The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia. Edited by: Gerald L. Smith, Karen Cotton McDaniel, and John A. Hardin. (2015. Pp. 596. $49.95. Hardcover. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. 663 South Limestone Street, Lexington KY 40508-4008. www.kentuckypress.com) ISBN: 978-0-8131-6065-8. The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia is the first encyclopedia to record the history of...
By: Nathan Blake Lynn, McCracken County Public Library The McCracken County Public Library is thrilled to unveil the Mary Wheeler Collection, an original, private collection of scrapbooks, letters, manuscripts, theses, photographs, and awards that commemorate the life and work of American musicologist Mary Wheeler. The Mary Wheeler Collection is housed...
By: Mary E. Clay This is a story about a surname puzzle. A similar story could be told by many other African Americans trying to find their ancestors. The search for the surnames the ancestors took after they were freed can be a true test of one’s research abilities. This...
In the summer of 2012, KHS acquired letters that made a few headlines. The reason the Watson-Robinson letters garnered such attention was due to the fact that most of the authors were from the African American community prior to the Civil War. While scholars and historians will spend years dissecting...
Slaves Identified in Kenton County, Kentucky Clerk’s and Kenton County Vital Statistic Records, 1840-1865. By Arnold Taylor. (2014. Pp. 58. Spiral Softcover. Lexington: www.slavelawsuits.com) This new title by Arnold Taylor was recently accepted into the library holdings here at KHS. As a transcribed collection of enslaved individuals listed in Kenton...
Written by Aleta Hodge, a Jackson descendant In July 2011, the Jackson family, descendants of three brothers (Jordan Carlisle Jackson, Jr., Edward W. Jackson and John Henry Jackson and their uncle, Edward C. Jackson) held a reunion and visited four locations in Kentucky to connect with their family history. Despite...
By: Michael J. Denis and Kelli Weaver-Miner Often in history, places play a secondary role to the people who are associated with that place. Harlan’s Station, “The Old Stone House” and the Elijah Harlan house may well be an exception. These three historic sites, located about 5 miles west of...
By: Julie Maio Kemper, Curator, Museum Collections & Exhibitions, Kentucky Historical Society Around a corner in the Kentucky Historical Society’s permanent exhibit, “A Kentucky Journey,” two portraits sit enclosed in a large glass case. These are the images of Dennis and Diadamia Doram, dated 1839. Like many prosperous 19th century Kentuckians, the Dorams...
KHS is looking to learn more about this image of seven African American men wearing lab coats on the steps of an unidentified building. Photographed in 1934, and part of the Wolff, Gretter, Cusick and Hill Studios Negatives (Graphic 2), the original housing indicates that Geneva Howard requested this image...
Crawfish Bottom: Recovering a Lost Kentucky Community. By Douglas A. Boyd. (2011. Pp. 220. $35.00. Hardcover. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. 663 South Limestone Street, Lexington KY 40508-4008. www.kentuckypress.com) ISBN: 978-0-8131-3408-6. Review By: Mary Clay As a former resident of Craw (‘Craw’ or ‘The Bottom’ – we never called it ‘Crawfish...
