating to Black history. This paper looks at 10 Black archaeological sites that include five historic cemeteries. The New York City African Burial Ground is now a National Landmark, our Nation’s highest honor. The Catoctin Slave Cemetery near Camp David, Maryland was excavated more than 40 years ago, and is the subject of a recent article in Historical Archaeology. Locally, the Montgomery African American Cemetery, subject to an IOCC-NYSAA mapping project in the 1990s, is the subject of ongoing research and interpretation. A salvage dig at a churchyard in Newark, NJ proved to that Episcopalian cemetery was integrated at an early date. Documentary research relating to Black Revolutionary War soldiers who died in Fishkill, NY from CT and elsewhere will be presented. Other sites to be discussed include Beverwyck, a northern plantation in Morris County, NJ and the Mann House site in Sussex County, NJ. The Mann House famously had a “hiding”, a metal object hidden in the rafters to reflect the “evil eye”. The Gabriel Esselstyne Site in the Catskills of NY had a 19th Century log cabin with a hiding of its own. Dug 30 years ago, only a draft, unpublished report exists. Nearby are huge cement plants. Industrial Archaeology has a Black component; Black men were historically a lower paid part of this industry. Urban archaeology in Providence, RI may have provided evidence of a small Black house pulled down in a race riot. These sites range from world famous to nearly unknown. Together with a myriad of other sites, they are prime for interpretation and reinterpretation, with the ultimate goal of a more accurate and nuanced understanding of Black history as an integral part of American history.
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