The Quaker Dwarf Who Became the First Revolutionary Abolitionist

He spent his later life living in a cave, a vegetarian and animal rights activist who made his own clothing and traveled by foot. Yet his estate at his death in 1759 was valued at $117,000 (in today's dollars).

He was an early convert to abolition, causing disturbances that drove his Quaker meeting house to remove him from membership.

He was a dwarf who married another Little Person, Sarah, a well-liked Quaker preacher, while he himself was reviled for his extremism.

The Fearless Benjamin Lay by Marcus Rediker resurrects the forgotten man who dared to stand up to wealth and power with the message that all creatures are God's children, and that to own a slave is to be steeped in sin.

Lay went to extremes to get his message across. Lay had been pressuring a neighbor Quaker in Abington, PA over their owning a slave girl. One day Lay encountered the couple's son and invited him to his cave. When the distraught couple found their son with Lay, he chastised them saying, "You may now conceive of the sorrows you inflict upon the parents of the negroe [sic] girl you hold in slavery, for she was torn from them by avarice."

Without a formal education, Lay wrote a book that was printed by Benjamin Franklin. It was Deborah Franklin who commissioned a portrait of Lay, a gift for her husband. It resides in the National Portrait Museum.

Lay's book printed by Benjamin Franklin

This vivid portrait of a unique personality is interesting as history, but Lay's vision transcends the years, for his concerns remain with us to this day and are more relevant than ever. As society struggles with issues of wealth trumping morality, consumerism and its impact on the environment and human health, and the continual fight against hate groups that devalue certain human lives, Lay's life stands as an example of how to live according to one's values and one's faith.

I received a free book from the publisher through LibraryThing.

Read an excerpt at http://www.marcusrediker.com/books/benjamin-lay-detail.php

The Fearless Benjamin Lay
by Marcus Rediker
ISBN: 978-080703592-4
Publication Date: 9/5/2017
Price:  $26.95

Abe Lincoln and Joshua Speed Star in Perish From the Earth

When I saw that Doris Kearns Goodwin enjoyed Jonathan F. Putman's first Lincoln and Speed mystery novel, I decided to request the second in the series, Perish From the Earth. The idea of a mystery involving circuit court lawyer Abe Lincoln and his bunkmate Joshua Speed intrigued me.

The action takes place in St. Louis in 1837, at a time when Abolitionists were considered radical lawbreakers.


Joshua Speed, our narrator, accepts slavery although he is disturbed by scenes of abuse. Abe supports it as constitutional but hopes that it will be phased out over time.

1837 saw the inauguration of Martin Van Buren and the Panic of 1837, a financial crisis. Oberlin College became the first in the nation to accept female students. (Michigan also became a state!)

Speed is on the War Princess, a Mississippi paddleboat owned by his father, investigating why it has not been a profitable venture. While he is on board, a man goes missing and his body is afterward found by Speed and Lincoln. A rival in love, the artist George Bingham, is accused of his murder and Lincoln agrees to represent him in court.

As Speed and his intrepid sister Martha investigate, the reader learns about American society at the time: slavery, plantation life, abolition, the newfangled justice and prison system, and life on a paddleboat.

Events and persons are based in history. A mob murders an abolitionist newspaperman, based on the real Elijah Lovejoy. Other characters drawn from history include the gambler Devon, George Bingham, and persons in the legal system. Likewise taken from history is the prison in Alton. Robert E. Lee shows up, managing a project for the War Department's Engineering Corps.

Lincoln had a deep commitment to the law and an abhorrence of mob rule. We see Lincoln as a trial lawyer, employing his gift of storytelling and turning his failures into successes.

I liked the characters and enjoyed the vivid descriptions that brought the historical time period to life. Everything felt probable and in keeping with what we know of Lincoln. This was an enjoyable read.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Jonathan F. Putnam is a writer and attorney. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, he is a nationally renowned trial lawyer and avid amateur Lincoln scholar. He currently lives with his family in London, England. This is his second Lincoln and Speed mystery following These Honored Dead.

