6982 words

https://web.archive.org/web/20190710021009/https://civilwarscholars.com/2011/06/jefferson-county-va-1850s-3-views-differ/

Martin Robison Delany, renaissance man and pioneer in self-determination, writes of his home town of Charles Town, then-Virginia in his highly influential novel “Blake: Huts of America.” His protagonist, a clandestine traveling insurrectionist, visits a town which is described thus:

“Charlestown at best was a hard place for a Negro. . .”

Introduction

Martin Robison Delany (born 1812 in Charlestown, Va, died 1885 in Xenia, Ohio) A Remarkable Life:

Author and abolitionist Frederick Douglass is noted widely but seldom Delany his contemporary. Delany accomplished many more diverse goals – doctor, Army major, novelist, inventor, scientist who led his own research expedition to Africa, who assisted John Brown in formally planning a provincial government in the event the Raid succeeded. Lincoln spoke highly of Delany after he met him. Douglas by contrast criticized Lincoln for not doing enough and lent him tepid support in his crucial re-election effort. Douglas wrote THREE autobiographies. Delany none, but a biography by another. We want to hear more about this inspiring figure.

Delany’s whole life is about the underdog who triumphs through a determination to learn. His favorite quote: “Act, Act in the Living Present, But Act, Face Thine Accusers, Scorn the Rack and Rod, and If Though Hath Truth to Utter, Speak the Truth and Leave the Rest to God.” – by William D. Gallagher

Martin Delany was born May 8, 1812 in Charles Town, then-Virginia. His freed black family left for Pennsylvania in 1823 after the Delany children were found performing the illegal act of reading and writing by a local sheriff. They worked from “The New York Primer for Spelling and Reading” (virtually the same as famous “The New England Primer”) given to their mother by a traveling peddler. Delany went on to become one of the most remarkable men of his era, forgotten because the library containing his writings burned and because he lived many lives world-wide and with no “Boswell.” He was a physician educated at Harvard Medical School; leader of a self-financed scientific expedition to the Niger River Valley, after which he presented a paper before Prince Albert in England. He co-edited Frederick Douglass’ “North Star” newspaper; wrote seminal works on Black Nationalism; Black Free-Masonry in America; and “Blake: The Huts of America.” “Blake” was the object of the PhD dissertation of Prof. Gloria Horsley Meachem at Cornell who argued “Blake” was a more accurate account of the antebellum South than Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” or Melville’s “Benito Cereno.” The songs included in the text and included here from “Blake” are considered of supreme importance to musical historians. President Lincoln met Delany and made him the first black field officer in the U.S. Army with the rank of Major. Lincoln, shortly after the interview, wrote his Secretary of War Stanton in February, 1865: “Do not fail to have an interview with this most extraordinary and intelligent black man.” Delany died in Xenia, Ohio in 1885.

About “Blake” As A Book:

“Blake or The Huts of America: A Tale of the Mississippi Valley, the Southern United States;” was serialized in 1859 in “The Anglo-African Magazine;” 1861 and 1862 in the “Weekly Anglo African Magazine.”

“Blake” was Delany’s forceful reply to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s spectacularly influential book, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” which Delany correctly saw as the imaginings of a person who had barely been below the Mason-Dixon Line. Ms. Stowe’s later writings about slavery would move more and more closely to Delany’s worldview as rendered in “Blake.”

One of the most shocking scenes drawn, that Delany takes pains in a footnote to confirm that it really happened as reported, is that of a young enslaved boy who, before an auction crowd theatrically changes personality for entertainment value each time his overseer lashes him with a whip until he hemorrhages with blood from his mouth.

Drawing from such observations from once traveling through Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas, Delany created his protagonist or alter ego, Henry, who sought to sow insurrection across the South.

Clues That This Place is Drawing from Delany’s Personal Knowledge of

Chapter 25 in “Blake,” – “Like Father, Like Son” – clearly is of a visit to Bolivar and, Delany’s childhood home, Charles Town, then-Virginia, today West Virginia. Delany mentions “Mud Fort,” the first name of Bolivar. “Charles Town,” then spelled “Charlestown,” was often confused and spelled “Charleston” as it is in the book’s original text.

He uses many historically founded names of people in this account. In fact, all seventeen mentioned were real families living in Jefferson County especially around the time his family left Charles Town in 1823, according to Census records, wills, and deed transactions.

The locations of the real owners’ plantations and mills form a route starting at the Winchester-Potomac train station, just outside of Charles Town. Henry, the traveling insurrectionist, is moving steadily westward to sites geographically near the real train station site, going westward on what is today Route 51.

Delany appears to have Henry come over from Virginia, perhaps the road from Hillsborough, VA (today, Route 671), and then swimming across the Shenandoah River, usually a shallow, meandering body of water, to Harper’s Ferry.

(NOTE: Though the use of dialect is distasteful to readers as suggestive of prejudice and little schooling, this account, written by Delany, himself a black man, uses three different voices: his own educated voice, the broken English and accented dialect of a German farmer, and varieties of a speech pattern of the enslaved blacks he meets. It was illegal to teach the enslaved reading and writing in Virginia during the time period of the story).

