Stories from Tioga County's Past

Portugal lands its first cargo of enslaved Africans in the Western Hemisphere (1)

twenty Africans arrive in Jamestown, VA, on a Dutch ship and are sold as indentured servants

first importation of slaves by the Dutch into New York (New Netherlands) [McManus, p. 4]; Harley gives a date of 1624

enslaved Africans are imported to Maryland and Massachusetts

fine of 50 guilders imposed on anyone sheltering a runaway (McManus, p. 22)

Massachusetts becomes the first colony to recognize slavery as a legal institution

Virginia passes a fugitive slave order penalizing those who assist runaway slaves

Dutch privateer seizes 44 Negroes from a Spanish ship to sell them in New Amsterdam (McManus, p. 7)

Virginia legally recognizes the institution of slavery in order to maintain needed labor on tobacco plantations

English establish rule in New Amsterdam (McManus, p. 23)

New York and New Jersey legally recognize the institution of slavery

A Virginia act provides that slave owners will not be held liable for killing their slaves

King Charles II of England establishes the Royal African Company which soon dominates the Atlantic slave trade

Gov. Andros prohibits Indian slavery [McManus, p. 24]; Harley makes references to Native American slaves in the years 1682 and 1685

it becomes a misdemeanor, punishable by flogging, for more than four slaves to meet together on their own time [McManus, p. 80]; Harley gives the date of 1685

law is enacted making the willful killing of a slave a capital offense

[McManus, p. 59; however, there is no record of anyone ever being

prosecuted under this law, p. 93]

Germantown, PA, Quakers sign a resolution against slavery making it the first official written protest against slavery in North America

death penalty for slaves captured more than 40 miles north of Albany

McManus, p. 104 this is done to discourage slaves from escaping to

the French and providing intelligence information

slave market is erected at the foot of Wall St. (Harley)

Pennsylvania passes the first colonial legislation to prohibit the slave trade

slave insurrection in New York City; 21 slaves are put to death [McManus, pp. 122-125; the Negroes were "burned alive, racked and broken on the wheel, and gibbeted alive in chains]

New York City slave plot foiled; 32 are executed and 72 are deported

[McManus, pp. 126-139 of the executions, 14 were burned at the

stake and 18 were hung; the prosecution of the case had similarities to

the Salem witch trials, p. 138]

slaves make up 15% of the New York population [McManus, p. 42]

Moravian missionaries David Zeisberger and Henry Frey meet a Black fugitive near Zeniinge (Otsiningo) on their way to Onondaga. He told them that he had lived for several years among the Indians [Beauchamp, pp. 163-4]

Society for the Propagation of the Gospel opens a school in New York City for Negro children [McManus, p. 70]

Report of two Blacks in Assining (later Corning). Legal status unknown [Dimitroff]

Birth of Betsey Douglas (Way-Way), offspring of runaway soldier from Fort Stanwix and his slave mistress. "Given" to Nanticoke Indians living in present day Vestal, NY. [Leamer, ]

Quakers adopt an anti-slavery resolution at their annual provincial convention [McManus, p. 150]

New York City distillers unanimously vote not to distill syrup or molasses intended for the slave trade [McManus, p. 152]

a New York act grants freedom to slaves who serve three years as soldiers [Harley]

the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery is established, the first one of its kind; Benjamin Franklin is its first President

at least 100,000 slaves run away from their masters during the Revolutionary War

Americans begin to offer emancipation to the Negroes who fight for the colonists; New York's first Constitutional Convention endorses the principle of emancipation for all slaves [McManus, p. 157; by the end of the war, over 4,000 blacks have served in the Continental Army and thousands more in the local militias]

Vermont is one of the first states to abolish slavery in its constitution

Sir Henry Clinton, British Commander-in-Chief, offers freedom to any slave who fights for the British [McManus, p. 154]

Negroes captured fighting for the Continentals would be sold into slavery regardless of legal status, [McManus, p. 158]

at the Battle of Newtown on August 30^th, near present day Elmira, two prisoners are taken - a Tory and a Negro; this was the only major battle of the Clinton-Sullivan Campaign [Division of Archives, p. 135]

the Massachusetts constitution abolishes slavery

New York legislature votes to manumit any slave serving in the armed forces [McManus, p. 161]

bill for gradual emancipation introduced, but voted down [McManus, p. 162-65]; New York Manumission Society is organized [McManus, p. 168], one of their concerns is to prevent the illegal export of slaves from out of New York, p. 170]

US Constitution is adopted. It states that the importation of slaves will not be prohibited before 1808 and that one slave will count as 3/5 of a person for congressional apportionment

it becomes illegal to sell any slave imported into the state [Harley]

According to the US Census of 1790, New York's black population has 21,329 slaves and 4,654 freemen. New York has the largest number of slaves north of the Mason-Dixon line. [McManus, p. 200]

as of this year, all New England colonies have abolished slavery

passage of Federal Fugitive Recovery Act, but the court rules that states cannot be compelled to enforce it [Phelan, p. 39]; however, since due process of the accused is denied, the act aids in recovery of fugitive slaves and kidnapping of free Blacks [Wilson]

Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin

a gradual manumission bill is passed. The bill frees all children born to slave women after July 4, 1799, with the provision that the males must stay with the master until age 28 and the females until age 25. Owners could technically "abandon" these children and assign them to the local overseers of the poor [McManus, pp. 174-5]

Issac Sharpe, a Revolutionary war veteran of "mixed" blood, becomes one of the first settlers in the Town of Nichols [Gay, p. 271]

Maj. Horatio Ross of Maryland comes to Owego with his two sisters. They bring two slaves. [Kingman, p. 105]

New Jersey passes a gradual emancipation law

first instance of a prototype Underground Railroad case

New York City provides schools for black children for the first time [Harley]

Congress prohibits the slave trade effective Jan. 1, 1808; however, the ban is widely ignored

NY bill passed that recognizes slave marriages, legitimizes children of slaves and prohibits separation of spouses [McManus, p. 178]

slaves are given the right to own and transfer property by will [Phelan, p. 39]

