Lecture: 12 Years A Slave’s Solomon Northrop

In the 1800s, free blacks were sometimes lured from the safety of their hometowns, abducted, and sold into slavery.

This happened to Solomon Northup, whose story is told in the film “12 Years a Slave.”

But several other black New Yorkers, from various parts of the state, were also kidnapped. Once they were taken to a slave state, their chances of returning home were small. But some victims, like Northup, were rescued from slavery, and their kidnappers were held accountable for their deeds. This presentation will tell their stories.

Presenter David Fiske is a retired librarian who conducts genealogical and local history research. He has spent years researching Solomon Northup and is the author of Solomon Northup: The Complete Story of the Author of Twelve Years a Slave and Solomon Northup: His Life Before and After Slavery. See his web site: http://solomonnorthup.com

This free program will be held at 10:30 am, Feb. 1, 2014 in the McChesney Room of the Schenectady County Public Library, 99 Clinton Street, Schenectady, New York.

The library asks that you register in advance by calling  518-388-4511 (Source).