April 30, 2025 • 36 mins
Thomas J. Dorsey liberated himself from enslavement and became one of the most sought-after caterers in Philadelphia. His son William Henry Dorsey was born a free Black man before the Civil War, and became an artist, collector and scrapbooker.
Research:
- "Thomas J. Dorsey." Contemporary Black Biography, vol. 90, Gale, 2011. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1606005269/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=0c6af117. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
- 1838 Black Metropolis. “What Resistance looked like in 1838.” https://www.1838blackmetropolis.com/post/what-resistance-looked-like-in-1838
- Aston Gonzalez (2019) William Dorsey and the construction of an African American history archive, Social Dynamics, 45:1, 138-155, DOI: 10.1080/02533952.2019.1589323
- Berlin, Ira. "UNIVERSITY PRESSES; Scrapbooks of a Black Heritage." The New York Times Book Review, 22 Sept. 1991. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A175323797/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=cdf57532. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
- Cashin, Sheryll. “The Agitator's Daughter: A Memoir of Four Generations of One Extraordinary African-American Family.” Public Affairs. 2008.
- Conrad, Sharron Wilkins. “Nineteenth-Century Philadelphia Caterer Thomas J. Dorsey.” American Visions. August/September 2000.
- Cromwell, J.W.C. “An Art Gallery and Museum, Not In the Guide Book.” New National Era, Washington D.C. 10/1/1874. https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84026753/1874-10-01/ed-1/?sp=2&st=text&r=0.437,-0.008,0.25,0.231,0
- Du Bois, W. E. B. “The Philadelphia Negro; A Social Study.” Philadelphia, Published for the University. 1899. https://archive.org/details/philadelphianegr00dubo/
- Franqui, Leah. “Cultural Histories: Philadelphia’s Black Culinary Trailblazers and the Birth of Catering.” Solo Real Estate. https://www.solorealty.com/blog/cultural-histories-philadelphias-black-culinary-trailblazers-and-the-birth-of-catering/
- Greenlee, Cynthia. “A Priceless Archive of Ordinary Life.” The Atlantic. 2/9/2021. https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/02/race-save-black-history-archives/617932/
- Howard, Sherry. “Connecting with a 19th-century Black history & art collector.” Auction Finds. https://myauctionfinds.com/2021/04/01/connecting-with-a-19th-century-black-history-art-collector/
- Lane, Roger. “Willam Dorsey’s Philadelphia and Ours.” Oxford University Press. 1991.
- “Seen and Heard in Many Places.” The Philadelphia Times. 10/19/1896.
- “Seen And Heard in Many Places.” The Philadelphia Times. 10/17/1896.
- Morehouse College. “Honoring a Forgotten Past: An Author’s Journey.” 2/15/2021. https://news.morehouse.edu/morehouse-faculty/honoring-a-forgotten-past-an-authors-journey
- Solomon, Tessa. “How Two African American Collectors Celebrated Black Artistry Amid the Civil War.” ArtNews. 4/7/2021. https://www.artnews.com/feature/who-are-william-henry-dorsey-edward-thomas-19th-century-collectors-1234587386/
- Still, William. “The underground rail road. A record of facts, authentic narratives, letters, &c., narrating the hardships, hair-breadth escapes, and death struggles of the slaves in their efforts for freedom, as related by themselves and others, or witnessed by the author; together with sketches of some of the largest stockholders, and most liberal aiders and advisers, of the road.” Philadelphia, Porter & Coates. 1872. https://archive.org/details/undergroundrailr00stil
- Strimer, Steve. "Dorsey, Basil." Oxford African American Studies Center. May 31, 2013. Oxford University Press. Date of access 2 Apr. 2025, https://oxfordaasc-com.proxy.bostonathenaeum.org/view/10.1093/acref/9780195301731
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production
of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Wilson and I'm Holly Frye.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
In one of our recent installments of Unearthed, we talked
about a painting that was bought at a thrift store
that turned out to be the work of William Henry Dorsey,
who was a free black man born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
prior to the Civil War, and in addition to being
an artist, he was a collector and a scrapbooker. And
(00:37):
I said I would put him on the list for
an episode because I found him very interesting. From that
brief description, he is interesting. Indeed, his story is also
connected to that of his father, Thomas J. Dorsey, so
this episode kind of turned into a little bit of
a duology focusing on both of themb father and son.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Thomas J. Dorsey was born sometime around eighteen twelve, and
most sources agree that he was born in Maryland and
that he was enslaved from birth. One of the articles
that Tracy used his research said that he had been
born in the Deep South and then escaped and then
was re enslaved in Maryland. But it isn't clear at
all where that information came from or why it is
(01:20):
so different from all of the other sources. Thomas had
three brothers, Charles, William, and Basil. They were enslaved by
a man named Sabric Sahlers, and in some accounts Sawlars
may have been the father of at least some of them.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Sabric Sahlers died in eighteen thirty four, when Thomas was
about twenty two, and it seems like Thomas and his
brothers believed that they were going to be freed upon
Salers's death, but instead, some of the people that Slars
had enslaved were sold during the settling of the estate,
with some of those being bought by his son, who
(01:56):
was also named Thomas. There's people who were sold included
the Dorsey brothers. About two years later, in eighteen thirty six,
the four brothers liberated themselves and went to Philadelphia, one
of the US cities that was becoming a frequent destination
for people who were escaping from there enslavers. Pennsylvania was
(02:17):
a free state, and Philadelphia had a reputation for being
welcoming relatively speaking, so the city's black population was growing rapidly,
but that relative level of welcome was in a lot
of ways just not welcoming at all. Philadelphia and Pennsylvania
more broadly, could be actively hostile toward its black residents.