Dr. Seeley, the first practicing physician at Lowman, beats one of his male slaves to death. Col. Thomas Baldwin told the doctor that if he beat his slaves again, the doctor would be shot [Albertson, p. 108-9]

Ebenezer Backus, an early proprietor of the DeForest Tavern in Owego, was the owner of two slaves (Backus was Owego Town Clerk in 1814) [Kingman, p. 466]

law passed against hiring out slave for more than seven years; if over seven years, slave would be free [Schaetzke, p. 31]

10 to 25 per cent of Admiral Perry victorious naval force in the Battle of Lake Erie, Put-in-Bay, OH, are black

law is repealed barring Negroes from giving testimony against whites; slaves accused of a crime are given the right to a jury trial [Phelan, p. 39]

two battalions of black troops fight with Gen. Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans

New York authorizes the raising of two regiments of Negro soldiers; slaves could join with master's permission and would be considered free upon end of service [Schaetzke, p. 33]

Quaker Levi Coffin establishes the Underground Railroad

the American Colonization Society, which seeks to colonize free blacks in Africa, is organized in Washington, DC

the African Methodist Episcopal Church is started in Philadelphia

bill is passed freeing any slave born before July 4, 1799 [McManus, p. 178]; Harley gives the date of 1813. Nonresidents are allowed to enter the state with their slaves, but slaves are to be forfeited after nine months

Augustus Van Buren moves to Richford; a former slave of the Van Buren family along the Hudson, Augustus relates that he cared for Martin Van Buren as a child [Gay's Gazetteer, p. 416-17]

the Missouri Compromise is enacted; Maine is admitted as a free state, Missouri as a slave state

According to the US Census of 1820, Tioga County has 70 slaves of which 32 are located in the Town of Caroline. These are very likely divided among four to five owners (Boyer, Hyde, Patillo and the Speeds). [Pierce & Hurd, pp. 458-59]

Negro qualifications for voting raised to $250 of property; property qualifications for whites are abolished [McManus, p. 187]

Emancipation Day in New York State (July 4^th)

Robert Hyde, Town of Caroline, is indicted for taking slave to VA and not returning with said slave since this slave would have been free by staying in NYS [OG, Mar. 26, 1931]

Nat Turner's rebellion

the New York Committee and the New England Anti-Slavery Society, a radical abolitionist group, are formed

The Liberator, under the direction of William Lloyd Garrison, begins publication in Boston, MA

the British Parliament abolishes slavery in the British Empire

racial riots in New York City; hundreds of Negro homes destroyed [McManus, p. 186]

Hammon D. Pinney and his father Joshua come to Owego from Albany to open a dry goods store known as the "Owego Arcade". He would soon become a leader in the abolitionist movement [Kingman, p. 294-5]

first meeting of those favoring abolition held in Baptist Church, Owego [Pierce & Hurd, p. 87]

The Rev. Philetus B. Peck begins his pastorate at the Baptist Church of Owego. He is one of the "pioneers of the anti-slavery movement" and stays until 1847 [Kingman, pp. 627-8]

Abolitionists organize the Liberty Party

the Spanish ship, the Amistad, is brought into Montauk, NY, by a group of Africans who have revolted against their captors

first ads appear for anti-slavery almanacs at Pinney's Arcade [OG, Nov. 14, 1839, p. 3]

In January a meeting is held to form an abolition society [Pierce & Hurd, p. 87]

Issac Lillie, a surveyor and teacher, is among those who help form the abolition society [Kingman, p. 318]

Pope Gregory XVI declares opposition to slavery and the slave trade

Abolitionists hold first county convention on Jan. 10^th [Pierce & Hurd, p. 87]

Frederick Douglas is invited to speak but is "chased" out of Owego [History of Baptist Church, p. 32]

Gerrit Smith has rotten eggs thrown at him for speaking against slavery in Owego [Deuel]

A convention of the "Colored Inhabitants" of the State of New York is held in Albany; Luther Johnson of Owego attends [AA The Colored American, Sept. 12, 1840, #15433]. Referred to as "eccentric Negro barber and fiddler" [Kingman, p. 251]

Frederick Douglas makes his first anti-slavery speech in Nantucket, MA

ban against non-residents bringing slaves into the state [McManus, p. 178]

the New York legislature grants school districts the right to segregate their educational facilities [Harley]

The AME church of Owego is issued incorporation papers on Oct. 11th [Tioga County Clerk's Office, Miscellaneous Records, Bk. 1, p. 289]

Emancipation Celebration takes place in Owego [OG, Aug. 12, 1842, p. 2]

Story of Black who commits suicide in Owego [OG, Aug.12, 1842, p. 2]

Sojourner Truth (b. Isabella Van Wageren, Hurley, NY) leaves New York and begins abolitionist work

Start of the AME Annual Fair [OG, May 10, 1934, p. 7]

white Baptists split over the issue of slavery

Frederick Douglas's Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas is published

In a flood that occurs on March 26^th, three passengers and a driver on a mail coach coming from Elmira to Owego drown crossing the Owego Creek. One of the passengers was a "negro". [Kingman, pp. 439-40]

In April, the Rev. Samuel Corlyus Wilcox resigns from the Presbyterian Church due to conflict with the elders over the issue of slavery. Rev. Wilcox leaves for Williamsburg, MA. [Kingman, p. 587]. . According to one source, it stems from him asking the congregation to pray for "our brethren in bonds". [Gladden, pp. 46-7]

Frederick Douglas is elected president of the New England Anti-Slavery Society; the North Star, edited by Frederick Douglas, begins publication in Rochester, NY

The Liberty Party holds a nominating convention in Cortland; Hammon Pinney is one of the secretaries [AA The National Era, February 18, 1847, #6292]

George Vashon is the first black attorney in the state of New York [Harley]

The Tioga Freeman is published in Owego; it is in support of "Free Trade and Free Labor" [AA The National Era, Washington, DC, May 25, 1848, #10582] Its first issue is May 2, but the office was destroyed by fire in September 1849 and ceased publication. [Gay, p. 62] {see death of Gideon Chase, 1887}

In a letter to the North Star, a writer states that Binghampton [sic] is one of the "most pro-slavery villages" in central NY [AA The North Star, Sept. 15, 1848, #12107]

