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General News: A Runaway Slave Makes History at Mt. Gulian
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| Torrance Harvey as John F. Brown seated outside Mount Gulian. |
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| Executive Director Elaine Hayes and actor Torrance Harvey inside the rebuilt home that was owned by the Verplanck family. |
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February 01, 2012
By Nancy Peckenham
The life of a runaway slave who settled along the Hudson River in the early 1800s is being celebrated in a new book, a short film and a Living History performance that will be performed later this year. The author of the book, Dr. Myra Young Armstead, will be at the Mount Gulian Historic Site in Beacon this Saturday, February 4, to talk about her book based on the diary of James F. Brown entitled “Freedom’s Gardener: James F. Brown, Horticulture, and the Hudson Valley in Antebellum America.”
The story of James F. Brown shatters many of the pre-conceptions of race relations before the Civil War. Brown was a slave living in Maryland where his owners had promised him freedom, then denied it. Brown had some independence even in slavery and had earned money to purchase the freedom of his wife, Julia. The two planned a life together once he was freed.
In an eloquent letter to his owner, using the words he likely learned in church, Brown said he was escaping by ship and promised to pay back any money he owed. “I want to do justice for myself and for others,” he wrote.
From Escaped Slave to Noted Horticulturalist
In the Hudson Valley, Brown became a servant of the wealthy Verplanck family, gaining skills as a horticulturalist and consulting with the famous landscape architect Andrew Jackson Downing in Newburgh. A visitor to the Verplanck estate recognized Brown as an escaped slave and he later bought his freedom rather than return south.
If you visit Mount Gulian on Saturday for the book party, you will also get a chance to meet Torrance Harvey, an actor and history teacher at Newburgh Free Academy who plays John F. Brown in the documentary film to be shown at the historic site and in the Living History shows that will premiere later this year.
Actor Torrance Harvey Finds Human Elements of Slavery in Role
Harvey, a multi-talented singer and actor who appeared in a drama on the Oprah Winfrey channel and had a successful run as a hip hop performer in his youth, says that this role has made him reflect on his own family’s history, one that he can trace back to a slave on a North Carolina plantation in 1853. “This could be the most important role of my life,” Harvey reflected, “because it talks about the human elements of slavery. It was very emotionally taxing to be a runaway slave, to be humble.”
Dr. Armistead based her book on Brown’s diaries, which he kept for 40 years until just before his death in 1868. She uses Brown’s life to more deeply illuminate the concept of freedom as it developed in the United States in the early national and antebellum years.
Living History to Illuminate Social Complexity of the Era
The Living History productions will explore other chapters in Brown’s life at Mount Gulian, including his relationship with the mistress of the household, Mary Anna Verplanck. Brown earned the right to vote once he owned property nearby but Verplanck, a wealthy landowner, never could vote because she was a woman.
Another production will examine the relationship between James and a younger Verplanck son who, at age 21, trained and led African-American Union soldiers in the Civil War.
Mount Guilian’s Executive Director Elaine Hayes was key to creating the Living History productions that illuminate James F. Brown’s life and time. She says that local libraries, historical societies and other groups interested in hosting a performance should contact her at Mount Gulian at (845) 831-8172
The book launch starts at 1 pm on Saturday, February 4 at Mount Gulian Historic Site, located at 145 Sterling St. in Beacon. For info, call 845-831-8172 or email [email protected].
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