(02:39):
A lot of the city was racially segregated, and black
workers were excluded from most industries. That meant that for
the most part, the only jobs available to them were
in manual labor and domestic work. In eighteen thirty seven,
not long after the Dorsey Brothers arrived, a Pennsylvania judge
also ruled that black people living in the state did
(03:01):
not have suffrage rights, and then the following year, Pennsylvania
voters ratified a new constitution that gave only white freeman
the right to vote.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Black people in and around Philadelphia also faced ongoing racially
motivated violence, often instigated by Irish immigrants who were also
arriving in Philadelphia in large numbers and competing for the
same low weight jobs. There were deadly attacks on black
people and their neighborhoods, and the same year that the
(03:32):
new constitution was ratified, an anti abolitionist mob burned down
Pennsylvania Hall, which had been built as a venue for
anti slavery speakers.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
So Philadelphia's reputation for being welcoming to black people was
largely the work of black people themselves, while there were
white abolitionists and other white activists and sympathetic legislators and
government figures. In the pre Civil War years, Philadelphia's growing
black neighborhoods became home to their own churches, mutual aid societies,
(04:06):
and fraternal organizations that were really focused on helping and
looking out for one another. Black residents also established their
own schools and literary societies and art societies. Because black
people were given such limited opportunities for work in Philadelphia,
poverty and violence were still serious problems in these neighborhoods,
(04:28):
but there was also a deep culture of outreach and support.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
One of the people in Philadelphia who was known for
providing assistance and resources to people escaping from slavery was
Robert Purvis. He was an abolitionist who was born to
a free black woman and a British immigrant, and words
spread among escaping people and their contacts that he was
someone who could help. After the Dorsey brothers arrived in Philadelphia,
(04:55):
Purvis helped them get settled, including giving Basil a job
on his farm in Bible, which is considered a neighborhood
of Philadelphia today.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
But not long after the Dorseys arrived, their brother in
law came to visit from Maryland. It is not completely
clear whether this brother in law was free or enslaved
when this happened, but regardless, when he went back to Maryland,
he told Thomas Sellers where they were, and Sellers sent
(05:25):
slave catchers after them. Under the US Constitution, an under
federal law, escaping to a free state did not confer
freedom on an enslaved person, so people could be caught
and returned to their enslavers or enslaved elsewhere at any time.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Charles and William Dorsey were sent to New Jersey to
try to keep them safe. Thomas Dorsey was captured, but
Purvis and some of the other friends he'd made raised
one thousand dollars to purchase his freedom. Basil was captured
as well, and this turned into a lengthy saga for him. First,
he was jailed, and Purvis hired a well respected lawyer
(06:04):
to represent him. When they went to court, Sehlers agreed
on a price for Basil Dorsey's freedom, but then he
kept raising that agreed upon price infuriating Basil and leading
him to say he would cut his own throat in
the courthouse rather than return to slavery. Basil was ultimately
freed on a technicality when the prosecutor wasn't able to
(06:26):
prove that he was actually enslaved under Maryland law. Once
he was released, the Dorsey brothers friends rallied around him
to protect him as he moved farther north, and eventually
his wife and children also joined him from Maryland.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
After this whole experience, Robert Purvis helped found the Vigilant
Association of Philadelphia, which was an aid and protection society
for people who were escaping from bondage. Other people who
were active in the Vigilant Association included James Forton, who
we covered on the show in twenty twenty, and Thomas Dorsey. Today,
(07:04):
Purvis is known for his work as an abolitionist, as
well as his work with the Vigilant Association and the
Underground Railroad, and it's believed that he helped thousands of people
liberate themselves from enslavement. Although his brothers had moved on,
Thomas Dorsey remained in Philadelphia after this. According to Web
du Bois's book, the Philadelphia Negro a social study in
(07:27):
eighteen thirty seven, there were about ten thousand, five hundred
black people in Philadelphia, and only about three hundred and
fifty of them worked in trades. Even fewer black people
were in what we would think of as white collar jobs,
and many of those were the first black person in
that field in Philadelphia, and they worked almost exclusively within
(07:49):
black communities. As we said earlier, almost everyone else was
doing manual labor or domestic work. The only other occupations
that were generally more open to black workers were barbering
and hairdressing and shoemaking. Initially and for the next several years,
Thomas Dorsey worked as a shoemaker. He also got married
(08:11):
to Louise Tobias, and their son, William Henry Dorsey, was
born on October twenty third, eighteen thirty seven. Of course,
we'll be talking about him more in a bit. They
eventually had two daughters as well. They were named Sarah
and Mary Louise. In the early eighteen forties, Thomas Dorsey
changed fields and he started working as a waiter. Service
(08:33):
occupations were another field that was becoming more open to
black workers, in part because white visitors from the South
expected black people to be in those roles, and by
about eighteen sixty he had started his own business. And
we'll get into that after a sponsor break. When Jade
(09:00):
Dorsey started his own business sometime around eighteen sixty, it
was as a caterer. Preparing and serving food was of course,
something that was already associated with black workers, both free
and enslaved, throughout much of the United States. Catering as
an industry was also a new development in the US,
(09:22):
and one that was overwhelmingly the work of black people
who had carved out their own niche in food service.
When we say it was a new development, there have
obviously been workers preparing and serving food for big gatherings
and other functions throughout history. There were servants, enslaved people,
(09:42):
proprietors of inns and public houses, and others doing something
like catering all around the world for thousands of years,
and the word catering goes back to at least the
sixteenth century. But in terms of catering as its own industry,
the way we think of it today that that scene
as starting in Philadelphia in the nineteenth century, before the
(10:05):
word caterer came into use. In this context, specifically meaning
these kinds of professionals. They were sometimes called public butlers
in the words of W. E. B. Du Bois quote
as the butler or waiter in a private family arranged
the meals and attended the family on ordinary occasions. So
the public waiter came to serve different families in the
(10:28):
same capacity at larger and more elaborate functions. He was
the butler of the smart set, and his taste of
hand and eye and palette set the fashion of the day.
This functionary filled a unique place in a time when
social circles were very exclusive and the millionaire and the
French cook had not yet arrived.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Little is known about Philadelphia's earliest black caterers. One of
the first, if not the first, was Caesar Cranschall, who
were with two assistants to serve Sir William Howe and
his army during the Revolutionary War. It's possible that Cranchall
catered the elaborate farewell party known as the Mischianza, which
(11:11):
was thrown in How's honor on May eighteenth, seventeen seventy eight,
after he had resigned from his post and was returning home.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Philadelphia's first caterer whose work was more really well documented
was Robert Boegel, who was born in the mid seventeen
seventies and was enslaved from birth. Pennsylvania's Gradual Abolition Act
was passed while he was still a child, and as
an adult he became a cook. From there he built
a business providing and serving the food and drink for
(11:41):
occasions like christenings, weddings, funerals, and other functions. He was
also an undertaker, and he sometimes combined these services. So
he would prepare the body of the deceased and conduct
the funeral service and then feed the assembled mourners afterward.
