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Dutchess County Free Black Communities:Opportunities & Risks of Maritime Adventure Before the Civil War We are grateful for the ongoing support of the Dutchess County Government in its sponsorship of this program and our Virtual Event Space for Black History Month, 2024. This program is different from our regular programs in that it is more […]

Recognizing American Indian Heritage Month By Bill Jeffway A version of this article appeared in the November 15, 2023 Northern/Southern Dutchess News / Beacon Free Press. While not in a position to explain the full history of local Indigenous Peoples (see recommendations at the end of this article for that), as a way to recognize […]

Below: The story of Andrew Frazier, the ancestor. The only Black family with a large plot. Adjacent to and facing, but not technically within, “Colored Section E.” Below: Images and profiles.

Starting Places People Places Things Words from the past Newer Perspectives Other Starting Points The Walter M. Patrice Collection focuses largely on the history of the Smith AME Zion Church in Poughkeepsie, which through Mr. Patrice’s efforts was listed on the national historic register. Although unable to part with the photo album, Mr. Patrice allowed […]

Monday, September 16th12:00 noon to 1:30 pmPoughkeepsie Thursday, September 19th12:00 noonFishkill Big Moves & Intimate Gestures: Why Lafayette Has Meant So Much to So Many for So Long You are invited to a special reflection and celebration of Revolutionary War Maj. General Lafayette on the 200th anniversary of his late-in-life local visit. Free and enslaved […]

 “What to the slave is the 4th of July?”   At the heart of Frederick Douglass’s 1852 pointed question was the unmistakable irony that the United States was founded on the 1776 premise that all are created equal. When Alexander Hamilton successfully led New York’s US Constitutional Convention in Poughkeepsie in 1788 to endorse joining […]

DCHS Collections: Documents of Enslavement Two adult men, and adult woman, and a young boy are sold in 1775.

DCHS Collections: Documents of Enslavement Bartholome Noxon, Jr., records payments by his “negro boy Cezar” who literally purchases his own freedom.

DCHS Collections: Documents of Enslavement In this document we see the certification by the overseers of the poor of the Town of Washington (Stephen Thorn and Thomas Howard), permitting Isaac Smith to manumit an enslaved woman named Dinah.They certify that she is under the age of 45, and in such a condition that she will […]