Harriet Tubman (b. 1820) escapes from slavery in Maryland

A group sympathetic to the anti-slavery cause breaks with the Presbyterian Church and asks Rev. Wilcox to return to form a Congregational Church [Kingman, p. 587]

Lucy Sessions earns a degree from Oberlin College, OH; she is possibly the first black person to earn a college degree in the US

Compromise of 1850 strengthens the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 and admits California as a free state

Sojourner Truth's Narrative of Sojourner Truth is published

Blacks in New York City form the short-lived American League of Colored Labourers, a union of skilled workers [Harley]

The Owego Advertiser complains that Hammon Pinney has desecrated the "Sabbath and sanctuary" for promoting the cause of abolition inside the Baptist Church [OA, April 25, 1850, p. 2]

A "Bush Negress or Wild Woman of the Woods" is exhibited in Owego, admission 25 cents [OA, Oct. 3, 1850]
 

Sojourner Truth delivers an unplanned fiery address (now known as "Ain't I a Woman) at the Women's Rights Conference in Akron, OH

Black and white abolitionists enter a courtroom in Syracuse, NY, and rescue Jerry McHenry, a fugitive slave; there is a similar instance in Boston [Harley]

Account of Emancipation Day celebration in Owego [OG, July 10, 1851, p. 2]

R.W. Thompson, a Black barber from Owego, is ejected from the cars of the Jefferson & Elmira RR for not taking his designated seat. He sues and receives $75 in damages. This is the first known challenge to discrimination on public transportation. [OG, August 7, 1851, p. 2]

The abolitionist William L. Chaplin delivers a lecture at the Baptist Church. He was, at that time, under $25,000 bond for aiding the escape of slaves in Maryland [OG, Aug. 21, 1851, p. 1]

The Liberty Party nominates Hammon D. Pinney for State Engineer; Gerrit Smith is nominated for President [AA Frederick Douglass Paper, October 23, 1851, #24356]

 

Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin is published

NY judge frees eight slaves brought into the city from Virginia on their way to Texas; this action followed the precepts of NYS law [OG, Nov. 18, 1852, p. 3]

R. W. Thompson, a Black barber, moves his business to the Ahwaga House (dated May 27^th); J. M. Hollensworth, whose business is located on Lake St., advertises a major remodeling of his shop (dated May 19^th) [OG, Nov. 20, 1856, p. 4]

Liberty Party (?) representatives from the counties of Tompkins, Chemung and Tioga hold a convention in Owego to nominate candidates for the 27^th Congressional District [AA Frederick Douglass' Paper, Oct. 1, 1852, #34676]

Contributions totaling $19.62 are collected from 8 towns and villages in the county for the NYS Anti-Slavery Society [AA Frederick Douglas Paper, Dec. 24, 1852, #35850]

The Liberty Party hold a national convention in Syracuse; an 8 member business committee is appointed that includes Gerrit Smith, Samuel Wells, J. W. Loguen and Hammon Pinney [Frederick Douglass' Paper, Oct. 15, 1852, #34894]

Prince Van Ness is appointed keeper of Evergreen Cemetery. He keeps this position until his death in 1866 [Kingman, p. 666]

Kansas-Nebraska Act repeals the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and permits admission, with or without slavery, of Kansas and Nebraska territories

The Republican Party is formed to oppose extension of slavery into the territories

Elizabeth Jennings sues the Third Avenue Railroad; she wins $225 in damages and a court ruling that Blacks may ride with whites on New York City horsecars [Harley]

Meetings are held in Owego in opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act [OG, June 8, 1854, p. 2 & Aug. 17, 1854, p. 2]

A letter by Gerrit Smith appears in the Owego Gazette. [Aug. 24, 1854, p. 2]

a fugitive slave passes through Owego [OT, Aug. 31, 1854, p. 2]

in April the play "Uncle Tom's Cabin" runs for one week in Owego to a good house [Kingman, pp. 536-7]

The Rev. William H. King begins his pastorate at the Baptist Church of Owego. He is a strong anti-slavery advocate and stays until 1881 [Kingman, p. 627, 631]

As of this year, 87% of employed blacks in New York City work in menial labor or unskilled jobs; this figure is representative of the economic conditions of free blacks in other Northern cities [Harley]

Margaret Garner escapes with her family from Kentucky to Ohio. When a group of slave holders and US marshals trap them, she kills her infant and strikes two of her boys with a shovel to keep them from returning to slavery. Hers is perhaps the most thoroughly recorded incident of slave resistance and infanticide

There is strong support in both the North and the South for reviving the slave trade [OT, Nov. 27, 1856, p. 2]

Republicans are referred to as "Negro worshippers" [OG, June 26, 1856, p. 2]

John Parker, a freed slave from Virginia, speaks at a Wesleyan Methodist camp meeting in Candor in hopes to raise enough money to buy his wife and child. [OT, Sept. 25, 1856, p. 1]

In Dred Scott v. Sanford, the US Supreme Court rules that Dred Scott, a slave, cannot sue for his freedom in a free state because he is property and as such "has no rights a white man has to respect".

an anti-slavery convention is held in Owego on Jan. 20 & 21 [OT, Jan. 8, 1857, p. 3]

The Owego Gazette reports that the proceedings from a meeting of the American Anti-Slavery Society in NYC are "treasonous" [OG, May 28, 1857, p. 2]

William Lounsberry of Nichols advertises that a "colored boy", William King, had left him with 2 1/2 years of service remaining [OT, July 23, 1857, p. 3]

the A.M.E. Society purchases a chapel from the Presbyterian Church and moves it to 116 Fox St.; it is dedicated on December 25, 1857 [JHJ plaque]

Lax enforcement of slave trade laws by New York judiciary result in continued traffic in slaves through this entire period. [Vinson]

Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas debate during the Illinois primary

a slave ship is captured off the north coast of Cuba and taken to Charleston, SC. [OG, Sept. 16, 1858, p. 1]

letter by C. P. Johnson of Berkshire promoting the cause of abolition [OT, Feb. 25, 1858, p. 2]

