1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:10,960 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. 3 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:14,400 Speaker 2: Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. 4 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:16,360 Speaker 1: Wilson and I'm Holly Frye. 5 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:20,160 Speaker 2: In one of our recent installments of Unearthed, we talked 6 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:22,960 Speaker 2: about a painting that was bought at a thrift store 7 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 2: that turned out to be the work of William Henry Dorsey, 8 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 2: who was a free black man born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 9 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:33,599 Speaker 2: prior to the Civil War, and in addition to being 10 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:37,239 Speaker 2: an artist, he was a collector and a scrapbooker. And 11 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:38,879 Speaker 2: I said I would put him on the list for 12 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:42,199 Speaker 2: an episode because I found him very interesting. From that 13 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:47,200 Speaker 2: brief description, he is interesting. Indeed, his story is also 14 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:51,320 Speaker 2: connected to that of his father, Thomas J. Dorsey, so 15 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 2: this episode kind of turned into a little bit of 16 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:58,080 Speaker 2: a duology focusing on both of themb father and son. 17 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: Thomas J. Dorsey was born sometime around eighteen twelve, and 18 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:06,080 Speaker 1: most sources agree that he was born in Maryland and 19 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:09,399 Speaker 1: that he was enslaved from birth. One of the articles 20 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:11,560 Speaker 1: that Tracy used his research said that he had been 21 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:14,240 Speaker 1: born in the Deep South and then escaped and then 22 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:17,120 Speaker 1: was re enslaved in Maryland. But it isn't clear at 23 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: all where that information came from or why it is 24 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:24,200 Speaker 1: so different from all of the other sources. Thomas had 25 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: three brothers, Charles, William, and Basil. They were enslaved by 26 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:31,959 Speaker 1: a man named Sabric Sahlers, and in some accounts Sawlars 27 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:34,800 Speaker 1: may have been the father of at least some of them. 28 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:39,040 Speaker 2: Sabric Sahlers died in eighteen thirty four, when Thomas was 29 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:42,120 Speaker 2: about twenty two, and it seems like Thomas and his 30 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:45,479 Speaker 2: brothers believed that they were going to be freed upon 31 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 2: Salers's death, but instead, some of the people that Slars 32 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:53,200 Speaker 2: had enslaved were sold during the settling of the estate, 33 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:56,760 Speaker 2: with some of those being bought by his son, who 34 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 2: was also named Thomas. There's people who were sold included 35 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 2: the Dorsey brothers. About two years later, in eighteen thirty six, 36 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:10,079 Speaker 2: the four brothers liberated themselves and went to Philadelphia, one 37 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:12,920 Speaker 2: of the US cities that was becoming a frequent destination 38 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:17,440 Speaker 2: for people who were escaping from there enslavers. Pennsylvania was 39 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:20,799 Speaker 2: a free state, and Philadelphia had a reputation for being 40 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:26,280 Speaker 2: welcoming relatively speaking, so the city's black population was growing rapidly, 41 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,119 Speaker 2: but that relative level of welcome was in a lot 42 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:35,360 Speaker 2: of ways just not welcoming at all. Philadelphia and Pennsylvania 43 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:39,320 Speaker 2: more broadly, could be actively hostile toward its black residents. 44 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 2: A lot of the city was racially segregated, and black 45 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:46,360 Speaker 2: workers were excluded from most industries. That meant that for 46 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:49,720 Speaker 2: the most part, the only jobs available to them were 47 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:53,720 Speaker 2: in manual labor and domestic work. In eighteen thirty seven, 48 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:58,080 Speaker 2: not long after the Dorsey Brothers arrived, a Pennsylvania judge 49 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:01,360 Speaker 2: also ruled that black people living in the state did 50 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:05,399 Speaker 2: not have suffrage rights, and then the following year, Pennsylvania 51 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:10,120 Speaker 2: voters ratified a new constitution that gave only white freeman 52 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:11,880 Speaker 2: the right to vote. 53 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:16,799 Speaker 1: Black people in and around Philadelphia also faced ongoing racially 54 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:21,200 Speaker 1: motivated violence, often instigated by Irish immigrants who were also 55 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:25,520 Speaker 1: arriving in Philadelphia in large numbers and competing for the 56 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:29,600 Speaker 1: same low weight jobs. There were deadly attacks on black 57 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:32,160 Speaker 1: people and their neighborhoods, and the same year that the 58 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: new constitution was ratified, an anti abolitionist mob burned down 59 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 1: Pennsylvania Hall, which had been built as a venue for 60 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:42,839 Speaker 1: anti slavery speakers. 61 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 2: So Philadelphia's reputation for being welcoming to black people was 62 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 2: largely the work of black people themselves, while there were 63 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:56,880 Speaker 2: white abolitionists and other white activists and sympathetic legislators and 64 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:01,880 Speaker 2: government figures. In the pre Civil War years, Philadelphia's growing 65 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:06,720 Speaker 2: black neighborhoods became home to their own churches, mutual aid societies, 66 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 2: and fraternal organizations that were really focused on helping and 67 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 2: looking out for one another. Black residents also established their 68 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 2: own schools and literary societies and art societies. Because black 69 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 2: people were given such limited opportunities for work in Philadelphia, 70 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:28,320 Speaker 2: poverty and violence were still serious problems in these neighborhoods, 71 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 2: but there was also a deep culture of outreach and support. 