Author: Probing The Archives

We are independent researchers of slavery in Essex County Massachusetts. Beth Bower, an archivist and historian, who has studied Boston’s 19th century African American community and relevant archival resources for many years. Her current focus is the mid 18th-early 19th century Essex County African American community in Salem Massachusetts as well as actively supporting Salem State University’s Charlotte Forten research and programming. Lise Breen has been researching the widespread practice of slavery, the illegal slave trade, and the mixed response to the abolition movement with a special focus on Cape Ann for close to a decade. She has given many public talks on these topics. She was awarded a Paul Cuffe Memorial Munson Institute fellowship and a Peabody Essex Museum Phillips fellowship, and attended the Gilder Lehrman Institute week on interpreting slavery led by David Blight. Jeanne Pickering holds a MA in History from Salem State University. Her thesis research was on freedom suits filed by enslaved people in Essex County during the revolutionary period. She researches eighteenth century slavery and enslaved people in Essex County and has presented her research at academic conferences and public history venues. She also holds a Master's degree in Information and Computer Science from the University of California, Irvine and has developed two online databases of her research which are available at NorthShoreSlavery.org.

September 4, 2021 Probing The Archives Essex County Stories, Events, Uncategorized

Race & Slavery in New England Symposium

Monday, October 11, 20218:30 AM – 5:30 PM EDT Please join the Museum of Old Newbury, writers, and historians on Monday, October 11, 2021 at The Governor's Academy, Byfield, Mass., to explore the lives and work of black New Englanders through a fresh examination of the historical record and recent research. Presenters will also bring to life … Continue reading Race & Slavery in New England Symposium

September 4, 2021 Probing The Archives Essex County Stories, Events, Massachusetts, Probing the Archives, Questioning the Archive, Research methods

Lost Years Recovered: John Peters and Phillis Wheatley Peters in Middleton

Tuesday, September 21, 20215:15pm - 7:15pmOnline Event Registration Phillis Wheatley was an African-born poet who, from the age of seven, was enslaved in late eighteenth-century Boston. The genius of her poetry led to acclaim both in northern British colonies and in England. She published her first book of poetry in London on a tour there … Continue reading Lost Years Recovered: John Peters and Phillis Wheatley Peters in Middleton