🔥 Historic Antique American Folk Art Underground Railroad Coverlet, Pekin 1843 For Sale

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

---

🔥 Historic Antique American Folk Art Underground Railroad Coverlet, Pekin 1843:
$1350.00

The images lining the corridor on the 10th floor of Clemens Hall quietly — but strongly — tell a story.

The face of a young man merges with the shoreline of Lake Erie, which flows into the front porch of a safe house in Elyria, Ohio. A stone fence along the lake in Fort Erie, Ontario, overlooks the downtown Buffalo skyline. Atop the fence is an illustration of a slave carrying a knapsack, variations of which were used for runaway notices and later adopted as a symbol for the Underground Railroad.

Further down the hallway connecting faculty offices in the Department of Transnational Studies are photos of the Thomas Root Home in Pekin, New York, one of many safe houses on the Underground Railroad, and Murphy Orchards in Burt, New York, where the McClew family sheltered escaped slaves in secret rooms before moving them to the next station.

More images decorate the walls in the reception area of 1010 Clemens, the department’s administrative office.

The images, on loan from the UB Art Galleries, are part of “Passage on the Underground Railroad,” an exhibition of work by noted African American photographer and digital montage artist StephenMarc. A larger selection of Marc’s work organized by the UB Art Galleries was on view during the summer of 2019 at the Niagara Arts & Cultural Center in Niagara Falls.

“Passage on the Underground Railroad” reflects the years Marc spent on the road documenting the people and places affiliated with the Underground Railroad. During his travels, he photographed 100 historical structures and the surrounding landscape in 30 states and Canada, and collected numerous artifacts, documents and historical photos.

“Passage on the Underground Railroad” — the exhibition, as well as a book of the same name — features photographs of Underground Railroad sites, as well as digital montages that present multilayered narratives depicting the horrors of slavery.

UB’s connection to Marc goes back 15 years, explained Lillian Williams, associate professor of transnational studies. At that time, she was program co-chair of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, and the national group was holding its convention in Buffalo to celebrate the centennial of the Niagara Movement — which, incidentally, was founded in Buffalo at the home of William and Mary Burnett Talbert. Williams worked with Sandra Olson, then director of the UB Art Galleries, to mount an exhibition of Marc’s work in the gallery space at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport.

The exhibition was well-received, she recalled, pointing out that while exhibits in the airport gallery space usually are up for about a month, the Marc exhibit was on display for four months.

Marc later donated the Underground Railroad photos to the UB Art Galleries’ permanent collection, Williams said, and she helped arrange for the exhibitions at the Niagara Arts & Cultural Center and at UB as part of the celebration of 50 years of African American studies at the university.

“Passage on the Underground Railroad” dovetails nicely with African American Studies’ historical mission of civic engagement, Williams explained, noting that African American Studies (AAS) faculty and students have engaged with the local community throughout the program’s 51-year history at UB.

“This not only meant bringing the community to campus, but taking the campus community into the historic African Americancommunity,” Williams said. For example, UBstudents for many years have been placed as interns in government and private agencies. And a collaboration between former Buffalo Councilmember Demone Smith, the Hodgson Russ Law firm and AAS students produced the historical documentary brick sidewalk project in Martin Luther King Jr. Park.

In addition, AAS faculty have worked on community exhibitions; provided pro bono consulting for the Buffalo Board of Education and the Buffalo Urban League, among others; and served on state and federal advisory boards, Williams added.

The Marc exhibition was installed at UB before the university went to remote learning in the spring, and at that time “we had lots of foot traffic through the department,” Williams said, a testament to the great interest in the images among folks on campus, as well as in the community.

Now that students, faculty and staff are back on campus, they can see the exhibition themselves.

Members of the UB and broader Buffalo community can view the exhibition from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.

Marc, professor of art in the Herberger College of Arts at Arizona State University, was scheduled to be in residence at UB in late March, and was to lead an informal tour of the exhibition in the Department of Transnational Studies, as well as give a public lecture.

Williams expects he will make that visit to UB, although it probably won’t be until the spring 2021 semester at the earliest, she said.

TheThomas Root Homein Pekin (Upper Mountain Road in Niagara County) is one of several sites on the Underground Railroad that has sufficient documentation to support its role in the illegal system of "slave-stealing." Perhaps Freedom Seekers (fugitives) spent only a few hours here. They might have rested here for days. But they didn't have far to go for freedom. The crossings on the Niagara River are only a few miles to the west. Then they would be inCanaan, the Promised Land of Canada.

New's York's long border with Canada made it an important way station on the Underground Railroad. Usually fugitives came toNew York Cityvia Philadelphia. Then they found their way (with assistance, usually) up to the Hudson River. From there they often went west along theErie Canaltowards the ports onLake Ontarioor theNiagara Country. Or they might have moved up theChamplain Valleyinto Quebec or across theSt. Lawrence Riverinto Canada West (Ontario Province). There is also good evidence that many Freedom Seekers came up the Susquehanna Valley from Central Pennsylvania. That means that the Souther Tier and the Finger Lakes Region had important stations, too. Sometimes, when it was too dangerous to cross into Canada at Detroit, the runaways were sent along Lake Erie's shore into Western New York. This kept agents likeEber Pettitof Fredonia/ Versailles very busy.