72 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: One of the people in Philadelphia who was known for 73 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:40,120 Speaker 1: providing assistance and resources to people escaping from slavery was 74 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:43,839 Speaker 1: Robert Purvis. He was an abolitionist who was born to 75 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:47,240 Speaker 1: a free black woman and a British immigrant, and words 76 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:50,719 Speaker 1: spread among escaping people and their contacts that he was 77 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:55,240 Speaker 1: someone who could help. After the Dorsey brothers arrived in Philadelphia, 78 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:58,800 Speaker 1: Purvis helped them get settled, including giving Basil a job 79 00:04:58,839 --> 00:05:02,080 Speaker 1: on his farm in Bible, which is considered a neighborhood 80 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:03,320 Speaker 1: of Philadelphia today. 81 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:07,960 Speaker 2: But not long after the Dorseys arrived, their brother in 82 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:13,040 Speaker 2: law came to visit from Maryland. It is not completely 83 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:17,039 Speaker 2: clear whether this brother in law was free or enslaved 84 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:20,640 Speaker 2: when this happened, but regardless, when he went back to Maryland, 85 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 2: he told Thomas Sellers where they were, and Sellers sent 86 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:29,440 Speaker 2: slave catchers after them. Under the US Constitution, an under 87 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:33,400 Speaker 2: federal law, escaping to a free state did not confer 88 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:37,480 Speaker 2: freedom on an enslaved person, so people could be caught 89 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:42,120 Speaker 2: and returned to their enslavers or enslaved elsewhere at any time. 90 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:45,719 Speaker 1: Charles and William Dorsey were sent to New Jersey to 91 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 1: try to keep them safe. Thomas Dorsey was captured, but 92 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:52,520 Speaker 1: Purvis and some of the other friends he'd made raised 93 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:56,840 Speaker 1: one thousand dollars to purchase his freedom. Basil was captured 94 00:05:56,880 --> 00:06:01,080 Speaker 1: as well, and this turned into a lengthy saga for him. First, 95 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:04,480 Speaker 1: he was jailed, and Purvis hired a well respected lawyer 96 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:08,240 Speaker 1: to represent him. When they went to court, Sehlers agreed 97 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:11,359 Speaker 1: on a price for Basil Dorsey's freedom, but then he 98 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:15,360 Speaker 1: kept raising that agreed upon price infuriating Basil and leading 99 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:17,480 Speaker 1: him to say he would cut his own throat in 100 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 1: the courthouse rather than return to slavery. Basil was ultimately 101 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 1: freed on a technicality when the prosecutor wasn't able to 102 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:31,080 Speaker 1: prove that he was actually enslaved under Maryland law. Once 103 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:34,599 Speaker 1: he was released, the Dorsey brothers friends rallied around him 104 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:38,080 Speaker 1: to protect him as he moved farther north, and eventually 105 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:41,320 Speaker 1: his wife and children also joined him from Maryland. 106 00:06:42,279 --> 00:06:46,760 Speaker 2: After this whole experience, Robert Purvis helped found the Vigilant 107 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:51,479 Speaker 2: Association of Philadelphia, which was an aid and protection society 108 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 2: for people who were escaping from bondage. Other people who 109 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:59,000 Speaker 2: were active in the Vigilant Association included James Forton, who 110 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:04,000 Speaker 2: we covered on the show in twenty twenty, and Thomas Dorsey. Today, 111 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:07,240 Speaker 2: Purvis is known for his work as an abolitionist, as 112 00:07:07,279 --> 00:07:09,800 Speaker 2: well as his work with the Vigilant Association and the 113 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 2: Underground Railroad, and it's believed that he helped thousands of people 114 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:18,840 Speaker 2: liberate themselves from enslavement. Although his brothers had moved on, 115 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:23,840 Speaker 2: Thomas Dorsey remained in Philadelphia after this. According to Web 116 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:27,560 Speaker 2: du Bois's book, the Philadelphia Negro a social study in 117 00:07:27,640 --> 00:07:31,520 Speaker 2: eighteen thirty seven, there were about ten thousand, five hundred 118 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:35,040 Speaker 2: black people in Philadelphia, and only about three hundred and 119 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:39,160 Speaker 2: fifty of them worked in trades. Even fewer black people 120 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:42,120 Speaker 2: were in what we would think of as white collar jobs, 121 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 2: and many of those were the first black person in 122 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:49,840 Speaker 2: that field in Philadelphia, and they worked almost exclusively within 123 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:53,920 Speaker 2: black communities. As we said earlier, almost everyone else was 124 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 2: doing manual labor or domestic work. The only other occupations 125 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:01,760 Speaker 2: that were generally more open to black workers were barbering 126 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:06,840 Speaker 2: and hairdressing and shoemaking. Initially and for the next several years, 127 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:11,400 Speaker 2: Thomas Dorsey worked as a shoemaker. He also got married 128 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:15,400 Speaker 2: to Louise Tobias, and their son, William Henry Dorsey, was 129 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:19,520 Speaker 2: born on October twenty third, eighteen thirty seven. Of course, 130 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:22,400 Speaker 2: we'll be talking about him more in a bit. They 131 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 2: eventually had two daughters as well. They were named Sarah 132 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 2: and Mary Louise. In the early eighteen forties, Thomas Dorsey 133 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:33,320 Speaker 2: changed fields and he started working as a waiter. Service 134 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:36,520 Speaker 2: occupations were another field that was becoming more open to 135 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:40,560 Speaker 2: black workers, in part because white visitors from the South 136 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:44,600 Speaker 2: expected black people to be in those roles, and by 137 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:47,520 Speaker 2: about eighteen sixty he had started his own business. And 138 00:08:47,559 --> 00:09:00,560 Speaker 2: we'll get into that after a sponsor break. When Jade 139 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 2: Dorsey started his own business sometime around eighteen sixty, it 140 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:09,760 Speaker 2: was as a caterer. Preparing and serving food was of course, 141 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:14,000 Speaker 2: something that was already associated with black workers, both free 142 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:18,760 Speaker 2: and enslaved, throughout much of the United States. Catering as 143 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:22,319 Speaker 2: an industry was also a new development in the US, 144 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:25,680 Speaker 2: and one that was overwhelmingly the work of black people 145 00:09:25,679 --> 00:09:29,160 Speaker 2: who had carved out their own niche in food service. 