Or he might conduct one person's funeral in the daytime
(12:01):
and cater someone else's wedding or party that night. He
is sometimes called the father of catering. In the decades
after Bogel established his business, black chefs and restaurateurs really
cornered the market on catering in Philadelphia. W. E. B.
Du Boys described it this way quote it was at
this time that there arose to prominence in power as
(12:23):
remarkable a trade guild as ever ruled in a medieval city.
It took complete leadership of the bewildered group of Negroes
and led them steadily on to a degree of affluence, culture,
and respect such as had probably never been surpassed in
the history of the Negro in America. This was the
Guild of the Caterers, and its masters include names which
(12:46):
have been household words in the city for fifty years. Bogel,
Augustine Prosser, Dorsey, Jones, and Minton. Du Bois went on
to describe what an impact this industry had on Philadelfia's
Black community and the opportunities that were available to them. Quote,
the whole catering business, arising from an evolution shrewdly, persistently
(13:10):
and tastefully directed, transformed the Negro cook and waiter into
the public caterer and restaurateur, and raised a crowd of
underpaid menials to become a set of self reliant, original
businessmen who amassed fortunes for themselves and one general respect
for their people. Dorsey in particular, really stood out, becoming
(13:34):
one of the most sought after caterers in the city
in a business that he ran from his home at
twelve thirty one Locust Street. Dubois described him as quote
the most unique character with little education but great refinement
of manner, he became a man of real weight in
the community. In eighteen sixty seven, the Evening Telegraph called
(13:55):
Dorsey the Prince of Caterers. A later newspaper article about
his son William, described Thomas as being part of a
triumvirate of caterers, the other two being Henry Jones and
Henry Minton. That quote might have been said to rule
the social world of Philadelphia through its stomach. This article
went on to say, quote time was when lobster, salad,
(14:17):
chicken croquettes, deviled crab, and terrapin composed the edible display
at every big Philadelphia gathering, and none of these dishes
were thought to be perfectly prepared unless they came from
the hand of one of the three men named in
du Boyce's view. Of those three men, Dorsey was at
the top. While building a business as a caterer, Dorsey
(14:39):
continued to work as an abolitionist and an activist. He
was friends with people like William Lloyd Garrison, Charles Sumner,
and Frederick Douglas. Douglas's daughter Rosetta, lived with the Dorseys
while she was in Philadelphia. Dorsey was also one of
the founders of the Pennsylvania Anti Slavery Society, along with
(14:59):
Robert Purvis and Stephen Smith. He was one of the
people who worked with John Brown as he planned his
raid on Harper's Ferry, including hosting some of Brown's meetings
at his home. We did an episode on John Brown's
raid that ran as a Saturday Classic on May ninth,
twenty twenty.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
After Abraham Lincoln was elected president around the start of
the US Civil War, Dorsey reportedly refused to cater a
party that was being held by and four Democrats, saying, quote, no, sir,
I cannot serve a party that is disloyal to the government.
He then pointed to a picture of Lincoln on the
wall and said, quote, and that's the government. Dorsey also
(15:41):
helped recruit soldiers to fight for the United States during
the war, and his wife Louise, helped raise money and
gather supplies for the war effort. After the Civil War,
Dorsey teamed up with Stephen Smith and John Page to
buy a hotel on Cape May in New Jersey called
Banneker House, named after Benjamin Banneker. Our episode on Benjamin
(16:03):
Banneker came out on June tenth, twenty thirteen, when The
Evening Telegraph reported on the hotel purchase, it also said,
quote with Dorsey at the head, it cannot fail to
become a popular resort. This was one of the only
summer resorts for black guests. Dorsey's career as a caterer
(16:24):
made him one of the wealthiest and most prominent black
men in Philadelphia and probably in the United States overall,
but he still faced prejudice and bigotry because of his race.
In eighteen sixty five, he and his wife accompanied Frederick
Douglass to Lincoln's second presidential inauguration, and Louise was Douglas's
guest at the inaugural ball. In Life and Times of
(16:47):
Frederick Douglas, he describes all his other friends as having
found some excuse not to go with him because they
were not willing to risk the indignity of being turned away,
and police did try to turn them away. Douglas wound
up basically dodging past them, and when he got to
the President, Lincoln invited both of them into the East
(17:08):
room of the White House. There was a similar incident
in eighteen seventy one, when Dorsey tried to buy a
ticket to a ball that was being held in honor
of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovitch of Russia. When Dorsey was
refused because of his race. He wrote to the Grand
Duke about it, saying, in part, quote denied access to
(17:29):
your presence, I venture to thus pay you my respects,
and I will add that, though a grand Duke, I
regard you as a much better Republican than those Americans
who have, in my person insulted a man on account
of the accident of his complexion. The act would not
be tolerated in Russia, and I believe you despise it,
(17:50):
as does Thomas J. Dorsey, Philadelphia, December eighteen seventy one.
Dorsey's wealth allowed him to indulge his love of collecting,
reading books, artwork, and memorabilia. He made a museum in
his home, showcasing the work of black writers, artists, and musicians,
and preserving documents from black history in Philadelphia and elsewhere.
(18:14):
He died on February seventeenth, eighteen seventy five. An obituary
in the Philadelphia Press described him as someone who quote
gave character to any entertainment, and presence was more essential
than the honored guests. His death notice in the Philadelphia
Inquirer read quote. Mister Dorsey was extensively known in his
(18:35):
business even outside this city, and was also famed for
his hearty encouragement and aid he extended to the anti
slavery clause. He leaves a widow and one son and
a daughter. Some of his friends met in the wake
of his death and drafted a set of resolutions that
they published in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Ending quote resolved that
(18:58):
in a long and varied life, he has given us
a practical lesson in the most cardinal principle of our
religious faith, which commands that we love our neighbor as ourselves,
and that his benevolent spirit, genial nature, and indomitable perseverance
over life's barriers shall ever be handed down from time
to time as aids to success.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
Thomas Dorsey owned multiple properties at the time of his death,
and he left those to his family. He also had
enough money to establish trusts that supported his descendants through
the next two generations. None of them decided to go
into the catering business, and by the end of the
nineteenth century that business was also on the decline. Of course,
(19:42):
there were still plenty of caterers, but with the rise
of luxury hotels that had their own in house food
service staff, there were just more options for hosting and
arranging the food for big gatherings. Thomas Dorsey's wealth meant
that his son William was able to pursue a fairly
unique life in Philadelphia, and we're going to talk more
(20:03):
about that after we have a sponsor break. As we
said earlier, William Henry Dorsey was born on October twenty third,
eighteen thirty seven. We don't have a ton of detail
(20:23):
about his early life, but as he was growing up,
his family became increasingly affluent and prominent. We do know
that he went to the Institute for Colored Youth, which
was established by Quakers before the Civil War. When Dorsey attended,
this institute was open to boys and men, and it
became co educational in eighteen sixty six. It later evolved
(20:46):
into Chaney University, which still exists today. In eighteen fifty nine,
when they were both twenty two years old, William married
Virginia Cashman. According to the book William Dorsey's Philadelphia and
All by Roger Lane, William traveled to Savannah, Georgia for
the wedding and brought Virginia back with him.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
This would have meant an incredibly dangerous journey, not just
to a slave state, but into the Deep South and back.
