Chris Del Santo
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chrisdelsanto.bsky.social
Chris Del Santo
@chrisdelsanto.bsky.social
130 followers 190 following 8 posts
PhD Student in History, CUNY Graduate Center.
Early Americanist.
Adjunct Instructor @ Hunter College.
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chrisdelsanto.bsky.social
I used to live in the area around Bedminster—it is deeply red and a weird mix of residential developments and horse farms.
There are very few public places to gather
October 18, 2025 at 1:19 PM
chrisdelsanto.bsky.social
Anne Bradstreet’s “Before the Birth of One of Her Children” and Phillis Wheatley’s “On Being Brought from Africa.”
I find poems are a great way to not only practice reading & contextualizing sources but also great for fostering historical empathy. Also great for emphasizing core themes for callback
September 14, 2025 at 6:42 PM
chrisdelsanto.bsky.social
Have you tried antiquarian published sources for states’/individual units?

If not there then casualty lists from newspapers?

To my knowledge there’s no central, national depository (and boy I hope I’m wrong!).
September 5, 2025 at 11:21 PM
chrisdelsanto.bsky.social
Among the commemorative plaques is one to the women of the John Brown family who for their sacrifice in the cause of antislavery.
A plaque which reads: “Sacred to the memory of the women of the John Brown family, and others, who so gallantly aided their men-folk in their struggles against slavery in the United States of America. And shared with them the bitter cup of sacrifice. Meriting special mention among these are: 1)Dianthe Lusk Brown, 1st wife of John Brown, and mother of seven of his children 2) Mary Day Brown, 2nd wife and widow and mother of thirteen of his children 3)Ruth Brown Thompson, daughter of Brown. And wife of Henry Thompson, crusader against slavery in Kansas; 4) Anne Brown Adams, Sarah Brown, and Ellen Brown Fablinger, daughters of Brown whose tender devotion to their widowed mother gave her great comfort; 5)Martha Brewster Brown, wife of Oliver, son of John, killed at Harper’s Ferry; 6)Isabella Thompson Brown, wife of Watson, son of John, killed at Harper’s Ferry; 7)Mary B. Thompson, whose husband , William and brother-in-law Dauphin were both killed at Harper’s Ferry. These noble women, by their hallowed devotion to the cause of freedom, and by their willingness to sacrifice to the death for it, have enshrined themselves in the hearts of all freedom-loving peoples:they are among the good and great women that have contributed much to the greatness of our America. Erected by the members and friends of the John Brown Memorial Association in the summer of 1948. J.W. Shirley, Pres. H.P. Johns, Vice Pres. J.C.G. Temple Sec. R.W. Henry Treas. Inez Carter, Pres. Lake Placid Chapter
August 6, 2025 at 4:38 PM
chrisdelsanto.bsky.social
The Brown Farm was located on the Gerrit Smith grant lands intended to create a community of Black land-owning farmers and voters in far Upstate New York. The current site is run by New York State but has an interesting history rooted in a black-founded historical association.
Exhibit plaque from the John Brown Farm detailing the origins of the farm as a public history venue. A further exhibit plaque on the John Brown Farm as a public history site which reads: “The John Brown Memorial Association (JBMA) was founded in 1922 [in] Philadelphia, PA by two Black Americans, Dr. J. Max Barber and T. Spotuas Burwell who believed that John Brown had more of an impact with the Emancipation of Slavery than Abraham Lincoln. The organization had chapters in many of the large Northeastern cities and even had one in Lake Placid, charter 1934, named for Harry Ward Hicks the secretary of the Lake Placid Club. The JBMA organized yearly pilgrimages to the John Brown Farm Historic Site to visit his grave on May 9, his birthday. In 1922 a thousand people came to Lake Placid for the wreath laying ceremony. The group raised the funds to commission the Brown statue of Brown that is still at the Farm. Dedicated in 1935, fifteen hundred souls made the pilgrimage that year. Eva Durant was the first President of the JBMA chapter, elected in 1934. She served as the National President from 1951-1959. Durant resided in Lake Placid for 42 years, dying in 1963. Local innkeeper Inez Carter became President of the local chapter of the JBMA in 1942 and was the first Vice President of the National Association from 1951-1959. The JBMA ended around 1985, however in 1999 a new organization known as John Brown Lives! (JBL!) was formed. JBL! is a freedom education project founded to promote social justice and human rights through the exploration of issues, social movements and events, many of them rooted in Adirondack history. This group is still very active in Lake Placid today, often collaborating with other nonprofit groups and are the official Friends Group of the John Brown Farm State Historic Site.”
August 6, 2025 at 4:19 PM