146 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:32,760 Speaker 2: When we say it was a new development, there have 147 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:36,920 Speaker 2: obviously been workers preparing and serving food for big gatherings 148 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:42,240 Speaker 2: and other functions throughout history. There were servants, enslaved people, 149 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:46,559 Speaker 2: proprietors of inns and public houses, and others doing something 150 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:50,160 Speaker 2: like catering all around the world for thousands of years, 151 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:53,240 Speaker 2: and the word catering goes back to at least the 152 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:57,800 Speaker 2: sixteenth century. But in terms of catering as its own industry, 153 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:00,680 Speaker 2: the way we think of it today that that scene 154 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:05,000 Speaker 2: as starting in Philadelphia in the nineteenth century, before the 155 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:09,520 Speaker 2: word caterer came into use. In this context, specifically meaning 156 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:13,959 Speaker 2: these kinds of professionals. They were sometimes called public butlers 157 00:10:14,559 --> 00:10:16,920 Speaker 2: in the words of W. E. B. Du Bois quote 158 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:20,440 Speaker 2: as the butler or waiter in a private family arranged 159 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:24,400 Speaker 2: the meals and attended the family on ordinary occasions. So 160 00:10:24,559 --> 00:10:28,280 Speaker 2: the public waiter came to serve different families in the 161 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:32,760 Speaker 2: same capacity at larger and more elaborate functions. He was 162 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:35,960 Speaker 2: the butler of the smart set, and his taste of 163 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:39,600 Speaker 2: hand and eye and palette set the fashion of the day. 164 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:43,600 Speaker 2: This functionary filled a unique place in a time when 165 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:47,880 Speaker 2: social circles were very exclusive and the millionaire and the 166 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:50,640 Speaker 2: French cook had not yet arrived. 167 00:10:51,559 --> 00:10:56,360 Speaker 1: Little is known about Philadelphia's earliest black caterers. One of 168 00:10:56,400 --> 00:10:59,720 Speaker 1: the first, if not the first, was Caesar Cranschall, who 169 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:02,600 Speaker 1: were with two assistants to serve Sir William Howe and 170 00:11:02,679 --> 00:11:07,640 Speaker 1: his army during the Revolutionary War. It's possible that Cranchall 171 00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:11,560 Speaker 1: catered the elaborate farewell party known as the Mischianza, which 172 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:15,240 Speaker 1: was thrown in How's honor on May eighteenth, seventeen seventy eight, 173 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:18,720 Speaker 1: after he had resigned from his post and was returning home. 174 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:24,000 Speaker 2: Philadelphia's first caterer whose work was more really well documented 175 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:27,200 Speaker 2: was Robert Boegel, who was born in the mid seventeen 176 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:32,720 Speaker 2: seventies and was enslaved from birth. Pennsylvania's Gradual Abolition Act 177 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:35,120 Speaker 2: was passed while he was still a child, and as 178 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:38,240 Speaker 2: an adult he became a cook. From there he built 179 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:41,160 Speaker 2: a business providing and serving the food and drink for 180 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:46,400 Speaker 2: occasions like christenings, weddings, funerals, and other functions. He was 181 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:50,600 Speaker 2: also an undertaker, and he sometimes combined these services. So 182 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:53,320 Speaker 2: he would prepare the body of the deceased and conduct 183 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:57,439 Speaker 2: the funeral service and then feed the assembled mourners afterward. 184 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:01,280 Speaker 2: Or he might conduct one person's funeral in the daytime 185 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:05,200 Speaker 2: and cater someone else's wedding or party that night. He 186 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:09,320 Speaker 2: is sometimes called the father of catering. In the decades 187 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:14,079 Speaker 2: after Bogel established his business, black chefs and restaurateurs really 188 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:17,839 Speaker 2: cornered the market on catering in Philadelphia. W. E. B. 189 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:20,959 Speaker 2: Du Boys described it this way quote it was at 190 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:23,800 Speaker 2: this time that there arose to prominence in power as 191 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:27,440 Speaker 2: remarkable a trade guild as ever ruled in a medieval city. 192 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:31,679 Speaker 2: It took complete leadership of the bewildered group of Negroes 193 00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:35,520 Speaker 2: and led them steadily on to a degree of affluence, culture, 194 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:39,280 Speaker 2: and respect such as had probably never been surpassed in 195 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:42,880 Speaker 2: the history of the Negro in America. This was the 196 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:46,160 Speaker 2: Guild of the Caterers, and its masters include names which 197 00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:50,240 Speaker 2: have been household words in the city for fifty years. Bogel, 198 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:55,840 Speaker 2: Augustine Prosser, Dorsey, Jones, and Minton. Du Bois went on 199 00:12:56,040 --> 00:13:00,360 Speaker 2: to describe what an impact this industry had on Philadelfia's 200 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:04,240 Speaker 2: Black community and the opportunities that were available to them. Quote, 201 00:13:04,679 --> 00:13:09,959 Speaker 2: the whole catering business, arising from an evolution shrewdly, persistently 202 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:15,240 Speaker 2: and tastefully directed, transformed the Negro cook and waiter into 203 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:19,760 Speaker 2: the public caterer and restaurateur, and raised a crowd of 204 00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:24,280 Speaker 2: underpaid menials to become a set of self reliant, original 205 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:29,400 Speaker 2: businessmen who amassed fortunes for themselves and one general respect 206 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:34,079 Speaker 2: for their people. Dorsey in particular, really stood out, becoming 207 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:36,560 Speaker 2: one of the most sought after caterers in the city 208 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:39,280 Speaker 2: in a business that he ran from his home at 209 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 2: twelve thirty one Locust Street. Dubois described him as quote 210 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 2: the most unique character with little education but great refinement 211 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:50,560 Speaker 2: of manner, he became a man of real weight in 212 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:55,080 Speaker 2: the community. In eighteen sixty seven, the Evening Telegraph called 213 00:13:55,120 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 2: Dorsey the Prince of Caterers. A later newspaper article about 214 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:02,720 Speaker 2: his son William, described Thomas as being part of a 215 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:06,440 Speaker 2: triumvirate of caterers, the other two being Henry Jones and 216 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:09,839 