But there is also a marriage notice in a Philadelphia
newspaper that suggests the marriage happened there, and it's known
that at least some other members of Virginia's family had
moved to Philadelphia in eighteen fifty six, including her mother
(21:29):
and her brother Herschel. We don't really know how William
and Virginia met, but it might have been through Herschel.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
At the start of this marriage, the couple lived with
several members of Virginia's family before eventually moving into a
home of their own. Virginia was a dressmaker, and she
and William went on to have six surviving children together.
They remained married until eighteen ninety. The details are fuzzy,
but she moved out at that point and started describing
(21:58):
herself as a widow.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Dorsey was a self taught artist, mainly painting in watercolors
and oils. He also became a civil servant, starting with
being appointed as a personal messenger to Mayor William Stokely
in eighteen seventy two. Dorsey was thirty five at that time.
This was apparently his first steady job that paid regular wages.
(22:20):
Stokely's successor, Samuel King, later appointed him turnkey at Central Station,
regardless of what else he was doing. Though Dorsey always
listed himself as an artist in the city Directory, he
seems to have persisted at this even though there wasn't
a huge market for his work among patrons of any race,
(22:41):
and he never showed his work outside of exhibitions for
black artists.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
As we said before the break, Dorsey's father, Thomas, established
a trust for his descendants in the last years of
his life, and after his death in eighteen seventy five,
William inherited money and property. He was able to live
pretty comfortable and really spend most of his time focusing
on his art and his collections, building on collections that
(23:06):
his father had left to him. Over the years that followed,
Dorsey turned the top floor of his home at two
oh sixteen Street into a museum. In eighteen seventy four,
his friend LPM Watkins visited and published a piece about
the museum in Frederick Douglas's newspaper, The New National Era.
Watkins wrote quote, to the lover of art, the admirer
(23:30):
of rare curiosities, or the antiquarian, the collection of mister
Dorsey would alike afford delight. He describes the museum as
having collections of coins, minerals, weapons such as axes and
battle axes, and of course artwork from there. This piece
went on to say, quote, the collection of books and
(23:51):
pamphlets published by and concerning colored men and women, the
music by colored composers, the number of steel and copper
play engravings of eminent negroes, and photographs, autograph letters, autographs
and facsimiles of men prominent in our race is very extensive, interesting,
(24:11):
and valuable.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Dorsey's collection of books and manuscripts included the work of
so many people that we have covered on the show before,
including the works of Ignatius Sancho in two volumes, an
edition of Phyllis Wheatley's poems, the Letters of Sojourner Truth,
works by alexand Le Duma, Peer and Fice, and the
autobiographies of Frederick Douglas. Dorsey also had portraits of prominent
(24:37):
black people, including Shakespearean actor and playwright Ira Aldridge. There
were also paintings and sculptures by black and white artists alike,
and a framed letter written from Senator Charles Sumner to
Dorsey's father.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
In eighteen ninety six, the reporter from the Philadelphia Times
visited the museum and described it this way quote three
rooms are divided and subdivided, filled with shelves and tables,
until pendant from the very ceilings hang rare and beautiful objects,
all with histories, carefully covered from the dust by glass cases.
(25:13):
Are the most precious, each properly labeled, each in its
own separate compartment, and the order and condition of the
whole collection is something not only to be marveled at,
but is as model to anyone having similar tastes. It was,
in the reporter's words, quote, probably the most remarkable little
(25:33):
museum in the country. Every inch of the walls was
covered with art, except the parts that were covered with
shelves full of books. Quote with scrupulous neatness and systematically arranged.
So these books might be what Dorsey is best known
for today. Those are his scrap books. In a profile
on him in the Philadelphia Times, which was also published
(25:56):
in eighteen ninety six, he said of this scrap book quote,
it has been my continual aim as I have journeyed
along to gather every fragment of published matter concerning the
Colored Race. I have spared neither time nor money in
prosecuting this hobby, you may call it if you wish,
And the fruits of my labor are beginning to show naturally.
(26:19):
In all these years, I have been an enthusiast in
garnering anything and everything that had to me an intrinsic value.
But the most careful work and the best results I
have here. Dorsey went on to say, quote, nothing of
importance has escaped me, as I am a subscriber and
reader of the more important books and magazines. While I
(26:39):
seldom preserve any data in its original state, you will
find it cut out and placed in its proper position.
I have not made any history. I have simply collated,
and to anyone wishing to write an essay or a
volume upon the history or progress of the Colored Race
in the nineteenth century, I have here material that cannot
(26:59):
be duplicated elsewhere. My portraits, books and letters are simply priceless,
and nothing gives me more pleasure than to show and
explain them to anyone feeling sufficient interest in them.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
To visit me.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Dorsey created these scrap books by methodically clipping articles from newspapers, magazines,
and other publications. Many of these publications were black owned,
but he also included works by white publishers, and sometimes
he would juxtapose the coverage about the same subject from
multiple perspectives, so that meant, as kind of a hypothetical example,
(27:36):
the white press's coverage of an incident of racial violence,
which often tended to be racist in its characterization of
the black victims, could be placed adjacent to the coverage
of that same incident that was written from a black
point of view.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
He pasted his clippings into existing volumes, including printed books
and wallpaper sample books. Each book book was devoted to
a particular topic, with the material inside arranged approximately by date.
Dorsey carefully wrote in the date each item was published,
and sometimes other information as well.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
With these scrapbooks, Dorsey was intentionally creating a record of
black life and black achievement in Philadelphia and elsewhere. He
also had clippings related to other subjects, including indigenous North
American and Pacific Island cultures and histories. He created almost
four hundred scrap books, totaling more than thirty thousand pages,
(28:37):
and some of the publications that he clipped from are
incredibly rare or even nonexistent today. Also, as we alluded
to in those quotes that we read, he tried to
share this collection of knowledge with other people. For example, W. E. B.
