It's good to have this information, Tom--thanks for posting it. --Jurretta Heckscher On May 11, 2009, at 9:18 AM, Tom Costa wrote: > Dear VA-HISTERS: > Please excuse some shameless self-promotion. The following is a > blurb > for a colleague's and my appearance on the radio show, "With Good > Reason," May 9-15. > > A new website has gathered more than 5,000 advertisements offering > rewards > for runaway slaves—placed in Virginia newspapers from 1736 through > 1803. > Tom Costa (University of Virginia College at Wise) says that taken > as a > whole the ads help to humanize the stories of men and women by giving > modern historians information about their physical appearance, > clothing, > skills, family ties, and even their owner’s speculation on why they > were > escaping. Also: 150 years ago, John Brown either sought martyrdom or > earnestly tried to free Virginia’s slaves through his assault on the > Harper’s Ferry arsenal. Michael Hunt (University of Virginia > College at > Wise) dissects history as a form of theater, looking at Brown’s > decades-long rehearsal for his “performance” of the raid, his trial, > and > hanging. > > Please check their website, www.withgoodreasonradio.org, for more > information and air times. > > My project on the runaway ads can be found at www.vcdh.virginia.edu/ > gos > > Tom Costa ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html