Speaker 2: Henry Minton. That quote might have been said to rule 217 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:14,280 Speaker 2: the social world of Philadelphia through its stomach. This article 218 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:17,480 Speaker 2: went on to say, quote time was when lobster, salad, 219 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:21,960 Speaker 2: chicken croquettes, deviled crab, and terrapin composed the edible display 220 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:25,520 Speaker 2: at every big Philadelphia gathering, and none of these dishes 221 00:14:25,520 --> 00:14:28,480 Speaker 2: were thought to be perfectly prepared unless they came from 222 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:31,600 Speaker 2: the hand of one of the three men named in 223 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:35,040 Speaker 2: du Boyce's view. Of those three men, Dorsey was at 224 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:39,320 Speaker 2: the top. While building a business as a caterer, Dorsey 225 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:43,400 Speaker 2: continued to work as an abolitionist and an activist. He 226 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:47,040 Speaker 2: was friends with people like William Lloyd Garrison, Charles Sumner, 227 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:51,840 Speaker 2: and Frederick Douglas. Douglas's daughter Rosetta, lived with the Dorseys 228 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:55,440 Speaker 2: while she was in Philadelphia. Dorsey was also one of 229 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 2: the founders of the Pennsylvania Anti Slavery Society, along with 230 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:02,920 Speaker 2: Robert Purvis and Stephen Smith. He was one of the 231 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:05,800 Speaker 2: people who worked with John Brown as he planned his 232 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:09,960 Speaker 2: raid on Harper's Ferry, including hosting some of Brown's meetings 233 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:13,400 Speaker 2: at his home. We did an episode on John Brown's 234 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:16,240 Speaker 2: raid that ran as a Saturday Classic on May ninth, 235 00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:17,240 Speaker 2: twenty twenty. 236 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:21,400 Speaker 1: After Abraham Lincoln was elected president around the start of 237 00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:25,600 Speaker 1: the US Civil War, Dorsey reportedly refused to cater a 238 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:30,360 Speaker 1: party that was being held by and four Democrats, saying, quote, no, sir, 239 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:33,960 Speaker 1: I cannot serve a party that is disloyal to the government. 240 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:37,120 Speaker 1: He then pointed to a picture of Lincoln on the 241 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:41,520 Speaker 1: wall and said, quote, and that's the government. Dorsey also 242 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:44,640 Speaker 1: helped recruit soldiers to fight for the United States during 243 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:47,480 Speaker 1: the war, and his wife Louise, helped raise money and 244 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:51,840 Speaker 1: gather supplies for the war effort. After the Civil War, 245 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:55,480 Speaker 1: Dorsey teamed up with Stephen Smith and John Page to 246 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:58,760 Speaker 1: buy a hotel on Cape May in New Jersey called 247 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:03,520 Speaker 1: Banneker House, named after Benjamin Banneker. Our episode on Benjamin 248 00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:07,480 Speaker 1: Banneker came out on June tenth, twenty thirteen, when The 249 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:11,280 Speaker 1: Evening Telegraph reported on the hotel purchase, it also said, 250 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:15,160 Speaker 1: quote with Dorsey at the head, it cannot fail to 251 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:19,080 Speaker 1: become a popular resort. This was one of the only 252 00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:24,120 Speaker 1: summer resorts for black guests. Dorsey's career as a caterer 253 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:26,720 Speaker 1: made him one of the wealthiest and most prominent black 254 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:30,480 Speaker 1: men in Philadelphia and probably in the United States overall, 255 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:35,160 Speaker 1: but he still faced prejudice and bigotry because of his race. 256 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:39,120 Speaker 1: In eighteen sixty five, he and his wife accompanied Frederick 257 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:43,880 Speaker 1: Douglass to Lincoln's second presidential inauguration, and Louise was Douglas's 258 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:47,320 Speaker 1: guest at the inaugural ball. In Life and Times of 259 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:51,040 Speaker 1: Frederick Douglas, he describes all his other friends as having 260 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:53,840 Speaker 1: found some excuse not to go with him because they 261 00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:57,280 Speaker 1: were not willing to risk the indignity of being turned away, 262 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:02,200 Speaker 1: and police did try to turn them away. Douglas wound 263 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:04,679 Speaker 1: up basically dodging past them, and when he got to 264 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 1: the President, Lincoln invited both of them into the East 265 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:12,640 Speaker 1: room of the White House. There was a similar incident 266 00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:15,520 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy one, when Dorsey tried to buy a 267 00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:18,480 Speaker 1: ticket to a ball that was being held in honor 268 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:23,320 Speaker 1: of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovitch of Russia. When Dorsey was 269 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:26,359 Speaker 1: refused because of his race. He wrote to the Grand 270 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:29,479 Speaker 1: Duke about it, saying, in part, quote denied access to 271 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:33,080 Speaker 1: your presence, I venture to thus pay you my respects, 272 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:35,760 Speaker 1: and I will add that, though a grand Duke, I 273 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:39,200 Speaker 1: regard you as a much better Republican than those Americans 274 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:43,720 Speaker 1: who have, in my person insulted a man on account 275 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:47,199 Speaker 1: of the accident of his complexion. The act would not 276 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:50,520 Speaker 1: be tolerated in Russia, and I believe you despise it, 277 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:56,000 Speaker 1: as does Thomas J. Dorsey, Philadelphia, December eighteen seventy one. 278 00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:59,360 Speaker 1: Dorsey's wealth allowed him to indulge his love of collecting, 279 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:04,399 Speaker 1: reading books, artwork, and memorabilia. He made a museum in 280 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:08,520 Speaker 1: his home, showcasing the work of black writers, artists, and musicians, 281 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:12,879 Speaker 1: and preserving documents from black history in Philadelphia and elsewhere. 