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Events happening in and around Hopewell Valley
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The Revolutionary World of a Free Black Man: Jacob Francis (virtual)
February 3 @ 7:00 pm
The internet webinar “The Revolutionary World of a Free Black Man; Jacob Francis (1754 o 1836) will be presented by Larry Kidder on Thursday, February 3, 2022 at 7pm. The event is co-sponsored by Hopewell Valley Historical Society, The Hopewell Museum, and the Hopewell Branch of the Mercer County Library. To register, please visit https://tinyurl.com/francisJacob.
Born in Amwell Township to a free Black mother, Jacob Francis lived his 82-year life in a world of revolutionary change. He became caught up in the rising tide of revolution in the 1760s and 70s and served in the Continental Army, including at the Battle of Trenton, and then the New Jersey militia. Establishing himself as a farmer, he married an enslaved woman named Mary, freed her and they raised their eight children in the vicinity of Flemington during a period of rising interest in abolition. The story of Jacob Francis and his family provides us with an inside view of life in New Jersey in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and the revolutionary changes affecting the lives of both free and enslaved Black people.
Note: In addition to the virtual online presentation, you also can reserve a seat in the Community Room at the Hopewell Branch Library to view a livestream broadcast of the program. To reserve a seat at the Hopewell Branch, please call 609.737.2610 or email hopeprogs@mcl.org.
Co-sponsored by Hopewell Valley Historical Society, The Hopewell Museum and the Hopewell Branch of the Mercer County Library.
About the Speaker: Larry Kidder is a retired history teacher who taught for 40 years, including 32 years at The Hun School of Princeton. He is a graduate of Allegheny College (BA 1967, MS 1969) and served four years in the US Navy. Larry has been a volunteer historian and historical interpreter for the Howell Living History Farm in Hopewell for over 30 years and is a member of the board of the Princeton Battlefield Society where he focuses on educational programs and battlefield tours. He is a past president of the Hopewell Valley Historical Society and has served on the board for many years. The author of two books on rural New Jersey history and three on aspects of has also been a presenter at conferences on the American Revolution in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New York. For more of Larry’s projects and books, visit his website, wlkidderhistorian.com.
