CAZENOVIA — On Thursday, March 6, at 6 p.m., the Cazenovia Public Library will host a book talk with Canastota resident Marilyn Higgins, author of “Dreams of Freedom.”
Set in the 1800s, the historical fiction book tells the story of 20-year-old Irish immigrant Aileen O’Malley’s harrowing journey along the Erie Canal corridor in search of her father and kidnapped half-siblings. Along the way, she encounters real-life influential leaders such as abolitionists Gerrit Smith and Frederick Douglass and women’s rights activist Elizabeth Cady-Stanton.
“An Irish woman’s story of love, justice, and a young nation coming apart,” the book description states. “. . . Millions of immigrants were entering America’s heartland. Anti-Catholic bigotry and the seething national divide over slavery were soon to erupt in mob violence. Thousands of religious zealots could be heard chanting at revival meetings in upstate New York. Native people were being forced off ancestral lands.”
Higgins, a former vice-president of National Grid and Syracuse University, has spent her life in Upstate New York.
According to the author, her decision to write “Dreams of Freedom” was motivated by her passion for the area’s rich history and belief in its profound impact on America’s national identity.
“I made [my protagonist] an Irish immigrant because I am of Irish heritage and because the Irish played a central role in building the canal and settling the towns and villages of Upstate New York,” she said.
This year marks the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Erie Canal, which was built between 1817 and 1825 and originally traversed 363 miles from Albany to Buffalo.
Higgins described the Erie Canal as an unprecedented achievement in American infrastructure that resulted in massive changes to the culture and economy of the nation.
“The cost of transporting goods was reduced by 95 percent,” she said. “This spurred an economic boom that created whole cities like Troy, Syracuse, and Buffalo and made New York City, rather than New Orleans, the nation’s premier port. The Canal made it easy to transport people into the heart of the new nation. This resulted in the immigration of 7 million immigrants from different nations along this corridor and spawned new religions — Mormonism, Shakers — and social experiments like the Oneida Community. The tumultuous canal corridor brought settlers into close contact with the matriarchal Haudenosaunee confederacy, giving rise to the Women’s Rights Movement. The area also often served as the last leg of escape on the underground railroad. This fact and Gerrit Smith’s money and commitment fueled the Abolition Movement. The issues of religious freedom, women’s rights, and racism still shape our culture today.”
To purchase “Dreams of Freedom” and learn more about Higgins, visit marilynhigginsauthor.com.