282 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:18,960 Speaker 1: He died on February seventeenth, eighteen seventy five. An obituary 283 00:18:19,119 --> 00:18:22,600 Speaker 1: in the Philadelphia Press described him as someone who quote 284 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:27,360 Speaker 1: gave character to any entertainment, and presence was more essential 285 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:31,720 Speaker 1: than the honored guests. His death notice in the Philadelphia 286 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:35,679 Speaker 1: Inquirer read quote. Mister Dorsey was extensively known in his 287 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:39,600 Speaker 1: business even outside this city, and was also famed for 288 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:43,200 Speaker 1: his hearty encouragement and aid he extended to the anti 289 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:47,199 Speaker 1: slavery clause. He leaves a widow and one son and 290 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:50,480 Speaker 1: a daughter. Some of his friends met in the wake 291 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:53,439 Speaker 1: of his death and drafted a set of resolutions that 292 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:57,919 Speaker 1: they published in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Ending quote resolved that 293 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:00,760 Speaker 1: in a long and varied life, he has given us 294 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:03,960 Speaker 1: a practical lesson in the most cardinal principle of our 295 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:07,800 Speaker 1: religious faith, which commands that we love our neighbor as ourselves, 296 00:19:08,119 --> 00:19:12,600 Speaker 1: and that his benevolent spirit, genial nature, and indomitable perseverance 297 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:16,280 Speaker 1: over life's barriers shall ever be handed down from time 298 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:18,520 Speaker 1: to time as aids to success. 299 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:23,440 Speaker 2: Thomas Dorsey owned multiple properties at the time of his death, 300 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:26,800 Speaker 2: and he left those to his family. He also had 301 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:30,920 Speaker 2: enough money to establish trusts that supported his descendants through 302 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:34,840 Speaker 2: the next two generations. None of them decided to go 303 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,480 Speaker 2: into the catering business, and by the end of the 304 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:41,960 Speaker 2: nineteenth century that business was also on the decline. Of course, 305 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:44,840 Speaker 2: there were still plenty of caterers, but with the rise 306 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:48,720 Speaker 2: of luxury hotels that had their own in house food 307 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:52,560 Speaker 2: service staff, there were just more options for hosting and 308 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:57,480 Speaker 2: arranging the food for big gatherings. Thomas Dorsey's wealth meant 309 00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:00,600 Speaker 2: that his son William was able to pursue a fairly 310 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:03,640 Speaker 2: unique life in Philadelphia, and we're going to talk more 311 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:15,800 Speaker 2: about that after we have a sponsor break. As we 312 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:19,920 Speaker 2: said earlier, William Henry Dorsey was born on October twenty third, 313 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:23,760 Speaker 2: eighteen thirty seven. We don't have a ton of detail 314 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:26,600 Speaker 2: about his early life, but as he was growing up, 315 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:31,679 Speaker 2: his family became increasingly affluent and prominent. We do know 316 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:34,359 Speaker 2: that he went to the Institute for Colored Youth, which 317 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:39,000 Speaker 2: was established by Quakers before the Civil War. When Dorsey attended, 318 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:41,840 Speaker 2: this institute was open to boys and men, and it 319 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:46,480 Speaker 2: became co educational in eighteen sixty six. It later evolved 320 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:51,720 Speaker 2: into Chaney University, which still exists today. In eighteen fifty nine, 321 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:54,760 Speaker 2: when they were both twenty two years old, William married 322 00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:59,680 Speaker 2: Virginia Cashman. According to the book William Dorsey's Philadelphia and 323 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:04,199 Speaker 2: All by Roger Lane, William traveled to Savannah, Georgia for 324 00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:06,480 Speaker 2: the wedding and brought Virginia back with him. 325 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:11,199 Speaker 1: This would have meant an incredibly dangerous journey, not just 326 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:14,679 Speaker 1: to a slave state, but into the Deep South and back. 327 00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:18,840 Speaker 1: But there is also a marriage notice in a Philadelphia 328 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:22,520 Speaker 1: newspaper that suggests the marriage happened there, and it's known 329 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:25,760 Speaker 1: that at least some other members of Virginia's family had 330 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:29,359 Speaker 1: moved to Philadelphia in eighteen fifty six, including her mother 331 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:33,440 Speaker 1: and her brother Herschel. We don't really know how William 332 00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:36,480 Speaker 1: and Virginia met, but it might have been through Herschel. 333 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:39,480 Speaker 2: At the start of this marriage, the couple lived with 334 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:43,480 Speaker 2: several members of Virginia's family before eventually moving into a 335 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:47,280 Speaker 2: home of their own. Virginia was a dressmaker, and she 336 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:50,760 Speaker 2: and William went on to have six surviving children together. 337 00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:55,320 Speaker 2: They remained married until eighteen ninety. The details are fuzzy, 338 00:21:55,359 --> 00:21:58,080 Speaker 2: but she moved out at that point and started describing 339 00:21:58,119 --> 00:21:59,199 Speaker 2: herself as a widow. 340 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:04,080 Speaker 1: Dorsey was a self taught artist, mainly painting in watercolors 341 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:07,560 Speaker 1: and oils. He also became a civil servant, starting with 342 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:11,200 Speaker 1: being appointed as a personal messenger to Mayor William Stokely 343 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:15,040 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy two. Dorsey was thirty five at that time. 344 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:20,240 Speaker 1: This was apparently his first steady job that paid regular wages. 345 00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:26,080 Speaker 1: Stokely's successor, Samuel King, later appointed him turnkey at Central Station, 346 00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:30,760 Speaker 1: regardless of what else he was doing. Though Dorsey always 347 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:34,800 Speaker 1: listed himself as an artist in the city Directory, he 348 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:37,760 Speaker 1: seems to have persisted at this even though there wasn't 349 00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:41,160 Speaker 1: a huge market for his work among patrons of any race, 350 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:44,600 Speaker 1: and he never showed his work outside of exhibitions for 351 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:45,959 Speaker 1: black artists. 