The lies our textbooks told generations of Virginians about slavery

[Historic NY]

34. Being the north the institution was treated a bit differently....still sugar coated at times.

Abolitionists, underground railroad. I've seen instances where elders referred to slaves as servants here. I instantly snap back at them. There is a lot of misplaced sentiments or shame connected to it and rightfully so. We don't have any known descendants of slave owners left but we do have some of the slave descendants. NY began manumitting slaves before 1800, I have transcribed manumits from the town records, oddly enough in many cases they were usually given a stake. Inventories of owners that died along with wills provide some clues to the institution here. In some a young female or so would remain until the death of a spouse. My city colleague and myself never shy from the stain of slavery, don't celebrate it, but we are able to pull individuals from that past. From revolutionary war soldiers, to prosperous builders, to endeared free persons in the community. The slave turned M-E preacher, Rev. William Seymour 1786-1847 shunned by whites at first, but embraced in the end. He has one of the largest tombstones in the M-E church graveyard. In the 1750's we had a public school here, young black children were taught at the end of the day when others left. SUNY University of NY at John Jay has methodically worked on a slave/owner database. There was a scourge of slavery it wasn't all peaches and cream either. We have collections of runaway notices. Indentured servitude is seldom talked about also, selling yourself out to learn a trade. Another form was being sold off for welfare reasons, being too poor or infirmed, orphaned etc. the community would find someone to take them for expenses. Social welfare system wasn't exactly a workhouse, but people were expect to help contribute to their care.Its interesting to see how people dickered to get an increase in monies from the town coffers.

In 1799 NY passed a bill ordering the gradual emancipation of slavery, by 1817 it became a law that it would by gone by 1827. The worst of the worst owners scrambled to sell off their slaves...I found a so called respected Dr. in the western part of the county trying to get rid of his. The first census of 1790 showed a number of free black men in town. I think that the main reason I see the number of slaves dwindling in my town were from the fact that it was the heart of Presbyterianism and Methodism with strong preachers in the pulpit and community from 1760's forward.

https://www.voanews.com/usa/history-slavery-ny-examined-through-runaways-notices ]

https://nyslavery.commons.gc.cuny.edu/]


I would recommend Professor Gates program on Reconstruction its 4hrs on PBS. Its jaw dropping what went on in the south, and still goes on in places and spirit today.