“From Washington taking a retrograde course purposely to avoid Maryland, where he learned they were already well advised and holding gatherings, the margin of Virginia was cut in this hasty passage, so as to reach more important points for communication. Stealing through the neighborhood and swimming the river, a place was reached called Mud Fort, some four miles (much closer, in fact-ED) distant from Harper’s Ferry, situated on the Potomac. Seeing a white man in a field near by, he passed on as if unconscious of his presence, when the person hailing him in broken English questioned his right to pass.

‘I am going to Charleston (Charles Town–ED) sir,’ replied Henry.

‘Vat fahr?’ inquired the Dutchman.

‘On business.’ replied he.

‘You nagher, you! dat ish not anzer mine question! I does ax you vat fahr you go to Charleston (Charles Town–ED), and you anzer me dat!’

‘I told you, sir, that I am going on business.”

‘You ish von zaucy nagher, andt I bleve you one runaway! Py ching, I vill take you pack!’ said the man instantly climbing the fence to get into the road where the runaway stood.

‘That will do,’ exclaimed Henry, ‘you are near enough — I can bring you down there,’ at the same time presenting a well-charged six-barrel weapon of death; when the affrighted Dutchman fell on the opposite side of the fence unharmed, and Henry put down his weapon without a fire.

Hints of the Parker family – who were very close to the Washingtons and Mt Vernon

The amusing and yet defiant act by the enslaved man, named “Zack Parker,” is noteworthy. A large family of enslaved blacks named “Parker” in the 1830s worked here for the Washington family, especially the three members of the family who owned Mt. Vernon in succession from 1831 thru to 1858. They lived the summers in Jefferson County at a home called Blakeley. Mt. Vernon’s Owner Jane Charlotte Washington in the early 1840s rented out 20 enslaved persons named “Parker” from Mt. Vernon and her home in Jefferson County to Augustine Washington.

A main source for the enslaved persons with the surname Parker and from Jefferson County, Va, the location of the “personal” home of the last three family members to own and operate Mount Vernon, and who also moved and worked at Mount Vernon is “Sarah Johnson’s Mount Vernon: The Forgotten History of an American Shrine” by Scott Casper.

Delany makes two important points. First he depicts the pro-slavery convictions of a recent German settler and not the expected English-descending person emigrating from the Virginia Tidewater. (A strong influx of new German and Irish immigrants affected the northernmost Shenandoah Valley between 1830 and 1860).

Delany also explicitly underscores the most important distinction between the values and disposition of “house servant,” who tended to identify with the Planter,

and other enslaved persons on a plantation, especially the male, field hand who worked at the mercy of a frequently cruel overseer.

These two threads of the African-American experience have become established as the “accommodationist” and ”non-accommodationist” streams of that experience down through time.

Account of Charles Town, then-Virginia Used in the Narrative of Henry, the Black Insurrectionist in Delany’s book, “Blake”.

Excerpted from “Blake,” Chapter 25: “Like Father, Like Son,” pp. 118-122.

“Having lurked till evening in a thicket near by, Charleston (Charles Town–ED) was entered near the depot, just at the time when the last train was leaving for Washington

(The Winchester-Potomac railroad through Charles Town would have offered connections to trains to Baltimore-ED).

“Though small, this place was one of the most difficult in which to promote his object, as the slaves were but comparatively few, difficult to be seen, and those about the depot were house servants, trained to be suspicious and mistrustful of strange blacks, and true and faithful to their masters. Still, he was not remiss in finding a friend and a place for the seclusion.

“This place was most admirably adapted for the gathering, being held up a run or little stream, in a bramble thicket on a marshy meadow of the old Brackenridge estate, but a few minutes walk from the town.

This evening was that of a strict patrol watch, their headquarters for the night being in Worthington’s old mills, from which ran the race, passing near which was the most convenient way to reach the place of gathering for the evening.

“While stealthily moving along in the dark, hearing a cracking in the weeds and a soft tramping of feet, Henry secreted himself in a thick, high growth of Jamestown weeds along the fence, when he slightly discerned a small body of men as if reconnoitering the neighborhood. Sensible of the precariousness of his condition, the fugitive lay as still as death, lest by dint he might be discovered, as much fear and apprehension then pervaded the community.

“Charleston (Charles Town–ED) at best, was a hard place for a Negro, and under the circumstances, had he been discovered, no plea would have saved him. Breathlessly crouched beneath the foliage and thorns of the fetid weed, he was startled by a voice suddenly exclaiming:

‘Hallo there! who’s that?’ which proved to be that of one of the patrol, the posse having just come down the bank of the race from the mill.

‘Sahvant, mausta!’ was the humble reply.

‘Who are you?’ further enquired the voice.

‘Zack Parker, sir.’

‘Is that you, old Zack?’

‘Yes, mausta — honner bright.’

‘Come, Zack, you must go with us! Don’t you know that Negroes are not allowed to be out at night alone, these times? Come along!’ said Davy Hunter.

‘Honner bright, maus Davy — honner bright!’ continued the old black slave of Colonel Davenport, quietly walking beside them along the mill race, the water of which being both swift and deep. ‘Maus Davy, I got some mighty good rum here in dis flas’ — you gentmen hab some? Mighty good! Mine I tells you, maus Davy — mighty good!’

‘Well, Zack, we don’t care to take a little,’ replied Bob Flagg. ‘Have you had your black mouth to this flask?’

‘Honner bright, maus Bobby — honner bright!’ replied the old man.