352 00:22:46,440 --> 00:22:49,879 Speaker 2: As we said before the break, Dorsey's father, Thomas, established 353 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:52,440 Speaker 2: a trust for his descendants in the last years of 354 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:55,440 Speaker 2: his life, and after his death in eighteen seventy five, 355 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:59,240 Speaker 2: William inherited money and property. He was able to live 356 00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:02,720 Speaker 2: pretty comfortable and really spend most of his time focusing 357 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:06,879 Speaker 2: on his art and his collections, building on collections that 358 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:10,600 Speaker 2: his father had left to him. Over the years that followed, 359 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:13,600 Speaker 2: Dorsey turned the top floor of his home at two 360 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:17,880 Speaker 2: oh sixteen Street into a museum. In eighteen seventy four, 361 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:21,800 Speaker 2: his friend LPM Watkins visited and published a piece about 362 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:26,000 Speaker 2: the museum in Frederick Douglas's newspaper, The New National Era. 363 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:30,080 Speaker 2: Watkins wrote quote, to the lover of art, the admirer 364 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:34,240 Speaker 2: of rare curiosities, or the antiquarian, the collection of mister 365 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:38,760 Speaker 2: Dorsey would alike afford delight. He describes the museum as 366 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:43,080 Speaker 2: having collections of coins, minerals, weapons such as axes and 367 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:48,000 Speaker 2: battle axes, and of course artwork from there. This piece 368 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:50,959 Speaker 2: went on to say, quote, the collection of books and 369 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:55,480 Speaker 2: pamphlets published by and concerning colored men and women, the 370 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:59,720 Speaker 2: music by colored composers, the number of steel and copper 371 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:05,400 Speaker 2: play engravings of eminent negroes, and photographs, autograph letters, autographs 372 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:11,359 Speaker 2: and facsimiles of men prominent in our race is very extensive, interesting, 373 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:12,520 Speaker 2: and valuable. 374 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:16,439 Speaker 1: Dorsey's collection of books and manuscripts included the work of 375 00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:19,840 Speaker 1: so many people that we have covered on the show before, 376 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:23,840 Speaker 1: including the works of Ignatius Sancho in two volumes, an 377 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:27,919 Speaker 1: edition of Phyllis Wheatley's poems, the Letters of Sojourner Truth, 378 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:31,919 Speaker 1: works by alexand Le Duma, Peer and Fice, and the 379 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:37,200 Speaker 1: autobiographies of Frederick Douglas. Dorsey also had portraits of prominent 380 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:42,440 Speaker 1: black people, including Shakespearean actor and playwright Ira Aldridge. There 381 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:46,280 Speaker 1: were also paintings and sculptures by black and white artists alike, 382 00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:49,639 Speaker 1: and a framed letter written from Senator Charles Sumner to 383 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:50,600 Speaker 1: Dorsey's father. 384 00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:55,200 Speaker 2: In eighteen ninety six, the reporter from the Philadelphia Times 385 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:58,760 Speaker 2: visited the museum and described it this way quote three 386 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:03,160 Speaker 2: rooms are divided and subdivided, filled with shelves and tables, 387 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:08,000 Speaker 2: until pendant from the very ceilings hang rare and beautiful objects, 388 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:13,120 Speaker 2: all with histories, carefully covered from the dust by glass cases. 389 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:17,160 Speaker 2: Are the most precious, each properly labeled, each in its 390 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:20,520 Speaker 2: own separate compartment, and the order and condition of the 391 00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:24,040 Speaker 2: whole collection is something not only to be marveled at, 392 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:29,760 Speaker 2: but is as model to anyone having similar tastes. It was, 393 00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:33,680 Speaker 2: in the reporter's words, quote, probably the most remarkable little 394 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:37,320 Speaker 2: museum in the country. Every inch of the walls was 395 00:25:37,359 --> 00:25:39,960 Speaker 2: covered with art, except the parts that were covered with 396 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:45,200 Speaker 2: shelves full of books. Quote with scrupulous neatness and systematically arranged. 397 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:49,000 Speaker 2: So these books might be what Dorsey is best known 398 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:53,119 Speaker 2: for today. Those are his scrap books. In a profile 399 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:56,520 Speaker 2: on him in the Philadelphia Times, which was also published 400 00:25:56,560 --> 00:26:00,720 Speaker 2: in eighteen ninety six, he said of this scrap book quote, 401 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:03,720 Speaker 2: it has been my continual aim as I have journeyed 402 00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:08,199 Speaker 2: along to gather every fragment of published matter concerning the 403 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:11,920 Speaker 2: Colored Race. I have spared neither time nor money in 404 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:15,399 Speaker 2: prosecuting this hobby, you may call it if you wish, 405 00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:18,840 Speaker 2: And the fruits of my labor are beginning to show naturally. 406 00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:21,520 Speaker 2: In all these years, I have been an enthusiast in 407 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:26,000 Speaker 2: garnering anything and everything that had to me an intrinsic value. 408 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:29,520 Speaker 2: But the most careful work and the best results I 409 00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:33,080 Speaker 2: have here. Dorsey went on to say, quote, nothing of 410 00:26:33,119 --> 00:26:36,359 Speaker 2: importance has escaped me, as I am a subscriber and 411 00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:39,639 Speaker 2: reader of the more important books and magazines. While I 412 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:43,360 Speaker 2: seldom preserve any data in its original state, you will 413 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:46,200 Speaker 2: find it cut out and placed in its proper position. 414 00:26:47,119 --> 00:26:50,560 Speaker 2: I have not made any history. I have simply collated, 415 00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:53,240 Speaker 2: and to anyone wishing to write an essay or a 416 00:26:53,359 --> 00:26:56,200 Speaker 2: volume upon the history or progress of the Colored Race 417 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:59,840 Speaker 2: in the nineteenth century, I have here material that cannot 418 00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:04,959 Speaker 2: be duplicated elsewhere. My portraits, books and letters are simply priceless, 419 00:27:05,359 --> 00:27:07,720 Speaker 2: and nothing gives me more pleasure than to show and 420 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:11,240 Speaker 2: explain them to anyone feeling sufficient interest in them. 421 00:27:11,359 --> 00:27:12,000 Speaker 1: To visit me. 422 00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:19,600 Speaker 2: Dorsey created these scrap books by methodically clipping articles from newspapers, magazines, 423 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:23,760 Speaker 2: and other publications. Many of these publications were black owned, 424 00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:27,280 Speaker 2: but he also included works by white publishers, and sometimes 425 00:27:27,359 --> 00:27:30,920 Speaker 2: he would juxtapose the coverage about the same subject from 426 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:36,200 Speaker 2: multiple perspectives, so that meant, as kind