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July 11th has always been significant to me – after all, it is the day I was born. However, it is also the day, 241 years ago, that my ancestor, Moses Michael Hays stood before the majority government and religious… Continue Reading →
149th Annual Memorial Day Ceremony, Warren Rhode Island THE WORLD OF WILLIAM BARTON & JACK SISSON Let me begin with; there may be no more noble a cause than the men and women of the Armed Services who routinely place… Continue Reading →
After four long years of blood and war, Union Troops on the morning of April 3, 1865 entered the city of Richmond, Virginia, then capital of the Confederate States of America. Richmond had become the single-minded focus of the Union… Continue Reading →
Cemeteries are largely seen as final resting places – an end, but for those interested in historical and genealogical research, cemeteries can provide a wealth of information regarding people, places and events of the past. Here in Newport, Rhode Island… Continue Reading →
What stands out with the enslavement of African heritage people as the labor force of choice during the settlement of the Western Hemisphere as compared to slavery throughout world history is the unique concept of confining slavery to a single… Continue Reading →
As President Woodrow Wilson in August of 1917 declared war on Germany saying, “The world must be made safe for democracy,” the United States would enter the war in Europe. That statement would particularly resonate at home to America’s African American… Continue Reading →
1696 Heritage Group is happy to announce that we have received a grant from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities for our fall program Gilded Age Newport in Color. This program is hosted by the Preservation Society of Newport… Continue Reading →
The peculiar institution of slavery in Rhode Island had its start and evolution with the sea. The town of Newport, aptly named the “City by the Sea,” would become the fifth most active seaport in all of Thirteen Colonies by… Continue Reading →
2013 is a special year for Newport, for Rhode Island and for the nation. It is the 350th anniversary of the Rhode Island Colonial Charter, one of the nation’s earliest compacts to affirm religious toleration and freedom. It is the… Continue Reading →
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A Black History Lesson for the Democratic Party in 2016
Recently I posted an image on Facebook of my great aunt and uncle at Easton’s Beach in Newport, RI around 1917. I noted my aunt, Lillie Forrester Carr was an early African American graduate of the New England Conservatory of… Continue Reading →