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A Date With History: Bill Messner, Ph.D. on Slavery to Freedom in Talbot County
February 24, 2022 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
The Talbot Historical Society and Easton Club East invited members to “A Date With History” lecture series featuring Bill Messner, Ph. D. in American History from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. After teaching history as a faculty member, Bill transitioned to administration and spent the last thirty years of his career as a college president at three different institutions. Bill has written a book and numerous articles dealing with the Civil War and Reconstruction period. His talk drew on a series of articles he authored recently for the Maryland Historical Magazine. This presentation focused on the unique nature of the emancipation process in Talbot County, and the various ways in which African Americans responded to the promise and limits of freedom. Attention was given to contrasting the experiences of two African American Talbot County leaders, Joe Gray of Easton and Nathan Hopkins of Trappe. Additionally, the establishment of the hamlet of Unionville by African American Civil War veterans aided by a family of Quakers provides an example of the benefits of interracial cooperation in Talbot County during the postwar period and the manner in which social and economic forces combined to limit those achievements.