Remembering National Freedom Day

Did you know today - 1 February - is National Freedom Day? I had no idea, to be honest, until I was searching for an article for Black History Month (which is February by the way). It was on 1 February 1865 that President Abraham Lincoln signed the joint resolution - the 13th Amendment - abolishing slavery.

How did National Freedom Day come about then?

According to the Weekly Review, in Birmingham, Alabama, from 31 July 1948, Major R. R. Wright, Sr. organized the National Freedom Day Association in 1941. The purpose of the association was to establish a national Freedom Day.

Wright was born a slave in 1853 in Georgia to Richard Wright and Harriet Lynch.

The 1880 Census shows a R.R. Wright living in Cuthbert, Randolph County, Georgia. He was 27 at the time and an editor. He lived with his 23 year old wife and two children. According to the census, both his parents had been born in South Carolina. Other sources confirm his name is Richard Robert Wright and his wife's is Lydia Elizabeth Howard Wright.

Clearly educated, Richard is the President of the Georgia State Industrial College in Savannah in 1900. This census lists him and his family residing at the college. He and wife Lydia - they married in 1877 - have seven children. Their children are: Julia, age 17; Essie, age 15, Lillian, 13; Edwina, 11; son Niittier, age 10; Henrietta, 2; and son Emanuel, 11 months.

Side note about the college ... The Georgia State Industrial College was established in 1890 as a result of the Second Morrill Land Grant Act. The school opened with five faculty members and eight students. The school moved to Savannah in October 1891. Richard, according to the school's website, was appointed the first president that year. He served in that position until 1921. The school is still in existence today and is now known as Savannah State University (SSU).

The 1910 Census shows Richard R. Wright to be the President of a college. He had been married for 32 years now to 49 year old Lydia, who is now listed as being mulatto, not black. Only two of their nine children - 12 year old Harriet and 10 year old Emanuel - are still at home.

In 1919, Richard went abroad, traveling to Belgium, England, and France. The purpose of his trip, according to his passport application, was to study school conditions abroad. He listed his occupation as teacher and expected to return in three months Passport applications were generally accompanied with a photo of the applicant. Richard's is shown here at left.

Lydia preceded Robert in death. She died in Philadelphia on 11 October 1933, at the age 75. Her death certificate lists her parents as Alexander Howard and Matilda Mitchel. I include this because I understand it is rare for a slave to know his or her parentage.

Richard Wright died 2 July 1947 at Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, PA.

Sources:
Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1967 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.

"History", Savannah State University. Ssavannahstate.edu.

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; Roll #: 818; Volume #: Roll 0818 - Certificates: 93000-93249, 02 Jul 1919-03 Jul 1919

Year: 1880; Census Place: Cuthbert, Randolph, Georgia; Roll: 163; Page: 114C; Enumeration District: 059

Year: 1900; Census Place: Militia District 5, Chatham, Georgia; Page: 17; Enumeration District: 0022; FHL microfilm: 1240185

Year: 1910; Census Place: Militia District 5, Chatham, Georgia; Roll: T624_178; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 0080; FHL microfilm: 1374191

(c) 2020, Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman

Coatesville's First Serial Killer

Young Alexander Meyer was a disturbed and angry young man with some major issues. He had failed sixth and seventh grade, and instead of having to repeat eighth grade again, he finally gave up on school. At age 16 he quit Downingtown Junior High. Meyer is not a relative, nor are his victims (that I am aware). I stumbled upon young Alex while reading Tortured Minds: Pennsylvania's Most Bizarre - But Forgotten - Murders by Tammy Mal. On 11 February 1937 Alexander Thweatt Meyer killed young Helen Moyer as she walked home from school in Coatesville along Modena Road. She was not his first. The jury was out only three minutes after hearing Dr. Michael Margolis' testimony on the death of Helen Moyer. The jury determined Meyer had murdered Moyer and should be held for first degree murder. The jury also condemned the parole system which had released Meyer back into the public, after having served just 14 months in Huntingdon Reformatory, for the murder of two other girls - Anna Blasc...

Thaddeus Stevens at the Lancaster Convention Center

Within the Lancaster Convention Center (Lancaster, PA) is a small section dedicated to Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith. The section is known as the Stevens & Smith Historic Site. It is scheduled for development this year. At the moment one can only get a glimpse of it through the Convention Center or by peeking in from the outside. Here at Queen and Vine Streets in Lancaster City, Pennsylvania, Thaddeus Stevens had his law office. Stevens was an abolitionist. An abolitionist is a person who favors the abolition of a practice or institution, especially capital punishment or (formerly) slavery. Stevens was born 4 April 1792 to Joshua Stevens and Sarah (Sally) Morrill in Danville Vermont. One of four children, he attended Vermont University from 1810 to 1812 when the War prompted its closure. He then went to Dartmouth, where he graduated in 1814. He then studied law and found himself set up in Gettysburg, PA in 1816. He practiced law there until 1828 when he...

52 Ancestors: Remembering the King

Today is Elvis’ birthday. He would have been 80 today. I was only eight when he died so obviously I am too young to have seen Elvis perform. However, when I hear his music, I go back in time. I am once again that young girl dancing in the living room to Elvis and other greats with my father. Back then girls learned to dance by dancing with their fathers not some video of scantly dressed people doing all sorts of things young ladies should not be doing in public! What is YOUR favorite memory - either of your father or of Elvis? 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a weekly genealogical challenge issued by Amy Johnson Crow, of No Story Too Small . Look for my weekly posts each Thursday! © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

Genealogical Gems

Search This Blog