of a hypothetical example, 427 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:40,680 Speaker 2: the white press's coverage of an incident of racial violence, 428 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:44,240 Speaker 2: which often tended to be racist in its characterization of 429 00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:48,080 Speaker 2: the black victims, could be placed adjacent to the coverage 430 00:27:48,119 --> 00:27:50,720 Speaker 2: of that same incident that was written from a black 431 00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:51,520 Speaker 2: point of view. 432 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:56,840 Speaker 1: He pasted his clippings into existing volumes, including printed books 433 00:27:57,119 --> 00:28:01,000 Speaker 1: and wallpaper sample books. Each book book was devoted to 434 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:06,080 Speaker 1: a particular topic, with the material inside arranged approximately by date. 435 00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:09,919 Speaker 1: Dorsey carefully wrote in the date each item was published, 436 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:12,560 Speaker 1: and sometimes other information as well. 437 00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:18,199 Speaker 2: With these scrapbooks, Dorsey was intentionally creating a record of 438 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:22,760 Speaker 2: black life and black achievement in Philadelphia and elsewhere. He 439 00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:26,960 Speaker 2: also had clippings related to other subjects, including indigenous North 440 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:31,920 Speaker 2: American and Pacific Island cultures and histories. He created almost 441 00:28:32,119 --> 00:28:36,840 Speaker 2: four hundred scrap books, totaling more than thirty thousand pages, 442 00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:40,000 Speaker 2: and some of the publications that he clipped from are 443 00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:45,840 Speaker 2: incredibly rare or even nonexistent today. Also, as we alluded 444 00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:47,959 Speaker 2: to in those quotes that we read, he tried to 445 00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:52,600 Speaker 2: share this collection of knowledge with other people. For example, W. E. B. 446 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:55,800 Speaker 2: Du Bois used the scrapbooks as a major source for 447 00:28:55,880 --> 00:28:59,480 Speaker 2: his book The Philadelphia Negro, which was published in eighteen 448 00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:02,600 Speaker 2: ninety nine, which we read from earlier on in the 449 00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:04,520 Speaker 2: episode Beyond That. 450 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:09,960 Speaker 1: Dorsey also collected whole manuscripts, compiling nearly one thousand folders 451 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:14,440 Speaker 1: full of publications and correspondents from black people and people 452 00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:18,600 Speaker 1: of other races who supported equal rights. He also conducted 453 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:21,120 Speaker 1: interviews with people who were more than one hundred years 454 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:24,920 Speaker 1: old about the momentous historical events that they had lived through, 455 00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:29,960 Speaker 1: including the American Revolution and the Civil War. Dorsey was 456 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:32,600 Speaker 1: not the only person who was doing stuff like this. 457 00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:36,320 Speaker 1: He was part of a community of black collectors and 458 00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:40,880 Speaker 1: chroniclers and self taught curators and activists who were documenting 459 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:44,760 Speaker 1: a part of history that the white academic establishment was 460 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:48,840 Speaker 1: mostly ignoring. In eighteen ninety seven, many of these folks 461 00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:53,520 Speaker 1: came together and formed the American Negro Historical Society. Dorsey 462 00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:56,640 Speaker 1: was one of the founders and was also named its custodian. 463 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:00,760 Speaker 1: Little is known about the last decades of William Henry 464 00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:04,719 Speaker 1: Dorsey's life. His last scrap book entry was in nineteen 465 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:08,320 Speaker 1: oh seven. He died about fifteen years after that, on 466 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:12,040 Speaker 1: January ninth, nineteen twenty three, at the age of eighty five. 467 00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:17,520 Speaker 2: The American Negro Historical Society dissolved in the years after 468 00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:21,840 Speaker 2: his death. Most of its other prominent members had already died, 469 00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:25,680 Speaker 2: and the society had become largely inactive in the early 470 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:30,680 Speaker 2: twentieth century. Its holdings were donated to the Historical Society 471 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:33,040 Speaker 2: of Pennsylvania in nineteen thirty four. 472 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:37,239 Speaker 1: Most of Dorsey's collections seem to have been scattered and 473 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:40,320 Speaker 1: lost in the years after his death, with the exception 474 00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:44,040 Speaker 1: of his scrap books. These eventually became part of the 475 00:30:44,040 --> 00:30:47,680 Speaker 1: collections at Cheney University, which, as we said earlier, had 476 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:51,520 Speaker 1: evolved from his alma mater. Exactly how they got into 477 00:30:51,560 --> 00:30:55,840 Speaker 1: the Cheney University collection is not completely clear. There's one 478 00:30:55,920 --> 00:30:59,280 Speaker 1: story about a janitor rescuing them from the trash ahead 479 00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:02,320 Speaker 1: of a major restore reation project in the campus building, 480 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:06,040 Speaker 1: where they were being stored. It's very possible that's apocryphal 481 00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:09,680 Speaker 1: or embellished. There are also some materials in the collection 482 00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:14,000 Speaker 1: of Moreland's Spingarn Research Center at Howard University, donated by 483 00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:18,440 Speaker 1: Ruth L. Ramsey, widow of James Ramsey, great great grandson 484 00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:23,040 Speaker 1: of Thomas Dorsey. Today, while these scrap books are part 485 00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:27,120 Speaker 1: of the Cheney University Archives and Special Collections, they are 486 00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:30,400 Speaker 1: housed at Penn State. More than half of them have 487 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:34,600 Speaker 1: been transferred onto microfilm. Apparently the funding for that project 488 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:38,240 Speaker 1: ran out before it was complete. According to a twenty 489 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:41,720 Speaker 1: twenty one article in the Atlantic, this collection is kind 490 00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:42,560 Speaker 1: of in limbo. 491 00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:46,960 Speaker 2: Obviously, a collection of three hundred and eighty eight scrap 492 00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:50,160 Speaker 2: books takes up a lot of space, and while they 493 00:31:50,200 --> 00:31:54,040 Speaker 2: were being kept in acid free containers at Cheney University, 494 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:57,160 Speaker 2: there really wasn't a lot of room or good climate 495 00:31:57,200 --> 00:32:01,480 Speaker 2: control to help preserve them there. Transfer to Penn State 496 00:32:01,600 --> 00:32:04,240 Speaker 2: was initially meant to be for one hundred and fifty 497 00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:07,280 Speaker 2: days for an archiving project, but that one hundred and 498 00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:11,440 Speaker 2: fifty days is long past. At Penn State, the scribe 499 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:14,600 Speaker 2: books are protected from heat and cold and moisture. They're 500 00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:18,600 Speaker 2: still in acid free boxes, but it's not clear when 501 00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:22,920 Speaker 2: or whether there will be funding to digitize the remaining volumes, 502 00:32:23,240 --> 00:32:26,280 Speaker 2: or whether they will return to Cheney University. 