CAZENOVIA — On Saturday, Aug. 21, the newly incorporated Cazenovia Heritage organization will present “A Remembrance of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law Cazenovia Convention,” beginning at 2 p.m. at Cazenovia College’s Catherine Cummings Theatre at 18 Lincklaen St.
The commemoration will include a presentation by retired Madison County Judge Hugh C. Humphreys, who has conducted extensive research on the convention, followed by walking tours to five sites connected to the historic event.
The Cazenovia Fugitive Slave Law Convention was held Aug. 21-22, 1850 in opposition to the Fugitive Slave Law, which required federal marshals to assist in the capture and return of escaped slaves, even in states where slavery was forbidden. It also established significant fines and penalties for people who helped escaped slaves, and it provided that ordinary citizens could be pressed into service in support of the law.
The gathering, which was reported to have drawn more than 2,000 attendees, opened at the First Congregational Church of Cazenovia (now the Catherine Cummings Theatre), before relocating to the orchard of Grace Wilson — a member of the Cazenovia Ladies Antislavery Society — on Sullivan Street to accommodate the crowds.
Organized by prominent abolitionist and Peterboro resident Gerrit Smith and Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave and one of the nation’s great orators, the convention included a number of other notable figures, such as Mary and Emily Edmonson, Samuel Joseph May, and Theodore Dwight Weld, as well as close to 50 fugitive slaves.
In Wilson’s orchard, Weld’s brother Ezra Greenleaf Weld, who owned a daguerreotype (early photography) studio in Cazenovia, captured a now-famous image of the convention leaders. The image is significant for a number of reasons, including the fact that it is a group shot at an outdoor meeting rather than a studio portrait. The daguerreotype was given to the imprisoned abolitionist William Chaplin, who had helped many of the attendees escape to freedom. The original image is now in the collection of the Madison County Historical Society.
The convention also produced an open letter “To American Slaves from Those Who Have Fled from American Slavery,” which advocated for the immediate abolition of slavery and condoned the use of violence in efforts to escape.
“The Fugitive Slave Law Convention in Cazenovia is a significant historical event that all Cazenovians and Americans can take pride in, as it brought national attention to and greater awareness of the anti-slavery movement as early as 1850,” said Anne Ferguson, president of Cazenovia Heritage.
According to Ferguson, this year’s commemoration is not the first to take place in the village in recent years. In 2000, Town Historian Peggy Ladd conducted a walking tour of the convention site. A decade later, a committee, including Humphreys, Sarah Webster, Barb Bartlett, Dot Willsey, Jonathan Holstein, and Betsy Kennedy, organized a commemoration of the 160th anniversary of the convention. A number of donors also contributed to a permanent interpretive sign on Sullivan Street.
“Cazenovia Heritage’s mission includes the preservation of historic sites, as well as historic architecture and objects,” said Ferguson. “While Cazenovia Heritage did not exist when the next 10 year anniversary came around in 2020 . . . we wanted to revive the 10 year commemorations. Hopefully, by offering [an event] every ten years, each generation will have an opportunity, at least once, to re-record history and be part of the commemorations.”
To kick-off this year’s event, Humphreys will share his research for his 1994 publication, “Agitate! Agitate! Agitate! The Great Fugitive Slave Law Convention and its Rare Daguerreotype.”
New printings of the publication, which was originally printed by the Madison County Historical Society in “Madison County Heritage,” will be available for sale.
Humphreys, who presented at both previous commemorations, will discuss the discovery of the Greenleaf Weld’s daguerreotype and describe his travels to gather information on the history the image represents.
Following the presentation, Cazenovia Heritage will lead hour-long tours to each of the following locations: the site of the First Congregational Church of Cazenovia; the site of Ezra Weld’s studio on Mill St; the site of the tavern on the village’s cannon green, where Frederick Douglass and Gerrit Smith reportedly stayed; the site of Grace Wilson’s apple orchard; and Grace Wilson’s home on Sullivan Street.
At each stop, a docent will explain the historical significance of the location. A site map will be provided in the program’s brochure for those who choose to walk independently.
The free event was arranged in collaboration with the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum (5255 Pleasant Valley Rd., Peterboro) and the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark (5304 Oxbow Rd., Peterboro).
For more information on Cazenovia Heritage, visit cazheritage.org or email [email protected].