John Brown raids a Federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, WV

The Clothilde, the last US slave-trading ship, arrives in Mobile Bay, AL

The AME Church holds a supper and festival [OG, Jan. 20, 1859, p. 3]

Lincoln is elected president; South Carolina becomes the first state to secede from the Union

The Brooklyn Excelsiors is the first black baseball team to tour the US

Evening Star No. 19, a "Colored Lodge", exists in Owego from this date through the 1880's [Watrous, p. 117]

The Civil War begins when the Confederates attack Fort Sumter, SC, on April 12

The Colonization Society reports that seven slave ships had been captured. Of the 4,275 on board, only 3,684 would live to land in Liberia [AA The Christian Recorder, May 18, 1861, #41814]

The US Congress approves the enlistment of freed blacks into the army. Their pay is half the amount of white soldiers and will not be equalized until 1864

May Jane Patterson is the first black woman to receive a bachelor's degree from an accredited college (Oberlin)

The Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect, but only in those states and areas still in rebellion against the Union

The 54^th Massachusetts Volunteers becomes the first northern black regiment

White mobs destroy a black orphanage in NY [Harley]

Poor white immigrants in NYC attack blacks in the so-called anti-draft riots leaving almost 1,200 people killed [Harley]

Fugitive Slave Laws are repealed

One hundred forty-four blacks from 18 states meet in Syracuse, NY, for a National Convention of Colored Citizens; they issue an appeal for the right to vote [Harley]

The Civil War ends with the surrender of Gen. Lee at Appomatox. 250,000 blacks have served in Union forces; 38,000 have lost their lives

The US Congress ratifies the 13^th amendment which abolishes slavery

President Lincoln is assassinated in Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC

Hyram S. Thomas, chef, invents the potato chip in Saratoga Springs, NY [Harley]

Blacks of Owego and adjoining counties hold a celebration in Owego marking the end of slavery in the South and the end of the Civil War [OT, Aug. 17, 1865, p. 2]

Bands of southern white men begin a campaign of terror against blacks and white Republicans; these groups include the Ku Klux Klan

Local

Death of Prince Van Ness on Dec. 28, sexton for Presbyterian Church [OG, Jan. 3, 1867, p. 2]

At the National Association of Baseball Players convention, delegates vote to exclude black players and teams from membership

Congress ratifies the 14^th Amendment, which grants blacks full citizenship and equal civil rights

US Congress establishes four regiments of black enlisted men Ninth and Tenth Cavalries and the 24^th and 25^th infantries; Native Americans refer to these troops as "Buffalo Soldiers"

US Congress passes the 15^th amendment, which grants male suffrage regardless of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude".

Upon graduation from the NY Medical College for Women, Susan McKinley Stewart becomes the third black female doctor in the US [Harley]

the American Anti-Slavery Society disbands. The Owego Times reports that the Underground Railroad had existed in Owego and that Hammon Pinney had been one of the station masters. [OT, April 14, 1870]

A group of "rowdies" disrupt church services at the AME Church; one instance erupts into assault; the OT condemns the perpetrators [OT, Oct. 20, 1870]

An Emancipation Jubilee is held at Wilson's Hall [Binghamton Daily Democrat, Jan. 20, 1872, p. 2]

Another "Jubilee of Freedom" takes place during the summer

[OT, Aug. 15, 1872, p. 3]

Frederick Douglas gives a lecture on Santo Domingo [OG, March 21, 1872, p. 3; OT, March 21, 1872, p. 3]

AME Church is reconstructed and rededicated [JHJ plaque]

The "Fat Men" of Newark Valley host a clambake at the Trout Ponds. Capt. Isaiah Flamer (241 lbs.), an Owego black barber, is among the first to "weigh in" [OG, Oct. 1, 1874]

The Civil Rights Act of 1875 gives blacks the right to equal treatment in inns, public conveniences, and public amusement places

The Philosophian Literary Society for "colored citizens" is formed. It has 50 members [Pierce & Hurd, p. 184]

The Republican Party establishes the "Black and Tan Republican Party", which is separate from the all-white Republican Party

AME Church of Owego host a State Conference [OG, May 17, 1877, p. 3 & May 31, 1877, p. 3]

Death of Carlisle P. Johnson, a Berkshire merchant [OT, March 20, 1879]. He was referred to as an "old abolitionist"; Frederick Douglas stayed at his home when Douglas came to speak in Owego [Gay, p. 164]. Johnson very likely aided fugitive slaves.

Daniel Searles, a Black laborer living in Newark Valley, kills an elderly white farmer, Elbridge Rewey on June 26[OG, July 3, 1879]; trial begins on December 1^st; he is convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to hang [OT, Dec. 11, 1879]

The AME Church has 200 sittings, 45 members, $5000 worth of property and pays its minister $500 [Pierce & Hurd, p. 93]

Luther Stone of Waverly is identified as an abolitionist and that his home was a station on the Underground Railroad [Pierce & Hurd, p. 647]

Daniel Searles is executed on Jan. 21^st; this was Tioga County's first and only public execution [OT, Jan. 22, 1880]

Rev. B. F. Aldridge, pastor of the AME Church dies of "quick consumption" at age 27. A native of New Orleans, he was educated at Oberlin. [OG, Oct. 28, 1880]

The Cuban Giants are organized; they are considered to be the first black professional baseball team

Enoch R. Spaulding runs for Village Trustee on the Republican ticket. He is defeated, but he is the first Black to run for any elective office in the county. [OG, Jan. 7, 1886]

A grand Emancipation Celebration to be held [OT, July 29, 1886, p. 3]

J. M. Hollensworth is notified of his appointment as notary public by Gov. Hill [The New York Freeman, July 31, 1886, p. 4]

Reference to a "colored officer" in the Owego Police Dept. [Owego Daily Blade, Aug. 6, 1886, p. 3]

Ad appears in the Owego Times for Enoch R. Spaulding, who now offers both barber services and bathrooms at his place of business at 47 Lake St. [Watrous, p. 65]

Death of Gideon O. Chase, former editor for the Tioga Freeman. According to this source, the paper continued until Sept. 1850, not Sept. 1849. [OG, March 31, 1887, p. 1]