Du Bois used the scrapbooks as a major source for
his book The Philadelphia Negro, which was published in eighteen
(28:59):
ninety nine, which we read from earlier on in the
episode Beyond That.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
Dorsey also collected whole manuscripts, compiling nearly one thousand folders
full of publications and correspondents from black people and people
of other races who supported equal rights. He also conducted
interviews with people who were more than one hundred years
old about the momentous historical events that they had lived through,
(29:25):
including the American Revolution and the Civil War. Dorsey was
not the only person who was doing stuff like this.
He was part of a community of black collectors and
chroniclers and self taught curators and activists who were documenting
a part of history that the white academic establishment was
mostly ignoring. In eighteen ninety seven, many of these folks
(29:48):
came together and formed the American Negro Historical Society. Dorsey
was one of the founders and was also named its custodian.
Little is known about the last decades of William Henry
Dorsey's life. His last scrap book entry was in nineteen
oh seven. He died about fifteen years after that, on
January ninth, nineteen twenty three, at the age of eighty five.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
The American Negro Historical Society dissolved in the years after
his death. Most of its other prominent members had already died,
and the society had become largely inactive in the early
twentieth century. Its holdings were donated to the Historical Society
of Pennsylvania in nineteen thirty four.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
Most of Dorsey's collections seem to have been scattered and
lost in the years after his death, with the exception
of his scrap books. These eventually became part of the
collections at Cheney University, which, as we said earlier, had
evolved from his alma mater. Exactly how they got into
the Cheney University collection is not completely clear. There's one
(30:55):
story about a janitor rescuing them from the trash ahead
of a major restore reation project in the campus building,
where they were being stored. It's very possible that's apocryphal
or embellished. There are also some materials in the collection
of Moreland's Spingarn Research Center at Howard University, donated by
Ruth L. Ramsey, widow of James Ramsey, great great grandson
(31:18):
of Thomas Dorsey. Today, while these scrap books are part
of the Cheney University Archives and Special Collections, they are
housed at Penn State. More than half of them have
been transferred onto microfilm. Apparently the funding for that project
ran out before it was complete. According to a twenty
twenty one article in the Atlantic, this collection is kind
(31:41):
of in limbo.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Obviously, a collection of three hundred and eighty eight scrap
books takes up a lot of space, and while they
were being kept in acid free containers at Cheney University,
there really wasn't a lot of room or good climate
control to help preserve them there. Transfer to Penn State
was initially meant to be for one hundred and fifty
(32:04):
days for an archiving project, but that one hundred and
fifty days is long past. At Penn State, the scribe
books are protected from heat and cold and moisture. They're
still in acid free boxes, but it's not clear when
or whether there will be funding to digitize the remaining volumes,
or whether they will return to Cheney University.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
Do you also have listener mail for us today? I do.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
I have listener mail that is from Tara uh and
I'm not gonna read one hundred percent of it, but
I'm gonna read a big chunk of it. Tara wrote,
high ladies, I've waited a long time to send this email,
procrastinating for quite literally years. I initially was going to
write when your episode about the Six Triple Eight came
out in twenty nineteen, I put it off, and then
(32:52):
actually met you both at the Denver Show later that year.
Most recently, when you released an episode on ac uctuaries,
I almost ran to the computer to email you. That
is what my first degree is in. Thank you, Georgia.
State again that ADHD procrastination waylaid the best of intentions.
In twenty nineteen, my father's friend shared an article on
(33:14):
Facebook about a new monument that was dedicated to the
six Triple Eight. Out of curiosity, my father read the article,
which led him to the website for the monument. As
he read through the names on the monument. He was
shocked to see his mother's name, although we had long
known she served in the army during World War II.
Her service photo is attached. We had no idea about
(33:37):
this connection to history. She passed along stories of her
ride in the boats and that one of the sailors,
a captain, told them once they saw the White Cliffs
of Dover, they would know they were safe. My father
is currently on a wait list to have his wish
of a lifetime AARP's make a wish for seniors granted
to go see the White Cliffs. She also talked about
(34:00):
being out and about somewhere and children would come up
to her and rub her skin to see if the
color came off. Based on these stories, she was not offended,
but rather amused. That is really the extent of what
has been relayed to me. This email goes on to
talk about the bill that was passed for the six
Triple eight to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, and
(34:24):
I think an upcoming ceremony related to that. And then
Tara in twenty nineteen worked with an artist to commission
a figurine of this grandmother, and there's a pictures, there's
a lot of pictures attached to this email.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
So we've got.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
Pictures of Tara's grandmother, a really lovely service picture, and
then a painting that was based on that photograph, which
is really lovely, and a figurine of Tara's grandmother in
uniform saluting. I love really all of this. Also, there's
(35:06):
another figuring as we move into the pet pictures of
Tara's dog, Artemis, because we did get pet pictures to
go along with this. Also, what cute puppy dogs. So
the dogs in the picture are Artemis, who is a
(35:27):
white Corgi Chihuahwa doxy mix and likes to stand on
her hind legs a lot, and the other is Tara's
daughter's dog, Venus. Thank you so much Tara for this email.
I love this story so much. I got choked up
a little bit at this idea of just reading the
list of names and realizing that you're related to somebody
(35:49):
on that list. Yeah. I think it is really lovely
that you have tried so hard to honor your grandmother.
I didn't get into detail about the parts about upcome
ceremony because I'm not actually sure at this moment that
it is, like I couldn't find public announcements about it,
so I didn't want to get into detail about that
(36:10):
without knowing if those announcements are public news at this point.