Hunter raised the flask to his mouth, the others gathering around, each to take a draught in turn, when instantly a plunge in the water was heard, and the next moment old Zack Parker was swinging his hat in triumph on the opposite bank of the channel, exclaiming, ‘Honner bright, gentmen! Honner bright! Happy Jack an’ no trouble!’ — the last part of the sentence being a cant phrase commonly in use in that part of the country, to indicate a feeling free from all cares.

In a rage the flask was thrown in the dark, and alighted near his feet upright in the tufts of grass, when the old man in turn seizing the vessel, exclaiming aloud, ‘Yo’ heath, gentmen! Yo’ good heath!’ Then turning it up to his mouth, the sound heard across the stream gave evidence of his enjoyment of the remainder of the contents. ‘Thank’e, gentmen — good night!’ when away went Zack to the disappointment and even amusement of the party.

Taking advantage of this incident, Henry, under a guide, found a place of seclusion, and a small number of good willing spirits ready for the counsel.

‘Mine, my chile!’ admonished old Aunt Lucy. ‘Mine hunny, how yeh go long case da all’as lookin’ arter black folks.’

“Taking the nearest course through Worthington’s woods, he reached in good time that night the slave quarters of Captain Jack Briscoe (“Dr. John Briscoe, Jr.” lived in the County in the early 19th century-ED) and Major Brack Rutherford. The blacks here were united by the confidential leaders of Moore’s people (Vincent, David Moore households, 1810 Census-ED), and altogether they were rather a superior gathering of slaves to any yet met with in Virginia. His mission here soon being accomplished, he moved rapidly on to Slaughter’s, Crane’s and Washington’s old plantations, where he caused a glimmer of light, which until then had never been thought of, much less seen, by them. (From east to west from Charles Town to Middleway, Cranes, Washingtons, and Slaughters owned properties along Route 51 in the early 19th century-ED).

“The night rounds of the patrol of the immediate neighborhood caused a hurried retreat from Washington’s — the last place at which he stopped –

and daybreak the next morning found him in near proximity to Winchester, when he sought and obtained a hiding place in the woods of General Bell. (Thomas, Margaret Bell households, 1810 Census-ED)

“The people here he found ripe and ready for anything that favored their redemption. Taylor’s, Logan’s, Whiting’s and Tidball’s plantations all had crops ready for the harvest.

‘An’ is dis de young man,’ asked Uncle Talton, stooped with the age of eighty-nine years, ‘dat we hearn so much ob, dat’s gwine all tru de country ‘mong de black folks? Tang God a’mighty for wat I lib to see!’ and the old man straightened himself up to his greatest height, resting on his staff, and swinging himself around as if whirling on the heel as children sometimes do, exclaimed in the gladness of his heart and the buoyancy of his spirits at the prospect of freedom before him: ‘I dont disagard none on ’em,’ referring to the whites.

‘We have only `regarded’ them too long, father,” replied Henry with a sigh of sorrow, when he looked upon the poor old time and care-worn slave, whose only hope for freedom rested in his efforts.

“I neber ‘spected to see dis! God bless yeh, my son! May God ‘long yeh life!’ continued the old man, the tears streaming down his cheeks.

‘Amen!’ sanctioned Uncle Ek.

‘God grant it!’ replied Uncle Duk.

“May God go wid yeh, my son, wheresomeber yeh go!” exclaimed the old slaves present; when Henry, rising from the block of wood upon which he sat, being moved to tears, reaching out his hand, said, ‘Well, brethren, mothers, and fathers! My time with you is up, and I must leave you — farewell!’ when this faithful messenger of his oppressed brethren, was soon in the woods, making rapid strides towards western Virginia.”

Songs collected by Delany and reproduced in “Blake”:
These are very rare songs and poems of great importance as a record of our musical heritage from the antebellum South.
(Delany, Blake, PP. 25, 32, 35, 39, 43 91. 100-101, 104, 105-106, 135, 141-142, 143, 156)

Reading As a Criminal Activity, Charles Town, then-Virginia, 1818

Education was always the key to Martin Delany’s vision of life’s possibilities. His very early recognition and use of learning certainly set him apart from the vast majority of his would-be followers later in life. His great intellect, ever-changing and growing mind, and ability to conceptualize prevented him from ever building a large long-lasting political constituency during his lifetime. But his education, ideas and writings seem to have won him belated recognition today in a more educated world. Delany’s ideas, in fact, anticipate the philosophies of both

Booker T. Washington’s emphasis on learning trades and practical learning

as well as the more refined black pride of W.E.B. DuBois: two men who, ironically bitterly opposed one another. The following is the story of how Martin Delany learned how to learn:Learning as Criminal Activity – Pt. 1Learning as Criminal Activity – Pt. 2

“The peddler could have just as well been giving the Delany children a bomb to throw when on that day in 1818 in Charles Town, (then) Virginia, he reached into his wagon filled with pewter and slipped them a copy of the famed “New York Primer For Spelling and Reading.”

“Nothing frightened white property-owners as much as the educated freed blacks teaching their enslaved black persons how to read, write, and, even worse, think of worlds beyond, worlds promising them their own freedom beyond slavery.

“Pati Delany, Martin’s mother, and her mother, Graci Peace, cared for the Delany children near Hickman’s Seminary in Charles Town. When Pati left to work in homes as a laborer or seamstress, her children would slip off to the arbor in their back yard and were soon able to read and write a little.