Perish from the Earth: A Lincoln and Speed Mystery
Jonathan F. Putnam
Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: July 11, 2017
$25.99 hardcover
ISBN: 9781683311393

Songs of Sorrow: Lucy McKim Garrison and Slave Songs of the United States by Samuel Charters

Imagine traveling through a treacherous war zone, crossing the sea on a steamer to an unknown island. There is no pier and you are carried through the surf to the beach. The humidity and heat, the mosquitoes, are unlike anything you have ever experienced.

You see for the first time contraband slaves, ten thousand refugees without proper homes or food, but jubilant in their newfound freedom. You hear their songs, weird and otherworldly, in dialect foreign, so unlike the sentimental minstrel songs carried to the North. The plaintive Go Down, Moses with it's cry for freedom; The Lonesome Valley about the emotional preparation for baptism; Michael row the boat ashore; the upbeat Rock O' My Soul and Do Remember Me; Jacob's Ladder, Roll Jordon, Roll and The Stars Begin to Fall--sorrow songs of the plantations that today are well known but in 1861 had been dismissed by the denizens of the Plantation and were unheard by the general public of the North.

Samuel Charter's new book Songs of Sorrow: Lucy McKim Garrison and Slave Songs of the United States chronicles the brief life of McKim and her role in the first documentation of the songs of slavery.

In 1861 nineteen-year-old Lucy McKim left her home in Germantown, outside of Philadelphia, on the biggest journey of her life. Lucy's Abolitionist Quaker father James Miller McKim was head of the Philadelphia Port Royal Relief Committee and was chosen to visit Port Royal in South Carolina where former slaves had sought refuge. He was to report back on conditions. The freemen needed immediate aid and help to prepare them for their new reality. He asked Lucy to serve as his secretary.

The island was surrounded by Confederate troops. It was a dangerous journey. Lucy gloried in the adventure. She had trained in piano and classical music and taught piano students in Philadelphia. She was delaying marriage to "live for herself" first. An ardent Abolitionist, Lucy felt the constraints of her sex, her uselessness compared to what men could do.

Seeing face to face the suffering of the slaves Lucy wrote, "How lukewarm we have been! How little we know!" Encountering the music of the freemen was a revelation. Lucy heard their hopes and dreams, their sorrow and loss in the music. She recorded seeing two "shouts" and one "praise," religious gatherings of the contraband.

She copied down the songs she heard. Within months of returning home she had published Poor Rosy, Poor Gal. 

Poor Rosy, poor gal,
Poor Rosy, poor gal;
Rosy break my poor heart,
Heav'n shall be my home.

Lucy married Wendell Garrison, son of Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. (Her best friend Ellen Wright, niece of Abolitionist and Women's rights activist Lucretia Mott, married Wendell's brother Lloyd Garrison.)

During her first pregnancy Lucy worked to prepare the songs for publication, knowing that motherhood would preclude finishing her work. She was assisted by William Francis Allen and Charles Pickard Ware. Additional songs were collected by Thomas Wentworth Higginson (Emily Dickinson later sent her poems to him), Lucy Towne (who was trained in medicine and gave her life to educating the Port Royal freemen). This first collection of American slave songs was published in 1867.

Lucy's health declined with each pregnancy and miscarriage. She suffered from rheumatism and strokes. At the age of  34, paralyzed and unable to speak, Lucy refused food.

Charter's use of letters and diary entries brings Lucy to life. Lucy would be thrilled to know that the songs she recorded have become known to all Americans, and would be honored to have her brief life's work remembered in this biography.

Included is the full text of Songs of Slavery, complete with Lucy's musical adaptations and words to the songs, and with the introduction by William Francis Allen. Charters draws from Lucy's many letters and other documents, allowing her to come alive. Those interested in America's musical heritage and in women's history will enjoy reading it.