It will be later after it's happened, I'm sure. So
thank you so much again Tara for sharing the story
and all of these lovely pictures. If you would like
to send us a note about this or any other podcast,
where at history Podcasts at iHeartRadio dot com, and you
(36:34):
can subscribe to our show on the iHeartRadio app and
wherever I'll too late to get your podcasts. Stuff you
missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For
more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production
of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Wilson and I'm Holly Frye.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
In one of our recent installments of Unearthed, we talked
about a painting that was bought at a thrift store
that turned out to be the work of William Henry Dorsey,
who was a free black man born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
prior to the Civil War, and in addition to being
an artist, he was a collector and a scrapbooker. And
(00:37):
I said I would put him on the list for
an episode because I found him very interesting. From that
brief description, he is interesting. Indeed, his story is also
connected to that of his father, Thomas J. Dorsey, so
this episode kind of turned into a little bit of
a duology focusing on both of themb father and son.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Thomas J. Dorsey was born sometime around eighteen twelve, and
most sources agree that he was born in Maryland and
that he was enslaved from birth. One of the articles
that Tracy used his research said that he had been
born in the Deep South and then escaped and then
was re enslaved in Maryland. But it isn't clear at
all where that information came from or why it is
(01:20):
so different from all of the other sources. Thomas had
three brothers, Charles, William, and Basil. They were enslaved by
a man named Sabric Sahlers, and in some accounts Sawlars
may have been the father of at least some of them.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Sabric Sahlers died in eighteen thirty four, when Thomas was
about twenty two, and it seems like Thomas and his
brothers believed that they were going to be freed upon
Salers's death, but instead, some of the people that Slars
had enslaved were sold during the settling of the estate,
with some of those being bought by his son, who
(01:56):
was also named Thomas. There's people who were sold included
the Dorsey brothers. About two years later, in eighteen thirty six,
the four brothers liberated themselves and went to Philadelphia, one
of the US cities that was becoming a frequent destination
for people who were escaping from there enslavers. Pennsylvania was
(02:17):
a free state, and Philadelphia had a reputation for being
welcoming relatively speaking, so the city's black population was growing rapidly,
but that relative level of welcome was in a lot
of ways just not welcoming at all. Philadelphia and Pennsylvania
more broadly, could be actively hostile toward its black residents.
(02:39):
A lot of the city was racially segregated, and black
workers were excluded from most industries. That meant that for
the most part, the only jobs available to them were
in manual labor and domestic work. In eighteen thirty seven,
not long after the Dorsey Brothers arrived, a Pennsylvania judge
also ruled that black people living in the state did
(03:01):
not have suffrage rights, and then the following year, Pennsylvania
voters ratified a new constitution that gave only white freeman
the right to vote.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Black people in and around Philadelphia also faced ongoing racially
motivated violence, often instigated by Irish immigrants who were also
arriving in Philadelphia in large numbers and competing for the
same low weight jobs. There were deadly attacks on black
people and their neighborhoods, and the same year that the
(03:32):
new constitution was ratified, an anti abolitionist mob burned down
Pennsylvania Hall, which had been built as a venue for
anti slavery speakers.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
So Philadelphia's reputation for being welcoming to black people was
largely the work of black people themselves, while there were
white abolitionists and other white activists and sympathetic legislators and
government figures. In the pre Civil War years, Philadelphia's growing
black neighborhoods became home to their own churches, mutual aid societies,
(04:06):
and fraternal organizations that were really focused on helping and
looking out for one another. Black residents also established their
own schools and literary societies and art societies. Because black
people were given such limited opportunities for work in Philadelphia,
poverty and violence were still serious problems in these neighborhoods,
(04:28):
but there was also a deep culture of outreach and support.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
One of the people in Philadelphia who was known for
providing assistance and resources to people escaping from slavery was
Robert Purvis. He was an abolitionist who was born to
a free black woman and a British immigrant, and words
spread among escaping people and their contacts that he was
someone who could help. After the Dorsey brothers arrived in Philadelphia,
(04:55):
Purvis helped them get settled, including giving Basil a job
on his farm in Bible, which is considered a neighborhood
of Philadelphia today.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
But not long after the Dorseys arrived, their brother in
law came to visit from Maryland. It is not completely
clear whether this brother in law was free or enslaved
when this happened, but regardless, when he went back to Maryland,
he told Thomas Sellers where they were, and Sellers sent
(05:25):
slave catchers after them. Under the US Constitution, an under
federal law, escaping to a free state did not confer
freedom on an enslaved person, so people could be caught
and returned to their enslavers or enslaved elsewhere at any time.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Charles and William Dorsey were sent to New Jersey to
try to keep them safe. Thomas Dorsey was captured, but
Purvis and some of the other friends he'd made raised
one thousand dollars to purchase his freedom. Basil was captured
as well, and this turned into a lengthy saga for him. First,
he was jailed, and Purvis hired a well respected lawyer
(06:04):
to represent him. When they went to court, Sehlers agreed
on a price for Basil Dorsey's freedom, but then he
kept raising that agreed upon price infuriating Basil and leading
him to say he would cut his own throat in
the courthouse rather than return to slavery. Basil was ultimately
freed on a technicality when the prosecutor wasn't able to
(06:26):
prove that he was actually enslaved under Maryland law. Once
he was released, the Dorsey brothers friends rallied around him
to protect him as he moved farther north, and eventually
his wife and children also joined him from Maryland.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
After this whole experience, Robert Purvis helped found the Vigilant
Association of Philadelphia, which was an aid and protection society
for people who were escaping from bondage. Other people who
were active in the Vigilant Association included James Forton, who
we covered on the show in twenty twenty, and Thomas Dorsey. Today,
(07:04):
Purvis is known for his work as an abolitionist, as
well as his work with the Vigilant Association and the
Underground Railroad, and it's believed that he helped thousands of people
liberate themselves from enslavement. Although his brothers had moved on,
Thomas Dorsey remained in Philadelphia after this. According to Web
du Bois's book, the Philadelphia Negro a social study in
(07:27):
eighteen thirty seven, there were about ten thousand, five hundred
black people in Philadelphia, and only about three hundred and
fifty of them worked in trades. Even fewer black people
were in what we would think of as white collar jobs,
and many of those were the first black person in
that field in Philadelphia, and they worked almost exclusively within
(07:49):
black communities. As we said earlier, almost everyone else was
doing manual labor or domestic work. The only other occupations
that were generally more open to black workers were barbering
and hairdressing and shoemaking. Initially and for the next several years,
Thomas Dorsey worked as a shoemaker. He also got married
(08:11):
to Louise Tobias, and their son, William Henry Dorsey, was
born on October twenty third, eighteen thirty seven. Of course,
we'll be talking about him more in a bit. They
eventually had two daughters as well. They were named Sarah
and Mary Louise. In the early eighteen forties, Thomas Dorsey
changed fields and he started working as a waiter. Service
(08:33):
occupations were another field that was becoming more open to
black workers, in part because white visitors from the South
expected black people to be in those roles, and by
about eighteen sixty he had started his own business. And
we'll get into that after a sponsor break. When Jade
(09:00):
Dorsey started his own business sometime around eighteen sixty, it
was as a caterer. Preparing and serving food was of course,
something that was already associated with black workers, both free
and enslaved, throughout much of the United States. Catering as
an industry was also a new development in the US,
(09:22):
and one that was overwhelmingly the work of black people
who had carved out their own niche in food service.