The AME Church hosts a two day district conference [OG, Oct. 20, 1887, p. 1]

The family of Moulton Cheeks, consisting of 13 children plus mother and father, gives a concert at Ahwaga Hall; there is standing room only. [OG, Dec. 15, 1887, p. 1]

Emancipation Day celebration held in Waverly [OG, Aug. 2, 1888, p.1]

Samuel J. Hollensworth, Esq., former barber of Owego, has now become a lawyer in Pine Bluff, AK [OG, Jan. 16, 1890 taken from Pine Bluff, AK, Commercial]

Two Black youths steal some skunk skins. One is described as "an indolent specimen of his race, of which there are a great number in this village." [OG, Feb. 15, 1890, p. 1]

"Colored People's Camp Meeting" held in South Waverly [OG, July 31, 1890]

A "colored Chatauqua" is held in Waverly [OG, Aug. 14, 1890?]

A minstrel company, Uncle Tom's Cabin Company, performs in Owego; it has "white and colored" artists [OG, Oct. 9, 1890?] Minstrel shows would occur with regularity through the W. W. I period; several had white and Black artists. The Lyric Minstrel Troupe of local composition was also integrated. [Nizalowski, p. 329]

concert is given by wife of the AME minister; audience is "crowded with with white people" [OG, May 21, 1891, p. 5]

A Black is lynched in Port Jervis, NY[OG, June 9, 1892, p. 1]

Owego Black population (Town and Village) would reach a peak of 225 (?) [US Census, 1892]

Performance by minstrel group Considine Avenue Aeolians, has white and Black performers [OG, April 14, 1892, p. 1]

A dispute erupts in the AME Church over who should control funds raised for remodeling. The minister has one person arrested for disturbing a religious meeting [OG, June 2, 1892]

J. M. Hollensworth selected for Colored Men's National Convention [OG, June 23, 1892, p. 1.

The AME State Convention is held in Owego [OG, June 30, 1892, p. 1]

Unveiling of the Soldier and Sailor's Monument; Oscar Barton, drummer with the 26^th NY Colored Infantry Regiment, makes his last public performance [interview with Margaret Williams, his granddaughter]

Performance by the Dockstalder Minstrels [OG, Mar. 9, 1893, p. 1]

AME Church holds a week long camp meeting at the NV Trout Ponds [OG, July 13, 1893, p.5]

AME has benefit at the Ahwaga Hotel [OG, April 26, 1894, p. 5]

A Black barber expresses interest in being Treasurer for the Village of Owego [OG, Dec. 12, 1895, p. 4]

In Plessy v. Fergerson, the US Supreme Court rules that "separate but equal" facilities are constitutional

Enoch R. Spaulding elected Treasurer for the Village of Owego. . At this time there were four barbers in his place of business. [OT, Jan. 7,1897, p. 3]

Death of Samuel J. Hollensworth, age 60, in Little Rock, AK [OG, April 1, 1897, p. 1]

A poem entitled "Thanksgiving in Blackville" appears on the front page of the Owego Gazette. It is written in Southern Black dialect. [OG, Nov. 25, 1897] Representations of this type would frequently appear from 1890 through the W. W. I period. [Nizalowski]

Performance by Uncle Tom's Cabin Company, 60 performers [OG, Dec. 16, 1897, p. 5]

Death of James H. Wilson, Owego resident who had enlisted in the 54^th Colored Massachusetts Volunteers. He had been disabled by the premature explosion of a cannon [OG, Dec. 23, 1897, p. 1]

Enoch R. Spaulding elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Colored Masons at annual meeting held in NYC [Watrous, p. 116-117]

Enoch R. Spaulding is a member of the committee to erect a statue of Frederick Douglas in Rochester [Czerkas]

The Owego Mandolin Club, a Black organization, does a benefit concert for the pastor of the AME Church [Watrous, p. 97]

Death of Hammon Pinney on Feb. 24^th. It is noted in his obituary that his home had been a haven for runaway slaves. [OT, March 3, 1898, p. 3]

Death of Lewis Wallace, former slave and Civil War veteran [OG, Jan. 19, 1899, p. 1]

AME Church holds a musical and cakewalk at the Ahwaga Hotel [OG, Nov. 16, 1899, p. 5]

the "In for Information Club", a "colored" club of Owego, sponsors a ball at the Ahwaga [OG, Nov. 30, 1899, p. 5]

The Rev. Peter B. Guernsey leaves the Baptist Church of Owego to take the Presidency of Roger Williams University in TN, a college which prepares "young colored men for the ministry". [Kingman, pp. 632-3]

By this year the AME church consists of 5,775 churches and 663,746 members

Local

Performance by the Orion Orchestra of Ithaca to benefit the AME Church [OG, Mar. 22, 1900, p. 5]

Booker T. Washington dines with President Theodore Roosevelt at the White House. This dinner is criticized by many whites.

Jennie Glasco, "colored", is salutatorian for her graduating class (?)

Miss Olivia Hasaalum is first "colored" applicant to Cornell University from Owego [OG, June 12, 1902, p. 1]. She would later graduate from Oneonta Teacher's College [Tioga Courier, p.1, Feb. 23, 2000; article by Mike Gulachok]

100 people from Owego attend the Emancipation Day Picnic in Ithaca [OG, Aug. 14, 1902, p. 1]
 

Harriet Tubman deeds a home for the elderly in Auburn, NY, to her AME Zion Church [Harley]

Owego Gazette proposes that a lynch law should be passed for the North [OG, June 11, 1903, p. 4]

Charles Cheeks, age 29, attempts suicide fending off an imaginary lynch mob. He is committed to the State Hospital in Binghamton [OG, Mar. 17, 1904, p. 1]

In the "Brownsville Incident", 167 black soldiers are dishonorably discharged for raiding a town. Pres. Roosevelt supports this action. More than 60 years later, their names are eventually cleared.