“Since a law passed in 1806, what the Delany children were doing under the arbor was against the law and they risked the most extreme punishment if caught, or taken to the nearby alms house were they would be rented out to farmers.

“When enslaved blacks living near or in Charles Town made journeys on the county’s dusty roads, as when they visited family on Sundays,

“they were stopped to present permission papers from their owners by patrols. Some such papers that fell under the eyes of these local watchmen looked crudely written. The Delany children were soon suspected. One day a sheriff pulled his horse by the little home

“Graci Peace then owned on Charles Street, asking the children what they were doing. Having his answer, he wheeled his horse around and galloped away.

“Pati Delany was crestfallen when they innocently told her when she came home later about their visitor. She knew it was time to move out of Virginia. With the help of a town banker named Randal Brown, her family collected their belongings that September day, in 1822 and taking the money from the recent sale of Graci Peace’s home, they left for Martinsburg, about fifteen miles away, calling it a visit to see her enslaved husband and Martin’s father, Samuel, who worked at a plantation.

“In truth, Pati and her children and mother just kept goin,g crossing the Potomac River at Williamsport and on to their new life in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

“Perhaps using some of the earnings from the sale of Graci Peace’s home in Charles Town,

“Samuel soon paid for his freedom and joined his family in their new home in a free land. Samuel Robison’s troublesome refusal to let Edward (or Thomas-ED) Violett whip him for any reason made Samuel’s offer to ‘sell himself’ attractive.”

About The Overlooked Martin Robison Delany 1812-1880
(Reprinted from: Surkamp, James. (1999). ‘To Be More Than Equal’: Martin Delany, 1812-1884.” Magazine of the Jefferson County Historical Society Vol. LXV. PP. 43-46. Print.)

Since its writing, I have corrected that Delany’s ancestors were more Mandingo, than Yoruba; that his father worked on a plantation in Berkeley County, not near Middleway, (a previous location for an overseer by the same name as the one with Samuel Robison). An explanation why Samuel Robison wasn’t killed for his defiance is also added.-ED.

“Martin Robison Delany had within him a great President – but had no followers because he was too far ahead of his time, this brilliant, confident, take-charge, jet-black man who rebuked a slave-smitten nation, armed with his African roots and Methodist drive.

“This moral engine of a man had a motto: “Act in the living present – but act! Face thine accusers, scorn the rack and rod, and if thou hath truth to utter, speak the truth, and leave the rest to God.”

“Born in Charles Town to a freed black family, Delany went on to become a Harvard-educated doctor; author of four weighty books; leader of his own, year-long scientific expedition to West Africa’s Niger River Valley; the first black field officer in the U.S. Army; the co- editor of ‘The North Star’ (which he shamed Frederick Douglass into starting); inventor; father; husband; and, probably the most important black man in South Carolina in the pivotal election of 1876.

“He rose before the world’s most prestigious scientific body in 1860 in London, faced the United States’ ambassador, coolly pointing out after pleasantries to the chair: ‘I am a Man’ – fighting words that cleared the room and headlined newspapers worldwide, behavior typical only for him.

File:Abraham Lincoln head on shoulders photo portrait.jpg
“No wonder Abraham Lincoln, after basking in Delany’s presence early one February morning in 1865, exclaimed in a letter to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton: ‘Do not fail to have an interview with this most extraordinary and intelligent black man.’

File:Frederick Douglass portrait.jpg
Lincoln’s meeting a year before with the better-known leader of black Americans, Frederick Douglass, was hardly so positive.

“So we all share W.E.B. DuBois’ deep puzzlement expressed to a reporter from the “Pittsburgh Courier” in 1936: ‘His was a magnificent life, yet why is it we know so little of him?’

“Delany moved so quickly with the times, he never aligned himself with one institution that could have kept alive his memory. His letters were lost in a fire destroying Wilberforce College’s library in Xenia, Ohio. Delany lambasted leaders of the white-run abolitionist movement for keeping blacks out of leadership positions; while Douglass demurred. The nearly perfect absence of any mention of Delany in the five volumes of ‘Frederick Douglass’ Papers’ had its reasons.

“Delany fought for radical reforms after the War wearing the uniform of a Union Major in South Carolina, while Douglass accepted a post-mastership in the federal government – a contrast in courage that cooled their relationship further.

“Routinely abandoned from behind and deceived in front, Delany always grabbed the next risk and shook it, saying things that caused headlines and riots. He has the unique distinction of having been pursued by an angry, white mob in Ohio for saying one thing; and then, twenty-five years later, being pursued by an angry, black mob in South Carolina for saying another. ‘Speak the truth and leave the rest to God!’

“Obnoxiously opinionated and sure on his face he was, but while selflessly serving a movingly pure and fiery guidance – always and constantly. You never find him with a hand in the till or calling white black.

“I came to know this forgotten seer one letter and keystroke at a time, when I typed by hand some four hundred pages of Delany’s writings and what others wrote about him. I got to know him, layer-by-layer, as I built a web site about him. I came to almost hear, as my hands scrambled in bursts for hours over the computer keyboard, his lion heart beating African missives and Methodist hymns.