I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Songs of Sorrow: Lucy McKim Garrison and Slave Songs of the United States
By Samuel Charters
University Press of Mississippi
American Made Music Series
Publication Date April 7, 2015
ISBN: 9781628462067
$55.00 hardcover

Quilts and Quiltmaking in "The Invention of Wings" by Sue Monk Kidd

Sue Monk Kidd's latest book (the author of The Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair) imagines the plantation childhood of Sarah Moore Grimke' (1792-1873) who became an abolitionist and a promoter of women's rights.  The Invention of Wings reveals the story through the voices of Sarah and her slave Handful, called Hetty by her owners.


Sarah Grimke' from I Will Lift My Voice Like A Trumpet by Nancy Bekofske

Angelina Grimke' from I Will Lift My Voice Like a Trumpet by Nancy Bekofske

Sarah Grimke' and her sister Angelina were born into one of Charlestown's most important and distinguished families. Their father was a Revolutionary War hero and a successful lawyer. The Grimke's were deeply religious Episcopalians. But the need for slave labor to maintain the family wealth was necessary.

Sarah's mother dealt out harsh punishments for minor offenses committed by the slaves, appalling and upsetting the young Sarah. Unlike on many plantations, there is no evidence that Mr. Grimke' sexually abused the female slaves, which often resulted in the wife's mistreatment of female slaves.

Sarah was a remarkably intelligent child who yearned to be educated along with her older brothers. But she was expected to go on the marriage market and participate in the frivolous social whirl.

For her eleventh birthday Sarah was given her own slave, Handful. Their relationship frames the story. Sarah and Handful yearn to fly beyond their conscripted lives. They have to invent their own wings.

The Grimke' sisters reject Charlestown societal values and traditions to become Quaker abolitionists in Philadelphia. But the Arch Street Meeting House found their views extremist, especially their views on the rights of women to speak publicly on political issues, to enjoy equal education, and to become ministers. They women become ardent abolitionists, focusing on their first hand experience with Southern plantation slave owners. Angelina becomes the first American woman public speaker.

 "...nights she teach me everything she knows 'bout quilts. I tore up old pants legs and dress tails and pieced 'em. Mauma say in Africa they sew charms in their quilts. I put pieces of my hair down inside mine."

Handful's Mauma is a master dressmaker and seamstress. Handful describes her mom making several quilts. One is a floral applique for the misses in 'milk-white and pink.' They have quilt frame that is raised to the ceiling by pulleys. Mauma uses quilts to hide things for safe keeping by sewing pockets on the quilts or hiding things in the batting.

The women's supplies include a box of patches; a pouch with a needle and thread; a cake of tallow to "grease the needle" so it "would almost glide through the cloth itself"; quilt stuffing; shears; tracing wheel; charcoal; stamping papers; and measuring ribbons. Handful has her own brass thimble. Stamping papers were perforated with the tracing wheel, then the charcoal rubbed through the holes to mark a quilting design. 'Measuring ribbons' I assume were early measuring tapes. As a dressmaker for the master's family Mauma had quite a nice supply of tools.

Fabrics used included an emerald green silk; pastel dress fabrics, lavender ribbons, and oxblood red, black, orange, and brown fabrics.

Handful's grandmother was born of the Fon people in Africa, an ethnic group from Benin and Nigeria. Mauma shares the old stories and vudu traditions with Handful, including the stories about when their people could fly. Mauma makes a quilt with tiny black triangles, which she calls blackbird wings, appliqued on oxblood red patches. She adds small splashes of yellow for 'sun splatter'. Handful sews on the homespun backing and they filled it with batting, feathers, and charms.