When we say it was a new development, there have
obviously been workers preparing and serving food for big gatherings
and other functions throughout history. There were servants, enslaved people,
(09:42):
proprietors of inns and public houses, and others doing something
like catering all around the world for thousands of years,
and the word catering goes back to at least the
sixteenth century. But in terms of catering as its own industry,
the way we think of it today that that scene
as starting in Philadelphia in the nineteenth century, before the
(10:05):
word caterer came into use. In this context, specifically meaning
these kinds of professionals. They were sometimes called public butlers
in the words of W. E. B. Du Bois quote
as the butler or waiter in a private family arranged
the meals and attended the family on ordinary occasions. So
the public waiter came to serve different families in the
(10:28):
same capacity at larger and more elaborate functions. He was
the butler of the smart set, and his taste of
hand and eye and palette set the fashion of the day.
This functionary filled a unique place in a time when
social circles were very exclusive and the millionaire and the
French cook had not yet arrived.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Little is known about Philadelphia's earliest black caterers. One of
the first, if not the first, was Caesar Cranschall, who
were with two assistants to serve Sir William Howe and
his army during the Revolutionary War. It's possible that Cranchall
catered the elaborate farewell party known as the Mischianza, which
(11:11):
was thrown in How's honor on May eighteenth, seventeen seventy eight,
after he had resigned from his post and was returning home.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Philadelphia's first caterer whose work was more really well documented
was Robert Boegel, who was born in the mid seventeen
seventies and was enslaved from birth. Pennsylvania's Gradual Abolition Act
was passed while he was still a child, and as
an adult he became a cook. From there he built
a business providing and serving the food and drink for
(11:41):
occasions like christenings, weddings, funerals, and other functions. He was
also an undertaker, and he sometimes combined these services. So
he would prepare the body of the deceased and conduct
the funeral service and then feed the assembled mourners afterward.
Or he might conduct one person's funeral in the daytime
(12:01):
and cater someone else's wedding or party that night. He
is sometimes called the father of catering. In the decades
after Bogel established his business, black chefs and restaurateurs really
cornered the market on catering in Philadelphia. W. E. B.
Du Boys described it this way quote it was at
this time that there arose to prominence in power as
(12:23):
remarkable a trade guild as ever ruled in a medieval city.
It took complete leadership of the bewildered group of Negroes
and led them steadily on to a degree of affluence, culture,
and respect such as had probably never been surpassed in
the history of the Negro in America. This was the
Guild of the Caterers, and its masters include names which
(12:46):
have been household words in the city for fifty years. Bogel,
Augustine Prosser, Dorsey, Jones, and Minton. Du Bois went on
to describe what an impact this industry had on Philadelfia's
Black community and the opportunities that were available to them. Quote,
the whole catering business, arising from an evolution shrewdly, persistently
(13:10):
and tastefully directed, transformed the Negro cook and waiter into
the public caterer and restaurateur, and raised a crowd of
underpaid menials to become a set of self reliant, original
businessmen who amassed fortunes for themselves and one general respect
for their people. Dorsey in particular, really stood out, becoming
(13:34):
one of the most sought after caterers in the city
in a business that he ran from his home at
twelve thirty one Locust Street. Dubois described him as quote
the most unique character with little education but great refinement
of manner, he became a man of real weight in
the community. In eighteen sixty seven, the Evening Telegraph called
(13:55):
Dorsey the Prince of Caterers. A later newspaper article about
his son William, described Thomas as being part of a
triumvirate of caterers, the other two being Henry Jones and
Henry Minton. That quote might have been said to rule
the social world of Philadelphia through its stomach. This article
went on to say, quote time was when lobster, salad,
(14:17):
chicken croquettes, deviled crab, and terrapin composed the edible display
at every big Philadelphia gathering, and none of these dishes
were thought to be perfectly prepared unless they came from
the hand of one of the three men named in
du Boyce's view. Of those three men, Dorsey was at
the top. While building a business as a caterer, Dorsey
(14:39):
continued to work as an abolitionist and an activist. He
was friends with people like William Lloyd Garrison, Charles Sumner,
and Frederick Douglas. Douglas's daughter Rosetta, lived with the Dorseys
while she was in Philadelphia. Dorsey was also one of
the founders of the Pennsylvania Anti Slavery Society, along with
(14:59):
Robert Purvis and Stephen Smith. He was one of the
people who worked with John Brown as he planned his
raid on Harper's Ferry, including hosting some of Brown's meetings
at his home. We did an episode on John Brown's
raid that ran as a Saturday Classic on May ninth,
twenty twenty.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
After Abraham Lincoln was elected president around the start of
the US Civil War, Dorsey reportedly refused to cater a
party that was being held by and four Democrats, saying, quote, no, sir,
I cannot serve a party that is disloyal to the government.
He then pointed to a picture of Lincoln on the
wall and said, quote, and that's the government. Dorsey also
(15:41):
helped recruit soldiers to fight for the United States during
the war, and his wife Louise, helped raise money and
gather supplies for the war effort. After the Civil War,
Dorsey teamed up with Stephen Smith and John Page to
buy a hotel on Cape May in New Jersey called
Banneker House, named after Benjamin Banneker. Our episode on Benjamin
(16:03):
Banneker came out on June tenth, twenty thirteen, when The
Evening Telegraph reported on the hotel purchase, it also said,
quote with Dorsey at the head, it cannot fail to
become a popular resort. This was one of the only
summer resorts for black guests. Dorsey's career as a caterer
(16:24):
made him one of the wealthiest and most prominent black
men in Philadelphia and probably in the United States overall,
but he still faced prejudice and bigotry because of his race.