“Martin Delany was born May 8, 1812 in Charles Town, one of five children to Pati Delany, a freed black, and Samuel Robison, who would buy his own freedom.

“He grew up hearing stories of the founding fathers, because the town was created by resident, Charles Washington, George’s brother. His grandmother, Graci Peace, owned their house and, like Pati, was a seamstress and washerwoman. Pati would also bake pies for the men around the courthouse.

“Nightly she taught Martin in story form his Mandingo origins and instilled the family tradition to refuse the lash of any man’s whip.

“According to his biography written in 1868 by Frank Rollin (a nom de plume of Frances Rollin), Delany’s paternal grandfather was killed for refusing to be whipped. And his father, Samuel, who worked on a farm in Middleway adjacent to the first sizeable land purchase of young George Washington, nearly got himself killed by forcibly preventing his overseer, most likely one ‘Edward Violett,’ from whipping him.

“One day a traveling peddler, named Rankin, came through town selling pewter and knick knacks, when he exchanged with Pati Delany a small book called

‘The New York Primer for Spelling and Reading,’ a popular book for teaching reading and writing. State law forbade persons of color to learn to read and write.

“Her children taught each other to read under the arbor in their back yard. Soon, crudely written travel passes began turning up in the hands of enslaved blacks in town.
About that same time, Samuel Robison had faced off with his overseer and tore Violett’s clothes off (reportedly eight times) as Violett tried to give him a whipping.

NOTE: Samuel was finally knocked unconscious by a thrown rock and jailed. He was ultimately spared his life because of his value and the fact that he used this physically un-injuring, tactic to protect himself from Violett.

“As the town constable inveigled Pati’s children to admit to forging the travel passes, town banker, Randal Brown, advised the respected Pati Delany to flee to the North and arranged for the sale of Graci Peace’s parcel. Ostensibly on a weekend trip to Samuel in Berkeley, the Delanys, one day in 1823, slipped into Maryland near Williamsport and then on to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and lasting freedom. Samuel, raising money, perhaps from the sale of Graci Peace’s property, bought his freedom and joined them.

“The family chose gifted Martin to achieve on a grander stage of life. When he was nineteen, he set out on foot for Pittsburgh to become a barber and laborer. He had already read of Africa and heard Grandma Graci’s stories of his grand father, Shango – her husband – who returned to Africa on the grounds of having royal blood.”

“And he resolved on that trek to Pittsburgh to someday visit Africa.
Physicians noticed his skills and trained him to be a cupper and leecher, adding to his knowledge.

“In 1839, he made a journey into the Deep South to New Orleans, Arkansas and parts of Texas, apparently accompanying one of these physicians. Delany later described an unforgettable scene – which he pointedly foot-noted as actual in his later novel “Blake: The Huts of America” – of a young boy trained by the cue of his overseer’s whip lash to entertain a crowd, alternately, by dancing, barking, laughing, singing, praying, and cursing. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” which she wrote with very little first-hand knowledge of the South, infuriated Delany into writing “Blake” as a reply. This novel, about a traveling insurrectionist, was the subject of a PhD dissertation in 1980 by Gloria Horsley Meachem. She concluded that “Blake” more accurately depicted the antebellum South than either of two, much better known works: Herman Melville’s “Benito Cerreno” and Stowe’s albeit stirring piece of propaganda.

“His vast life could not prepare Delany for the final act of his drama, which left him a man with a faith only in a Sweet Hereafter, the final strut in his faith in America, the land of the free, kicked away. That destiny played so cruelly on all his dearest hopes is disquieting. We are left with a man so great, fallen like massive stone, being swallowed by a tragic sunset whose fading vision is stirred only by the faint murmuring of Ghanian drums. What was it?

“Major Delany threw considerable support and speaking efforts to Wade Hampton, the Democratic candidate for Governor in South Carolina in 1876. Hampton won by the slimmest margin. Governor-elect Hampton then sat on a special commission that chose Rutherford Hayes as the winner in a dead-heat election for the Presidency – in exchange for the removal of Federal troops from South Carolina. In short, Delany inadvertently served his own worst nightmare.

“The much lived, care-worn Delany eventually turned for Ohio to be a doctor one last time and put his children through school – with what little spirit was left in him.

“In 1880, he stood on the Charleston dock as the ship, the “Azor” – full of people – set sail for Africa, just like before, to build the Pilgrim Kingdom. But only after they honored him as the one who inspired them with hope. He waved until their ship of hope shrunk on the horizon. His heart went with them.”

Main references:

Delany, Martin R. (1859). “Blake or The Huts of America: A Tale of the Mississippi Valley, the Southern United States.” (serialized beginning in 1859 in “The Weekly Anglo African Magazine.”) Print.

Delany, Martin, R. (1859). “Blake: The Huts of America.” Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library. 14 July 2007. Web. 26 Dec. 2010.

Delany, Martin R. (1852). “The Condition, Elevation, Emigration and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States Politically Considered,” (Philadelphia, PA): published by the author. Print.

Delany, Martin R. (1852). “The Condition, Elevation, Emigration and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States Politically Considered.” Internet Archives: Digital Library of Free Books, Movies, Music, and Wayback Machine. 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 26 Dec. 2010.

Delany, Martin R. (1861). “Official Report of the Niger River Valley Exploring Party.” by M.R. Delany, Chief Commissioner to Africa. New York, NY and London, Eng.: Self-published. Print.