503 00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:31,400 Speaker 1: Do you also have listener mail for us today? I do. 504 00:32:32,240 --> 00:32:35,840 Speaker 2: I have listener mail that is from Tara uh and 505 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:37,640 Speaker 2: I'm not gonna read one hundred percent of it, but 506 00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:40,120 Speaker 2: I'm gonna read a big chunk of it. Tara wrote, 507 00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:43,080 Speaker 2: high ladies, I've waited a long time to send this email, 508 00:32:43,200 --> 00:32:47,240 Speaker 2: procrastinating for quite literally years. I initially was going to 509 00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:49,920 Speaker 2: write when your episode about the Six Triple Eight came 510 00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:52,880 Speaker 2: out in twenty nineteen, I put it off, and then 511 00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:56,480 Speaker 2: actually met you both at the Denver Show later that year. 512 00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:00,640 Speaker 2: Most recently, when you released an episode on ac uctuaries, 513 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:03,440 Speaker 2: I almost ran to the computer to email you. That 514 00:33:03,560 --> 00:33:06,080 Speaker 2: is what my first degree is in. Thank you, Georgia. 515 00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:10,440 Speaker 2: State again that ADHD procrastination waylaid the best of intentions. 516 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:14,600 Speaker 2: In twenty nineteen, my father's friend shared an article on 517 00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:17,680 Speaker 2: Facebook about a new monument that was dedicated to the 518 00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:22,040 Speaker 2: six Triple Eight. Out of curiosity, my father read the article, 519 00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:25,640 Speaker 2: which led him to the website for the monument. As 520 00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:28,200 Speaker 2: he read through the names on the monument. He was 521 00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:32,040 Speaker 2: shocked to see his mother's name, although we had long 522 00:33:32,080 --> 00:33:34,280 Speaker 2: known she served in the army during World War II. 523 00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:37,920 Speaker 2: Her service photo is attached. We had no idea about 524 00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:41,680 Speaker 2: this connection to history. She passed along stories of her 525 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:44,320 Speaker 2: ride in the boats and that one of the sailors, 526 00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:47,560 Speaker 2: a captain, told them once they saw the White Cliffs 527 00:33:47,560 --> 00:33:50,680 Speaker 2: of Dover, they would know they were safe. My father 528 00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:53,120 Speaker 2: is currently on a wait list to have his wish 529 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:56,600 Speaker 2: of a lifetime AARP's make a wish for seniors granted 530 00:33:56,640 --> 00:33:59,960 Speaker 2: to go see the White Cliffs. She also talked about 531 00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:02,760 Speaker 2: being out and about somewhere and children would come up 532 00:34:02,760 --> 00:34:04,720 Speaker 2: to her and rub her skin to see if the 533 00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:08,160 Speaker 2: color came off. Based on these stories, she was not offended, 534 00:34:08,160 --> 00:34:11,080 Speaker 2: but rather amused. That is really the extent of what 535 00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:15,640 Speaker 2: has been relayed to me. This email goes on to 536 00:34:15,680 --> 00:34:18,839 Speaker 2: talk about the bill that was passed for the six 537 00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:24,399 Speaker 2: Triple eight to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, and 538 00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:28,440 Speaker 2: I think an upcoming ceremony related to that. And then 539 00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:34,520 Speaker 2: Tara in twenty nineteen worked with an artist to commission 540 00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:39,319 Speaker 2: a figurine of this grandmother, and there's a pictures, there's 541 00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:41,360 Speaker 2: a lot of pictures attached to this email. 542 00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:42,400 Speaker 1: So we've got. 543 00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:49,799 Speaker 2: Pictures of Tara's grandmother, a really lovely service picture, and 544 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:55,479 Speaker 2: then a painting that was based on that photograph, which 545 00:34:55,520 --> 00:35:00,640 Speaker 2: is really lovely, and a figurine of Tara's grandmother in 546 00:35:00,840 --> 00:35:07,000 Speaker 2: uniform saluting. I love really all of this. Also, there's 547 00:35:06,520 --> 00:35:10,960 Speaker 2: another figuring as we move into the pet pictures of 548 00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:16,279 Speaker 2: Tara's dog, Artemis, because we did get pet pictures to 549 00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:22,680 Speaker 2: go along with this. Also, what cute puppy dogs. So 550 00:35:23,080 --> 00:35:27,279 Speaker 2: the dogs in the picture are Artemis, who is a 551 00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:30,520 Speaker 2: white Corgi Chihuahwa doxy mix and likes to stand on 552 00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:35,320 Speaker 2: her hind legs a lot, and the other is Tara's 553 00:35:35,440 --> 00:35:40,200 Speaker 2: daughter's dog, Venus. Thank you so much Tara for this email. 554 00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:43,400 Speaker 2: I love this story so much. I got choked up 555 00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:45,840 Speaker 2: a little bit at this idea of just reading the 556 00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:49,720 Speaker 2: list of names and realizing that you're related to somebody 557 00:35:49,760 --> 00:35:53,440 Speaker 2: on that list. Yeah. I think it is really lovely 558 00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:56,160 Speaker 2: that you have tried so hard to honor your grandmother. 559 00:35:57,000 --> 00:35:59,920 Speaker 2: I didn't get into detail about the parts about upcome 560 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:03,440 Speaker 2: ceremony because I'm not actually sure at this moment that 561 00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:07,359 Speaker 2: it is, like I couldn't find public announcements about it, 562 00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:10,480 Speaker 2: so I didn't want to get into detail about that 563 00:36:10,560 --> 00:36:16,640 Speaker 2: without knowing if those announcements are public news at this point. 564 00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:20,560 Speaker 2: It will be later after it's happened, I'm sure. So 565 00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:23,720 Speaker 2: thank you so much again Tara for sharing the story 566 00:36:23,880 --> 00:36:27,239 Speaker 2: and all of these lovely pictures. If you would like 567 00:36:27,280 --> 00:36:30,240 Speaker 2: to send us a note about this or any other podcast, 568 00:36:30,280 --> 00:36:34,160 Speaker 2: where at history Podcasts at iHeartRadio dot com, and you 569 00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:37,440 Speaker 2: can subscribe to our show on the iHeartRadio app and 570 00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:45,319 Speaker 2: wherever I'll too late to get your podcasts. Stuff you 571 00:36:45,360 --> 00:36:48,440 Speaker 2: missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For 572 00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:52,960 Speaker 2: more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 573 00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:55,160 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.