The first black Greek letter fraternity for undergraduates is founded at Cornell University [Harley]

The Cuban Giants, a Black baseball team, lease the Tioga County Fair Grounds for their 1906 season [OG, March 1, 1906, p. 1]

Some Cornell University students fortified by "liquid refreshment", start annoying a Black barber, William Benson. He fires blanks from a revolver into the air and they run off. Police are called, but see nothing that requires their attention [OG, July 26, p. 1]

The US Supreme Court rules that railroads may racially segregate passengers traveling between states, even when segregation is illegal in the states in which the train is traveling

The First Baptist Church donates chairs and hymn books to the AME Church [Watrous, p. 189]

Edward Buck becomes an apprentice seaman [OG, Jan. 2, 1908, p. 1]

Death of Moulton Cheeks. He had been a slave in Virginia and had come to Owego after the Civil War. He was a carpenter by trade and had 19 children [OG, Feb. 4, 1909, p. 1]

Dispute erupts at the AME Church [OG, July 1, 1909, p.1]

Rev. DeShields of the AME Church leaves [OG, Sept. 9, 1909, p. 1]

Orpheus Jubilee Singers to perform at the Methodist Episcopal Church [OG, Jan. 13, 1910, p. 1]

Booker T. Washington is severely beaten for allegedly approaching a white woman in NYC [Harley]

The AME Church holds a colorful parade similar to the Pinkster celebrations of Blacks along the Hudson River [OG, July 27, 1911, p. 1]

Samuel Cheeks, age 81, is baptized in the Susquehanna River [OG, Sept. 11, 1913, p. 2]

The NAACP leads protests against D. W. Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation

Edward A. Johnson is the first black elected to the New York state assembly

US enters World War I; approximately 300,000 blacks serve in the conflict. The 369^th is the first black combat unit overseas

Progressive Brothers Club holds dance at the Ahwaga [OG, Jan. 18, 1917, p. 5]

Death of Isaiah Williams, age 69, first Black graduate from Owego Free Academy [OG, June 21, 1917, p. 2]

Blacks register for the draft; 13 from Owego and 4 from the Town of Barton [Watrous, p. 202]

Last of Owego's Blacks leave for the service. Although they are given a "rousing send-off", they would need to ride in a car at the rear of the train. [OG, Aug. 8, 1918, p. 2]

Andrew "Rube" Foster and a group of black baseball club owners form the National Negro Baseball League

Last of Owego's Blacks return from service. Nearly all were in the 349^th Field Artillery 92^nd Division. Lionel Williams would receive a Silver Star for repairing telephone wires. [OG, Mar. 13, 1919, p. 1]

The National Football League is formed and allows teams to sign black players

An anti-lynching bill to make mob murder a federal offense passes in the US House of Representatives but fails in the US Senate

Blacks to hold large picnic. It includes a parade, a baseball game (Lester Scott's "ball-tossers" vs. the Binghamton Red Sox) and a band concert. A Dance at the Ahwaga would last until 4 AM. [OG, Aug. 17, 1922]

First report that the Klan is organizing in Owego [OG, Nov. 30, 1922, p. 4

A cross is burned in Evergreen Cemetery [OG, Dec. 28, 1922, p. 1]

Factional differences arise over pastor at AME Church [OG, June 7, 1923, p. 1]

Cross is burnt on float in the Susquehanna River opposite Ross St. [OG, Aug. 9 1923, p. 2]

Klan members make their first public appearance at the Waverly Baptist Church [OG, Feb. 7 1924, p. 2]. It is reported that there are three Klan organizations in the county [OG, Feb. 14, p. 2]

Mary P. Chase writes letter deploring lack of interest in the AME Church [OG, April 24, 1924, p. 3]

Klan holds its first parade in Spencer [OG, June 26, 1924, p. 10]

A state-side meeting of the Klan (a Klorero) is held in Binghamton [OG, July 10, 1924, p. 7]

Weekly meetings of the Klan are held in Owego at Red Men's Hall on Lake St. There are 500 at the meeting of July 29^th [OG, July 31, 1924, p. 1]

Klan members attend a Newark Valley school board meeting [OG, Aug. 14, 1924, p. 6 (taken from Tioga County Herald)

Colored Lodge of Elks of Binghamton have an outing at the Tioga County Fair Grounds [OG, Aug. 28, 1924]

The newly revived KKK state a 40,000-man parade down Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC.

Two open air meetings by the Klan, one in Newark Valley and one in Ellistown, Town of Barton. The Newark Valley meeting has at least 250 cars and 1,000 in attendance [OG, June 18, 1925, p. 6]

The Klan has a meeting at "the hickories" ]OG, Aug. 13, 1925, p. 3]

The start of Negro History Week; this expands to a month in 1976

AME Church starts $1,000 remodeling drive [OG, Aug. 12, 1926, p. 6]

Peerless Jubilee Company performs for the AME drive [OG, Sept. 23, 1926, p. 11]

AME Church publicly thanks their "good white friends" [OG, Nov. 4, 1926, p. 5]

The AME remodeling effort is completed. Of the $2,312.89 raised for the project, $1300 came from "good white friends". [Watrous, p. 251]

Klan has large parade in Newark Valley; 400 are in attendance [OG, Sept. 8, 1927, p. 6]

Patrick Slow, Black Civil War veteran dies [OG, Dec. 22, 1927, p. 7]

Cong. Oscar DePriest (R-IL) is the first northern black to serve in the US Congress

Francis E. Rivers is the first black admitted to the New York Bar Association [Harley]

The New York Times capitalizes the word "Negro" for the first time "in recognition of racial self-respect"

The professional football leagues stop recruiting blacks until after WWII

Nine youths are arrested for allegedly raping two white women in Scottsboro, AL; the "Scottsboro Boys" case is very controversial and all nine are eventually free by parole, appeal or escape by 1950

Article on slavery in Tioga County by Charles C. Cafferty [OG, Mar. 26, 1931]

William Cheeks, musician, is found destitute and ill in Java; his vocal quartet once performed for the royal courts of Europe [OG, June 23, 1932, p. 1]

Baseball Colored Comedians appear in Owego [OG, June 23, 1932, p. 11]

AME Church celebrates its 90^th birthday [OG, Oct. 20, 1932 p. 3]

