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The abolitionist's journal : the memories of an American antislavery family / James D. Richardson.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Albuquerque : High Road Books, 2022Copyright date: ©2022Description: 294 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780826364036
  • 0826364039
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
The Journal -- Awakenings -- Daisy -- Dreams -- James Crow -- Chauncey Hobart -- Across That Bridge -- Freedom Ride -- Dagger Strokes -- The Slaughter Pen -- The Fort Pillow Boys -- Fort Pickering -- Snakes -- Rebs and Refugees -- Licked -- War Criminal Park -- Owen -- Texas Burning -- Jeremiah Webster -- Glory Bound -- The Gillette Mansion -- Alleyton -- Caroline -- Austin City Limits -- Lily -- Wild Geese -- Emma -- Seas and Stars -- Charlottesville -- Remembering
Summary: "The Abolitionist's Journal is a skillfully researched and deeply engrossing story centering on the life and times of the author's great-great grandfather, George Richardson (1824-1911)--a fervently abolitionist preacher who offered shelter to runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad, served as a chaplain in the Union Army during the Civil War, and founded a school in Texas for freed black slaves after the war, which still stands today as a testament to his extraordinary life. The book weaves his story with the selfdiscovery of how the author's ancestor's life has intersected with his own. "The book opens with the George Richardson's handwritten journal that sat unread on my father's bookshelf for decades until the weekend before I entered seminary in midlife to become an Episcopal priest. After reading the journal, my life was never the same again. "George Richardson filled his pages with stories of war, white vigilantes, Black schools, church politics and frontier congregations. He wrote of adventures at Yellowstone in the early years of the national park. He wrote of getting lost on horseback in Minnesota in the winter, and the crushing devastation in the Mississippi countryside in the days after the Civil War. He wrote of life in Black shantytowns, Texas Panhandle cowboys and Idaho Mormons. His is the story of our country. "After reading the journal, my wife Lori and I began retracing the steps through eight states of George and his wife Caroline Richardson (1825-1887), visiting graveyards, battlefields, schools, churches and the house they used on the Underground Railroad. "Our journey has brought me to the brink of the racial divide in America. The book raises uncomfortable questions about why a family that was committed to racial equality in the mid-nineteenth century lost that commitment in the twentieth century. The book covers my years as a journalist covering the resurgent Ku Klux Klan in Southern California, and later serving as a church pastor in Charlottesville, invaded by neoNazis thrusting this college town into the national spotlight.""-- Provided by publisher
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 326.8092 R523 Available 33111010898449
Adult Book Adult Book Northport Library NonFiction 326.8092 R523 Available 33111009449873
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Over the course of more than twenty years, James D. Richardson and his wife, Lori, retraced the steps of his ancestor, George Richardson (1824-1911), across nine states, uncovering letters, diaries, and more memoirs hidden away. Their journey brought them to the brink of the racial divide in America, revealing how his great-great-grandfather Richardson played a role in the Underground Railroad, served as a chaplain to a Black Union regiment in the Civil War, and founded a college in Texas for the formerly enslaved.



In narrating this compelling life, The Abolitionist's Journal explores the weight of the past as well as the pull of one's ancestral history. The author raises questions about why this fervent commitment to the emancipation of African Americans was nearly forgotten by his family, exploring the racial attitudes in the author's upbringing and the ingrained racism that still plagues our nation today.



As America confronts a generational reckoning on race, these important perspectives add a layer to our larger national story.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The Journal -- Awakenings -- Daisy -- Dreams -- James Crow -- Chauncey Hobart -- Across That Bridge -- Freedom Ride -- Dagger Strokes -- The Slaughter Pen -- The Fort Pillow Boys -- Fort Pickering -- Snakes -- Rebs and Refugees -- Licked -- War Criminal Park -- Owen -- Texas Burning -- Jeremiah Webster -- Glory Bound -- The Gillette Mansion -- Alleyton -- Caroline -- Austin City Limits -- Lily -- Wild Geese -- Emma -- Seas and Stars -- Charlottesville -- Remembering

"The Abolitionist's Journal is a skillfully researched and deeply engrossing story centering on the life and times of the author's great-great grandfather, George Richardson (1824-1911)--a fervently abolitionist preacher who offered shelter to runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad, served as a chaplain in the Union Army during the Civil War, and founded a school in Texas for freed black slaves after the war, which still stands today as a testament to his extraordinary life. The book weaves his story with the selfdiscovery of how the author's ancestor's life has intersected with his own. "The book opens with the George Richardson's handwritten journal that sat unread on my father's bookshelf for decades until the weekend before I entered seminary in midlife to become an Episcopal priest. After reading the journal, my life was never the same again. "George Richardson filled his pages with stories of war, white vigilantes, Black schools, church politics and frontier congregations. He wrote of adventures at Yellowstone in the early years of the national park. He wrote of getting lost on horseback in Minnesota in the winter, and the crushing devastation in the Mississippi countryside in the days after the Civil War. He wrote of life in Black shantytowns, Texas Panhandle cowboys and Idaho Mormons. His is the story of our country. "After reading the journal, my wife Lori and I began retracing the steps through eight states of George and his wife Caroline Richardson (1825-1887), visiting graveyards, battlefields, schools, churches and the house they used on the Underground Railroad. "Our journey has brought me to the brink of the racial divide in America. The book raises uncomfortable questions about why a family that was committed to racial equality in the mid-nineteenth century lost that commitment in the twentieth century. The book covers my years as a journalist covering the resurgent Ku Klux Klan in Southern California, and later serving as a church pastor in Charlottesville, invaded by neoNazis thrusting this college town into the national spotlight.""-- Provided by publisher

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