Delany, Martin R. (1861). “Official Report of the Niger River Valley Exploring Party.” MyBeBooks. 27 July 2008. Web. 30 Dec. 2010.

Delany, Martin R. (1879). “Principia of Ethnology: The Origin of Races and Color with an Archaeological Compendium and Egyptian Civilization from Years of Careful Examination and Enquiry.” Philadelphia, PA: Self-published. Print.

Delany, M. R. (1853). “The origin and objects of ancient Freemasonry, its introduction into the United States, and legitimacy among colored men : a treatise delivered before St. Cyprian Lodge, no. 13, June 24th, A.D. 1853, A.L. 5853.“ Pittsburgh, PA: W. S. Haven. Print.

Delany, M. R. (1853). “The origin and objects of ancient Freemasonry, its introduction into the United States, and legitimacy among colored men : a treatise delivered before St. Cyprian Lodge, no. 13, June 24th, A.D. 1853, A.L. 5853.“ Pittsburgh, PA: W. S. Haven. Print. hathitrust.org. 19 September 2008 Web. 20 March 2012.

Levine, Robert S. (1997). “Martin Delany, Frederick Douglass and the Politics of Representative Identity.” Chapel Hill, NC and London, UK: University of North Carolina Press. Print.

Levine, Robert S. (1997). “Martin Delany, Frederick Douglass and the Politics of Representative Identity.” Amazon.com 12 Dec. 1998 Web. 1 June 2011.

Rollin, Frank (Frances) A. (1868, 1883). “The Life and Public Services of Martin R. Delany.” Boston, MA: Lee & Shepard. Print

Rollin, Frank (Frances) A. (1868, 1883). “The Life and Public Services of Martin R. Delany.” Internet Archives: Digital Library of Free Books, Movies, Music, and Wayback Machine. 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 1 June 2011.

Surkamp, James. (1999). “To Be More Than Equal: Martin Delany, 1812-1884.” Magazine of the Jefferson County Historical Society Vol. LXV. PP. 43-46. Print.

Ullman, Victor. (1971). “Martin R. Delany: The Beginnings of Black Nationalism.” Boston, MA: Beacon Press. Print.

Ullman, Victor. (1971). “Martin R. Delany: The Beginnings of Black Nationalism.” Amazon.com 12 Dec. 1998 Web. 1 June 2011.

Videos:

Delany’s Life – The short version

Delany’s Life – The short version:

Surkamp, Jim (1997). ”Charles Town and Martin Delany Pt. 1.” (Video). Retrieved 15 May 2011.

Surkamp, Jim (1997). ”Charles Town and Martin Delany Pt. 2.” (Video). Retrieved 15 May 2011.

Delany’s Childhood and Learning as a Criminal Activity:

Surkamp, Jim (1997). ”Martin Delany Learning – 1.” (Video). Retrieved 15 May 2011.

Surkamp, Jim (1997). ”Martin Delany Learning – 2.” (Video). Retrieved 15 May 2011.

“Act in the Living Present” – An Hour-long Video About Martin Delany starting in the 1850s.

Surkamp, Jim (1997). ”Martin Delany – Visionary – Pt. 1.” (Video). Retrieved 15 May 2011.

Surkamp, Jim (1997). ”Martin Delany – To Africa – Pt. 2.” (Video). Retrieved 15 May 2011.

Surkamp, Jim (1997). ”Martin Delany – Defiance – Pt. 3.” (Video). Retrieved 15 May 2011.

Surkamp, Jim (1997). ”Martin Delany – The War Rages – Pt. 4.” (Video). Retrieved 15 May 2011.

Surkamp, Jim (1997). ”Martin Delany Meets Lincoln – Pt. 5.” (Video). Retrieved 15 May 2011.

Surkamp, Jim (1997). ”Martin Delany – “Maj. Delany” – Pt. 6.” (Video). Retrieved 15 May 2011.

Surkamp, Jim (1997). ”Martin Delany – Post-War – Pt. 7.” (Video). Retrieved 15 May 2011.

Surkamp, Jim (1997). ”Martin Delany – Disillusioned – Pt. 8.” (Video). Retrieved 15 May 2011.

Surkamp, Jim (1997). ”Martin Delany – Charleston, SC – Pt. 9.” (Video). Retrieved 15 May 2011.

Surkamp, Jim (1997). ”Martin Delany – Betrayed – Pt. 10.” (Video). Retrieved 15 May 2011.

Surkamp, Jim (1997). ”Martin Delany – Going Home – Pt. 11.” (Video). Retrieved 15 May 2011.

Flickr Set:

delany.jpg
“Martin Robison Delany.” Photo. U. S. Army Heritage & Education Center
U. S. Army War College,

File: Beecher-Stowe.jpg
Wikipedia English. Latest update 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 2 June 2011.

Hughes, Langston; Meltzer, Milton; Lincoln, C. Eric; and Spencer, Jon M. (1956). “A Pictorial History of African Americans.” New York, NY: Crown Publishes, Inc. P. 144. Print.

whipman.jpg
Strother, David H., “Virginia Illustrated.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, New York, NY: Harper and Bros. Volume 11, Issue: 63, (Aug., 1855). pp. 289-311. Print.