Oscar Barton, Black Civil War veteran, turns 100 [OG, Nov. 3, 1932, p. 1]

Colored National Basketball champions play in Owego [OG, Feb. 9, 1933, p. 6]

Oscar Barton dies [OG, Aug. 17, 1933, p. 3]

George Jones, a Black mason, takes Fred Smith, a restaurant proprietor, to court for allegedly not serving him a beer because of his race. Smith was found not guilty. [OG, Oct. 19, 1933, p. 11]

AME Church holds its 91^st annual fair [OG, May 10, 1934, p. 7]

Fred Cheeks is color bearer for the St. Nicholas Society of NYC. Formed by the Dutch, it is the oldest society in the country [OG, Dec. 13, 1934, p. 16]

AME Church holds prayer service due to invasion of Abyssimia [OG, Feb. 14, 1935, p. 1]

CCC Camp SCS-7 at Straits Corners is occupied by Black veterans of World War I. It is one of the first camps in NYS to work exclusively on private lands [OG, Nov. 7, 1935, p. 9]

The reelection of Franklin Roosevelt marks the first time that black Americans overwhelmingly vote for a Democratic president

CCC Camp provides assistance during two floods [OG, March 26, 1936, p. 1; OG, Aug. 27, 1936, p. 11]

CCC Camp holds a benefit minstrel show for the AME Church [OG, April 23, 1936, p. 5]

Frank Dennis, former slave, dies in Richford [OG, May 7, 1936, p. 1]

The Tioga Red Sox play the Colored Giants of Binghamton [OG, Aug. 6, 1936, p. 2]

AME Church makes a special appeal for funds [OG, Oct. 29, 1936, p. 10]

Joe Lewis becomes heavyweight champion of the world

CCC Camp digs holes for utility poles that will provide electric service from Tioga Center to Straits Corners [OG, Jan. 14, 1937, p. 1]

CCC Camp receives the highest rating out of the 24 in its district [OG, Feb. 11, 1937, p. 1]

Mary P. Chase writes another letter seeking greater financial assistance and support for the AME Church (OT, Sept. 28, 1937)

Death of Egbert N. Van Dyke, age 83. He had been a blacksmith and had once held town office in Berkshire. His great-grandfather was Augustus Van Buren, who came to Richford in 1818. [Watrous, p. 291]

Death of Mary P. Cheeks, also known as Mary Chase. Mary had been born a slave in New Orleans in 1862, but had resided in Owego for 60 years. She had operated a needlework and dressmaking shop on North Ave. [Watrous, p. 307]

Benny Goodman leads a concert at Carnegie Hall; despite opposition, he refuses to play without two members of his band, Lionel Hampton and Teddy Wilson

Joe Lewis defeats the German Max Schmeling

Over 500 participate in a field day held at the CCC Camp [OG, Aug. 11, 1938, p. 6]

CCC Camp to close Oct. 10^th [OG, Sept. 22, 1938, p. 9]

NAACP launches a drive to obtain one million signatures on an anti-lynching petition

Charles Drew establishes a "blood bank" at Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University, NYC [Harley]

Article appears concerning the slave descendents living on the former Speed homestead [OG, Aug. 24, 1939, p. 9]

William Cheeks dies in Java; a Javanese newspaper refers to him as a forerunner to Paul Robeson [OT, Nov. 28, 1939, p. 1; OG, Nov. 30, 1939, p. 3]

Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. is appointed brigadier general in the US Army, becoming the highest ranking black in the armed forces

James Stewart, nearly 100 years old and member of Old Colored Georgia Minstrels, dies [OG, Sept. 12, 1940, p. 1]

The 99^th Pursuit Squadron, an all black unit, it formed and the Tuskegee Training Program is established

The first black tank battalion, the 758^th, is activated

When the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, Dorie Miller, a mess steward, mans a machine gun and downs four Japanese fighters; he receives the Navy Cross

AME Church has 99^th anniversary [OG, Oct. 23, 1941, p. 10]

Frank Clark purchases five farms in the hills of Richford for a potato farm. He uses local labor and black migrant farm workers during harvest time. By the early 1950's, Jamaicans are used as well [Bill Sherwood]

The US Justice Department threatens 20 editors of black newspapers with sedition for featuring articles relating to segregation and injustices in the US military

The US Navy admits blacks to all branches of the service

The First Marine Depot is the first black unit to be sent overseas during World War II

Blacks in Detroit, MI, riot in protest over exclusion from civil defense jobs; federal troops are called in; 34 are left dead

Paul Robeson is the first black actor to play the title role in Othello on Broadway, NYC

George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess opens on Broadway [Harley]

Delegates at the Professional Golfers Association annual meeting vote to limit membership to whites only

Article on Underground Railroad, focusing on 351 Main St., former home of Hammon Pinney [OG, July 22, 1943, p. 1]

The US Secretary of the Navy orders all naval vessels integrated

Black stevedores refuse to return to work after an ammunition explosion at the docks near San Francisco, CA. The men are tried and sentenced to hard labor; Thurgood Marshall wins an acquittal in 1946

All three Rollins brothers are in the service [OG, Feb. 24, 1944, p.2]

Every Black man eligible for service is in the ranks [OG, April 6, 1944, p. 1]

New York is the first state to pass the Fair Employment Practices Commission law [Harley]

The Basketball Association of America, a professional league is formed; the league admits black players

The All-American Football Conference is formed and allows teams to sign black players

Jackie Robinson becomes the first black to play major league baseball; Dan Bankhead and Larry Doby also become players this same year.

Pres. Harry S. Truman issues Executive Order 9980 and Executive Order 9981; these are designed to eliminate discrimination in federal employment and ensure equal treatment in the armed forces

The African Methodist Episcopal Church authorizes the ordination of women
Alice Coachman is the first black American woman to win a gold medal in the Olympics

Leroy "Satchel" Paige, formerly of the National Negro League, becomes the first black pitcher in the American League

The PGA drops its "whites only" policy after a law suit

The National Committee for Fair Play in Bowling is established; the American Bowling Congress and the Women's International Bowling Congress admits blacks 18 months later

Tuskegee Institute provides student interns and apprentices for O'Brien's Restaurant [Nizalowski, p. 335]

Althea Gibson becomes the first black American to play tennis at the US Open

Gen. Douglas MacArthur refuses to follow orders to desegregate the US Army and is removed from his command for insubordination

Tuskegee Institute's Department of Records and Research reports 1952 as the first year in 71 years of tabulation that there are no lynchings in the US

AME Church conducts a fund drive [OG, July 30, 1953, p.4]

The US Supreme Court rules in Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka that segregated schools are "inherently unequal".