Mauma also makes a quilt that tells her life story, with each block representing a pivotal event. She cut the applique pieces freehand and stitches them onto blocks of fabric. Her Fon people all kept their history on a quilt, Mauma told Handful. To this day the Fon people make appliqued textiles with animals and objects. You can see an example at: http://www.museum.msu.edu/glqc/collections_2008.119.47.html
For an article on the appliqued cloth of the Fon people see:
http://www.epa-prema.net/abomeyGB/resources/hangings.htm

The story quilt Mauma makes is based on the famous quilts by African American quilter Harriet Powers. To learn about Powers' quilts visit:
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_556462
http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/pictorial-quilt-116166
 http://www.historyofquilts.com/hpowers.html

Kidd discovered Grimke' by chance and delved into researching her life and career. She also went to see the Harriet Powers quilt. The events in the book are based on fact, with some tweaking of timing. I enjoyed reading the book. Kidd's Sarah is conflicted and unsure of herself, while under her tutelage her younger sibling Angelina is able to commit to her convictions and scorns public or family opinion. Handful was based on the slave Hetty given to Sarah on her eleventh birthday, but the real Hetty died young. Handful is the most vividly drawn character in the book, and her story gives the reader insight into the daily life of a plantation slave. We learn about the punishments dealt out, the Work House where masters could hire out punishments, and about free black society. Most importantly it is Handful and her mother's dreams of freedom that is best portrayed.

As a quilter it was a nice surprise to find that quilts were central to this novel. I wanted to read the novel because it was based on Sarah Grimke' and I had no idea that quilts figured into the story.

Read an interview with the author by Oprah Winfrey for her book club at
http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Oprah-Talks-with-Sue-Monk-Kidd-About-The-Invention-of-Wings

I had read Lift Up Thy Voice by Mark Perry on the sisters when researching for my quilt I Will Lift Up My Voice, the title of which came from a speech made by Angelina Grimke'.

My thanks to Viking and NetGalley for allowing me access to read the e-book.

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
Published by Viking, January 7, 2014

$27.95

ISBN: 978-0670024780A New York Times #1 Bestseller

I Will Lift My Voice Like A Trumpet News

Yesterday I received notification that the American Quilt Society has accepted my quilt into the Grand Rapids, MI show to be held Aug 14-17. I am glad to show it in my home state, and hope that some of my quilting friends are able to see it. This is a special quilt for me, involving a lot of research, design, and execution. It is part of my American Heroes series.

The series was really an idea that came when I made a small wall hanging with a piece of vintage fabric printed with Mary Pickford's photograph. I set it with vintage handkerchiefs, laces and embellishments, including heirloom pins from my Great-Grandmother.

It was while making this quilt I first conceived of the idea of quilts based on American history and people.

 The next quilt in the series was When Dreams Came True for the anniversary of the lunar landing. I grew up with the Space Race and this event seemed a remarkable achievement, the kind of thing that only happened in dreams. I used copyright free NASA photographs and fusible applique to make the images on the quilt.

When I decided to learn to embroider, I made the Presidents Quilt by Michael J Buckingham. I added a border of traditional, new and original blocks to make the quilt larger, including Abigail Adams and Eleanor Roosevelt.

While making that quilt I found I loved embroidery and I decided to design a First Ladies Quilt, and Remember the Ladies was my next project. I read about 20 books on the First Ladies, including biographies, while I was designing the embroidery.

And that brings me to I Will Lift My Voice Like a Trumpet, which highlights women abolitionists and Civil Rights leaders. A professor at Grand Valley State University directed me to the book Freedom's Daughters by Lynne Olson. These women were exactly who I wanted to lift up.

I have my Green Heroes quilt on the frame right now. I want to do a quilt of American authors. But first, I am working on my Charles Dickens quilt. British Writers being another of my loves. I already created a Pride and Prejudice quilt in applique and Redwork! Some day perhaps I will do a quilt of British Writers. And I am sketching ideas for a Wizard of Oz quilt. I just hope I live long enough to finish all the quilts in my head!

Completed Quilt!

I finally finished "I Will Lift My Voice Like A Trumpet", celebrating the women who worked for abolition and Civil Rights.

In keeping with the old fashioned look, I quilted it in a modified Methodist Fan pattern.