Strother, David H., “Virginia Illustrated.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine.
7 May 2008. Web. 29 May. 2011

delanyfire.jpg
Hughes, Langston; Meltzer, Milton; Lincoln, C. Eric; and Spencer, Jon M. (1956). “A Pictorial History of African Americans.” New York, NY: Crown Publishes, Inc.. Print.

jnbriscoe1809.jpg
Varle, Charles. (1809). “Map of Frederick, Berkeley, & Jefferson counties in the state of Virginia.” engraved by Benj. Jones. Print.

Varle, Charles. (1809). “Map of Frederick, Berkeley, & Jefferson counties in the state of Virginia.” United States. The Library of Congress: American Memory. “Maps Collection.” 27 Oct. 2009 Web. 10 Sept. 2010.

blakewash.bris.dav.jpg
Humphries, A. A. (1832?). “Map of the routes examined and surveyed for the Winchester and Potomac Rail Road, State of Virginia, under the direction of Capt. J. D. Graham, U.S. Top. Eng., 1831 and 1832; surveyed by Lts. A. D. Mackay and E. French, 1st Arty., assistants in 1831, and Lts. E. French and J. F. Izard, assistants in 1832; drawn from the original plot by Lt. Humphreys, 2d Artillery.” Print.

Humphries, A. A. (1832?). “Map of the routes examined and surveyed for the Winchester and Potomac Rail Road, State of Virginia, under the direction of Capt. J. D. Graham, U.S. Top. Eng., 1831 and 1832; surveyed by Lts. A. D. Mackay and E. French, 1st Arty., assistants in 1831, and Lts. E. French and J. F. Izard, assistants in 1832; drawn from the original plot by Lt. Humphreys, 2d Artillery.” United States. The Library of Congress: American Memory. “Maps Collection.” 27 Oct. 2009 Web. 10 Sept. 2010.

wprrstationcharlestown.jpg
Collection, Jefferson County Museum

wprrcharlestown2.jpg
Collection, Jefferson County Museum

mistrustservants.jpg
Strother, David H. “On Negro Schools.” Harpers Magazine, New York, NY: Harper and Bros. Volume 49. Sept. 1874. P. 464. Print.

Strother, David H.,(Sept. 1874). “On Negro Schools.” Harpers Magazine.
11 June 2008. Web. 25 Dec. 2010.

otmill.jpg
Fisher, H. L. (1888). “Olden times: or, Pennsylvania rural life, some fifty years ago, : and other poems.” York, PA: Fisher Bros, publishers. Print

Fisher, H. L. (1888). “Olden times: or, Pennsylvania rural life, some fifty years ago, : and other poems.” Internet Archives: Digital Library of Free Books, Movies, Music, and Wayback Machine. 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 25 May 2011.

hidingwoods166.jpg
Douglass, Frederick. (1881). “Life and times of Frederick Douglass, written by himself: his early life as a slave, his escape from bondage, and his complete history to the present time, including his connection with the anti-slavery movement, his labors in Great Britain as well as in his own country, etc.” Hartford, CT: Park Publishing Co. P. 166. Print.

Douglass, Frederick. (1881). “Life and times of Frederick Douglass, written by himself: his early life as a slave, his escape from bondage, and his complete history to the present time, including his connection with the anti-slavery movement, his labors in Great Britain as well as in his own country, etc.” Internet Archives: Digital Library of Free Books, Movies, Music, and Wayback Machine. 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 1 June 2011.

Stowe, Harriet B. (1851). “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” New York, NY & Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. P. 451. Print

Stowe, Harriet B. (1851). “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Internet Archives: Digital Library of Free Books, Movies, Music, and Wayback Machine. 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 1 June 2011.

nypl997.jpg
The New York Public Library

shootingdenby79.jpg
Douglass, Frederick. (1881). “Life and times of Frederick Douglass, written by himself: his early life as a slave, his escape from bondage, and his complete history to the present time, including his connection with the anti-slavery movement, his labors in Great Britain as well as in his own country, etc.” Hartford, CT: Park Publishing Co. Print.

Douglass, Frederick. (1881). “Life and times of Frederick Douglass, written by himself: his early life as a slave, his escape from bondage, and his complete history to the present time, including his connection with the anti-slavery movement, his labors in Great Britain as well as in his own country, etc.” Internet Archives: Digital Library of Free Books, Movies, Music, and Wayback Machine. 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 1 June 2011.

delanyhenry2.jpg
Hughes, Langston; Meltzer, Milton; Lincoln, C. Eric; and Spencer, Jon M. (1956). “A Pictorial History of African Americans.” New York, NY: Crown Publishes, Inc.. Print.

{uncletom.eva.detail.jpg
File:EdwinLongsdenLong – Uncle Tom and Little Eva..JPG}
Wikipedia English. Latest update 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 20 May 2011.

blakemammylucy.jpg
Harpers Weekly
Hughes, Langston; Meltzer, Milton; Lincoln, C. Eric; and Spencer, Jon M. (1956). “A Pictorial History of African Americans.” New York, NY: Crown Publishes, Inc. P. 216. Print.

delanymisty.jpg – Jim Surkamp Collection

henry.jpg
Harpers Weekly
Hughes, Langston; Meltzer, Milton; Lincoln, C. Eric; and Spencer, Jon M. (1956). “A Pictorial History of African Americans.” New York, NY: Crown Publishes, Inc. P. 216. Print.

blakeoldman.jpg
Harpers Weekly
Hughes, Langston; Meltzer, Milton; Lincoln, C. Eric; and Spencer, Jon M. (1956). “A Pictorial History of African Americans.” New York, NY: Crown Publishes, Inc. P. 216. Print.