Rosa Parks, seamstress, is arrested for refusing to yield her seat to a white man in Montgomery, AL; this sparks the Montgomery bus boycott.

Last known reference to the AME Church in the OG [Sept. 22, 1955, p. 6]

Gov. Orville Faubus orders units of the Arkansas National Guard to Central High School in Little Rock to block school integration

The integrated American Football League is formed; its nondiscriminatory policy serves as a major draw for black athletes

The modern "sit-in" movement begins when four black students from North Carolina A & T College sit at a "whites only" Woolworth's lunch counter

Ernie Davis, Syracuse University running back, is the first black to win the Heisman Trophy. [Harley]

The US Supreme Court orders the University of Mississippi to admit student James H. Meredith

Jackie Robinson is the first black inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown, NY

Gov. George Wallace blocks Vivian Malone and James Hood when they attempt to register at the University of Alabama

Medgar Evers, field secretary for the NAACP, is killed outside his home in Jackson, MS

More than 200,000 protest marchers from all over the US come to Washington, DC, where Martin Luther King, Jr., delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech

Four girls are killed during Sunday school service by a bomb in Birmingham, AL

The bodies of three slain civil rights workers are found in a shallow grave outside Philadelphia, MS

The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 gives the US attorney general additional power to protect citizens against discrimination and segregation

Martin Luther King, Jr., receives the Nobel Peace Prize

Malcolm X is assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in NYC

A clash between black residents and white police triggers the Watts rebellion

Sen. Edward W. Brooke (R-MA) is the first black since Reconstruction to be elected to the US Senate

The worst summer of racial disturbances occurs in major urban areas including Newark, NJ; Detroit, MI; and Chicago, IL

Pres. Johnson appoints Thurgood Marshall as an associate justice to the US Supreme Court; he is the first black to hold this position.

Five Black youths from Binghamton are verbally assaulted by a local resident as they wait at a North Avenue gas station. One youth hurls a bottle that accidentally injures a young girl. [Watrous, p. 428]

Herbert Williams receives an award for outstanding community service by the Owego Jaycees [Watrous, p. 442]

Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated in Memphis, TN; widespread violence occurs in 125 cities

Arthur Ashe wins the US Open tennis championship; he is ranked the number one player in the world

Shirley Chisholm (D-NY) becomes the first black woman elected to the US Congress

Armed black students take over the main administrative building at Cornell University [Harley]

Ed Finley, a black, shoots and kills a county police officer in the line of duty [Bob Williams]

Students at the all-black Jackson State College in Mississippi protest and throw rocks at white passers-by; police open fire on unarmed students killing two and injuring 12 others

The U.S.S. Jesse L. Brown is the first ship in the US Navy named in honor of a black naval officer

Cong. Shirley Chisholm (D-NY) makes a bid for the presidential nomination of the democratic party

Henry "Hank" Aaron of the Atlanta Braves breaks Babe Ruth's record for most career homeruns

Bob Williams becomes the first black sheriff's deputy for Tioga County; he also serves in Waverly and Newark Valley [Bob Williams]

Cong. Barbara Jordan (D-TX) is the keynote speaker for the Democratic National Convention, the first black to do so for a major political party's national convention

Harold Murray is elected as Village Trustee, probably the first Black to hold such a position. [Watrous, p. 511]

The US Congress votes to extend the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Bob Williams is appointed Police Chief for the Village of Owego. He is the first Black to hold this position and serves until 2001 [Nizalowski, p. 335]

Rev. Jesse Jackson announces his bid for the presidency

Vanessa Williams is crowned Miss America, the first black to win in the history of the pageant

The birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. becomes a federal holiday

Guion S. Bluford, Jr. becomes the first black American astronaut in space

Wynton Marsalis, jazz trumpeter, is the first musician to win Grammy awards for jazz and classical music recordings simultaneously

A bust of Martin Luther King, Jr., is on display at the US Capitol Building; it is the first statue of a black American to stand in the halls of Congress

Colin Powell is promoted to four-star general; in 1989 he will become the first black Chief of Staff for the US Armed Forces

David Dinkins becomes mayor of NYC, the first black to ever hold that office [Harley]

L. Douglas Wilder is inaugurated governor of Virginia, the first black to be elected governor of any state

Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois is the first black woman Democrat elected to the US Senate

Edward Arrington is elected as a Trustee of the Village of Owego. He keeps this position until 2002.

Death of John Honey Jones of Owego (b. Cincinnati, OH, Jan. 22, 1921). John moved to Owego in the early 1950's. He would leave a bequest for the study of Tioga County's black history. [JHJC]

The first program honoring John Honey Jones is held on Feb. 2^nd. An exhibit on the Underground Railroad is presented. [JHJC]

A second program honoring John Honey Jones is held on Feb. 1^st. The focus is the AME church. A representative of Congressman Hinchey also presents World War II medals granted posthumously to John Honey Jones.

Seargent Roland V. Noble

Art Berg holding the flag. Picture was taken at the offices of the Press and Sun-Bulletin in Binghamton, NY. It appeared in the Sunday Press on May 7, 1995.

Front row (left to right): Gordon Dewitt Baker of Owego, Roland Victor Noble of Newark Valley, Michael Okrepkie of Newark Valley, Frank Raymond Covert of Berkshire, Nick Wasylysyin of Berkshire. Back row (left to right): Lester Donald Grummons of Newark Valley, John Robertson Sidey of Waverly, Robert Samuel Cameron of Waverly, John Park Tribe of Nichols, Leonard Bernard Schmidt of Owego.

Probably taken at the Erie Depot in Owego, NY, sometime during the war.