It is often difficult separating history from mythology when it comes the Underground Railroad. It sometimes seems that every house dating from the 19th century had some kind a hidden passageway, or a fake attic to protect Freedom Seekers from capture. Of course, there probably were no more a handful of "safe houses" in most towns, maybe less. And, since they faced serious fines and jail time for assisting fugitives, most stationmasters never kept records. What we know about these places often comes from interviews with family members or neighbors who were young children at the time.

In the spring of 2021, a donation was made to Anderson Universityin honor and memory of the late civil rights leader,Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mr. Everett Humphrey ’59, an AU (Anderson College) alumnus and university donor, recently acquired the American flag that flew over the U.S. Capitol Building on April 4, 1968, the day Dr. King was assassinated.

According to Humphrey, this one-of-a-kind flag serves as a “witness” to the assassination — “one of the greatest tragedies of the twentieth century.”

To honor Dr. King, the flag was raised over the Capitol that day at the request of New York Congressman Henry P. Smith III. Afterward, Smith arranged for the flag to be flown over the cemetery in Pekin, New York. Pekin had once been a prominent stop on the Underground Railroad for slaves trying to reach Canada, adding to the rich history of this particular flag.

Included with Humphrey’s donation is the flag’s original transmittal letter, signed by theArchitect of the Capitolat the time, J. George Stewart, certifying that the flag was flown on April 4, 1968.

A collector of many rare and historical finds, like the flag, Humphrey has so far donated more than 100 items to Anderson University, all for the purpose of educating students about world history and its important lessons.

“It is my aim that when students view an item, it will stimulate an interest to further study,” said Humphrey. “We can learn important lessons from the past; however, if we do not learn from the mistakes we’ve made, they will only be made again.”

Humphrey feels that having the flag at AU creates a strong tie to Dr. King, and strengthens the university’s dedication to racial equality. He also hopes it will serve as a reminder of all Dr. King fought for, as well ashowhe fought for it.

“Martin Luther King Jr. was dedicated to social justice and social change bypeacefulmeans only,” Humphrey said. “Violence and hatred were never a part of his language or his actions. He knew that he would be subjected to unfair treatment because of his beliefs, but for him, retaliation was never an option.”

“Martin Luther King, Jr. is a significant example of a man who adopted a Christ-centered stance for social justice for Black America,” said AU marketing facultyDr. Ray Sylvester,who serves as a representative of the university’sMOSAIC Initiativeto build an interculturally responsive campus. “At AU, we recognize his sacrifice, and continue to recognize the work required to fulfill ‘the dream.’”

Part of that work is acknowledging that the dream still matters today. For the AU community, anMLK DayPeace and Justice March is held annually in the city of Anderson, Indiana, in efforts to remember Dr. King and all that he accomplished. Even with the global COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s event still took place, though at a distance, with the collective goal of walking “One Million Steps for Martin” as a community of Ravens around the world. The event was centered around the theme, “Awaken the Dream,”inspired by one of Dr. King’s speeches, “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution.”

Dr. Joel Shrock, AU’s provost and dean of theSchool of Humanities and Behavioral Science, shared that the flag transports him back in time to the events of the 1960s.

“The African AmericanCivil Rights Movementhad been gaining momentum for the entire twentieth century, and had many significant successes, such as theCivil Rights Act of 1964and theVoting Rights Act of 1965,” Dr. Shrock said. “The murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stunned the movement and our entire nation. From then on, Americans would never be the same.”

Dr. Jaye Rogers, professor of history and chair of theDepartment of History and Political Scienceat AU, received the flag from Humphrey on behalf of the department, where it is now on display along with many other historical finds Humphrey has donated.

Dr. Rogers is grateful that the flag was gifted to the university with its students in mind.

“A history professor is charged with the task of helping students see Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others as real figures — people who had jobs and families and frustrations and visions for a better, more equitable world,” said Dr. Rogers.

“Still, historians do their work with the help of many others,” she continued. “Someone believed that Dr. King’s efforts mattered and made the decision, when he was assassinated, to fly that flag over the Capitol. Others, for more than five decades, made sure to preserve the flag so that it would not fall apart. Mr. Humphrey has made the decision to purchase many artifacts, like this flag, and donate them to Anderson University to enhance our classroom learning — allowing students to see and touch a unique piece of our nation’s history. Our students, like the hundreds of others who have been a part of this flag’s journey, will become part of its story.”

While Dr. King’s legacy has certainly forged a powerful way forward, AU recognizes that there is still work to be done to achieve equity for historically marginalized groups.

Humphrey hopes that the flag will encourage students to press forward in this work, and in the face of obstacles that may, at times, seem insurmountable. “Following your dream may have a heavy cost,” he shared, “but that should not deter you from a goal that is worthwhile.”

HISTORIC NEW YORK CENTRAL NYC THE EMPIRE STATE EXPRESS PEARL HARBOR DAY K

$75.00

1941 HISTORIC NEW YORK CENTRAL NYC THE EMPIRE STATE EXPRESS PEARL HARBOR DAY A

$75.00

[Underground Railroad] American Hotel Journal Signed By Seward, Abolitionists

$495.00

Andy Warhol ~ Signed Autographed Authentic Signature Cut ~ PSA DNA Encased

$495.00

X

$33.33

Rene Magritte Famous Artist signed letter Good Content PSA DNA Autograph Auto

$1945.00

Saddam Hussein IRAQ autograph, signed portrait picture Rare

$799.99

Ruth Bader Ginsburg ~ Signed Autographed Photograph ~ PSA DNA Encased

$1595.00