{jeffctyescapes.jpg detail from
File:WVUndergroundRR.jpg}
Routes for escaping slaves through western (West) Virginia on the Underground Railroad, information derived from William J. Switala “Underground Railroad in Delaware, Marylonad, and West Virginia”, Stackpole Books, 2004, pages 108, 116-125.
Wikipedia English. Latest update 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 20 May 2011.

File:Brooklyn_Museum_-A_Ride_for_Liberty–The_Fugitive_Slaves–Eastman_Johnson-_overall.jpg
Wikipedia English. Latest update 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 20 May 2011.

NewEnglandPrimerNtoZ.jpg
Wikipedia English. Latest update 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 20 May 2011.

File:Booker T Washington retouched flattened-crop.jpg
Wikipedia English. Latest update 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 1 June 2011.

File:WEB_DuBois_1918.jpg
Wikipedia English. Latest update 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 20 May 2011.

primer.jpg
New York Public Library, Rare Books Room

patrol.jpg
Stowe, Harriet B. (1852). “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Boston, MA: John P. Jewett. Print

Stowe, Harriet B. (1852). “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Internet Archives: Digital Library of Free Books, Movies, Music, and Wayback Machine. 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 1 June 2011.

Cited in:
Hughes, Langston; Meltzer, Milton; Lincoln, C. Eric; and Spencer, Jon M. (1956). “A Pictorial History of African Americans.” New York, NY: Crown Publishers, Inc.. P. 146 Print.

charlesstreet.jpg
Detail from Googlemaps

delanymomman.jpg
Jsurkamp. (30 Dec. 2008). ”Martin Delany Learning – 1.” Video posted to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8VdUs8fLc8

Jsurkamp. (30 Dec. 2008). ”Martin Delany Learning – 2.” Video posted to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf0VUxwskhQ

delanyleaving6.jpg
Jsurkamp. (30 Dec. 2008). ”Martin Delany Learning – 1.” Video posted to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8VdUs8fLc8

Jsurkamp. (30 Dec. 2008). ”Martin Delany Learning – 2.” Video posted to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf0VUxwskhQ

black.man.strong.jpg (detail from)

“The Great Labor Question From A Southern Point of View.” Drawing. Harpers Weekly. New York, NY: Harpers and Bros. Vol. 9, Issue: 448, (July 29, 1865) P. 1. Print.

“The Great Labor Question From A Southern Point of View.” Drawing. Harpers Weekly. Sonsofthesouth.com. Start date unavailable Web. 1 June 2011.

File:Major Martin Delany.jpg
Wikipedia English. Latest update 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 20 May 2011.

File:Abraham Lincoln head on shoulders photo portrait.jpg
Wikipedia English. Latest update 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 1 June 2011.

File:Frederick Douglass portrait.jpg
Wikipedia English. Latest update 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 1 June 2011.

mandingochief.jpg

Mayer, Brantz. (1854). “Captain Canot; or Twenty years of an African slaver: an account of his career and adventures on the coast, in the interior, on shipboard, and in the West Indies.” New York, NY: D. Appleton & Co. Print.

Mayer, Brantz. (1854). “Captain Canot; or Twenty years of an African slaver: an account of his career and adventures on the coast, in the interior, on shipboard, and in the West Indies.” Start date unavailable. Web. 20 April 2011.

hut.jpg
capepalm.jpg
Surkamp, James. “An African Dream Come True.” To Be More Than Equal The Many Lives of Martin R. Delany 1812-1885. 9 Nov. 1999. Web. 26 Dec. 2010.

File:Wade Hampton III – Brady-Handy.jpg.
Wikipedia English. Latest update 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 1 June 2011.

ship.jpg detail from a drawing
Hughes, Langston; Meltzer, Milton; Lincoln, C. Eric; and Spencer, Jon M. (1956). “A Pictorial History of African-Americans.” New York, NY: Crown Publishes, Inc.. Print.

TAGS: African-American, Langston Hughes, Wade Hampton, Jim Surkamp, Martin Delany, Charles Town, Virginia, West Virginia, Jefferson County, Samuel Robinson, Pati Delany, Graci Peace, Randal Brown, slavery, freed black, Frederick Douglass, Martin Robison Delany, Samuel Robison, Abraham Lincoln, W.E.B. DuBois, sonsofthesouth, https://civilwarscholars.com, https://justjefferson.com, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Booker T. Washington, New England Primer, New York Primer, http://www.archive.org, A Ride for Liberty, Brooklyn Museum, Harpers Weekly, Uncle Tom and Little Eva, Edwin Longsden Long, Eastman Johnson, H. L. Fisher, Olden times, Negro Schools, Jefferson County Museum, Charlestown, Blake: The Huts of America, Victor Ullman, Frank Rollin, American Public University System, American Military University, West Virginia Humanities Council, Arts and Humanities Alliance, http://www.wvhumanities.org/ , http://ahajc.org/ , http://www.jeffctywvblackhistory.org/ http://www.apus.edu