In eighteen sixty five, he and his wife accompanied Frederick
Douglass to Lincoln's second presidential inauguration, and Louise was Douglas's
guest at the inaugural ball. In Life and Times of
(16:47):
Frederick Douglas, he describes all his other friends as having
found some excuse not to go with him because they
were not willing to risk the indignity of being turned away,
and police did try to turn them away. Douglas wound
up basically dodging past them, and when he got to
the President, Lincoln invited both of them into the East
(17:08):
room of the White House. There was a similar incident
in eighteen seventy one, when Dorsey tried to buy a
ticket to a ball that was being held in honor
of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovitch of Russia. When Dorsey was
refused because of his race. He wrote to the Grand
Duke about it, saying, in part, quote denied access to
(17:29):
your presence, I venture to thus pay you my respects,
and I will add that, though a grand Duke, I
regard you as a much better Republican than those Americans
who have, in my person insulted a man on account
of the accident of his complexion. The act would not
be tolerated in Russia, and I believe you despise it,
(17:50):
as does Thomas J. Dorsey, Philadelphia, December eighteen seventy one.
Dorsey's wealth allowed him to indulge his love of collecting,
reading books, artwork, and memorabilia. He made a museum in
his home, showcasing the work of black writers, artists, and musicians,
and preserving documents from black history in Philadelphia and elsewhere.
(18:14):
He died on February seventeenth, eighteen seventy five. An obituary
in the Philadelphia Press described him as someone who quote
gave character to any entertainment, and presence was more essential
than the honored guests. His death notice in the Philadelphia
Inquirer read quote. Mister Dorsey was extensively known in his
(18:35):
business even outside this city, and was also famed for
his hearty encouragement and aid he extended to the anti
slavery clause. He leaves a widow and one son and
a daughter. Some of his friends met in the wake
of his death and drafted a set of resolutions that
they published in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Ending quote resolved that
(18:58):
in a long and varied life, he has given us
a practical lesson in the most cardinal principle of our
religious faith, which commands that we love our neighbor as ourselves,
and that his benevolent spirit, genial nature, and indomitable perseverance
over life's barriers shall ever be handed down from time
to time as aids to success.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
Thomas Dorsey owned multiple properties at the time of his death,
and he left those to his family. He also had
enough money to establish trusts that supported his descendants through
the next two generations. None of them decided to go
into the catering business, and by the end of the
nineteenth century that business was also on the decline. Of course,
(19:42):
there were still plenty of caterers, but with the rise
of luxury hotels that had their own in house food
service staff, there were just more options for hosting and
arranging the food for big gatherings. Thomas Dorsey's wealth meant
that his son William was able to pursue a fairly
unique life in Philadelphia, and we're going to talk more
(20:03):
about that after we have a sponsor break. As we
said earlier, William Henry Dorsey was born on October twenty third,
eighteen thirty seven. We don't have a ton of detail
(20:23):
about his early life, but as he was growing up,
his family became increasingly affluent and prominent. We do know
that he went to the Institute for Colored Youth, which
was established by Quakers before the Civil War. When Dorsey attended,
this institute was open to boys and men, and it
became co educational in eighteen sixty six. It later evolved
(20:46):
into Chaney University, which still exists today. In eighteen fifty nine,
when they were both twenty two years old, William married
Virginia Cashman. According to the book William Dorsey's Philadelphia and
All by Roger Lane, William traveled to Savannah, Georgia for
the wedding and brought Virginia back with him.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
This would have meant an incredibly dangerous journey, not just
to a slave state, but into the Deep South and back.
But there is also a marriage notice in a Philadelphia
newspaper that suggests the marriage happened there, and it's known
that at least some other members of Virginia's family had
moved to Philadelphia in eighteen fifty six, including her mother
(21:29):
and her brother Herschel. We don't really know how William
and Virginia met, but it might have been through Herschel.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
At the start of this marriage, the couple lived with
several members of Virginia's family before eventually moving into a
home of their own. Virginia was a dressmaker, and she
and William went on to have six surviving children together.
They remained married until eighteen ninety. The details are fuzzy,
but she moved out at that point and started describing
(21:58):
herself as a widow.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Dorsey was a self taught artist, mainly painting in watercolors
and oils. He also became a civil servant, starting with
being appointed as a personal messenger to Mayor William Stokely
in eighteen seventy two. Dorsey was thirty five at that time.
This was apparently his first steady job that paid regular wages.
(22:20):
Stokely's successor, Samuel King, later appointed him turnkey at Central Station,
regardless of what else he was doing. Though Dorsey always
listed himself as an artist in the city Directory, he
seems to have persisted at this even though there wasn't
a huge market for his work among patrons of any race,
(22:41):
and he never showed his work outside of exhibitions for
black artists.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
As we said before the break, Dorsey's father, Thomas, established
a trust for his descendants in the last years of
his life, and after his death in eighteen seventy five,
William inherited money and property. He was able to live
pretty comfortable and really spend most of his time focusing
on his art and his collections, building on collections that
(23:06):
his father had left to him. Over the years that followed,
Dorsey turned the top floor of his home at two
oh sixteen Street into a museum. In eighteen seventy four,
his friend LPM Watkins visited and published a piece about
the museum in Frederick Douglas's newspaper, The New National Era.
Watkins wrote quote, to the lover of art, the admirer
(23:30):
of rare curiosities, or the antiquarian, the collection of mister
Dorsey would alike afford delight. He describes the museum as
having collections of coins, minerals, weapons such as axes and
battle axes, and of course artwork from there. This piece
went on to say, quote, the collection of books and
(23:51):
pamphlets published by and concerning colored men and women, the
music by colored composers, the number of steel and copper
play engravings of eminent negroes, and photographs, autograph letters, autographs
and facsimiles of men prominent in our race is very extensive, interesting,
(24:11):
and valuable.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Dorsey's collection of books and manuscripts included the work of
so many people that we have covered on the show before,
including the works of Ignatius Sancho in two volumes, an
edition of Phyllis Wheatley's poems, the Letters of Sojourner Truth,
works by alexand Le Duma, Peer and Fice, and the
autobiographies of Frederick Douglas. Dorsey also had portraits of prominent
(24:37):
black people, including Shakespearean actor and playwright Ira Aldridge. There
were also paintings and sculptures by black and white artists alike,
and a framed letter written from Senator Charles Sumner to
Dorsey's father.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
In eighteen ninety six, the reporter from the Philadelphia Times
visited the museum and described it this way quote three
rooms are divided and subdivided, filled with shelves and tables,
until pendant from the very ceilings hang rare and beautiful objects,
all with histories, carefully covered from the dust by glass cases.
(25:13):
Are the most precious, each properly labeled, each in its
own separate compartment, and the order and condition of the
whole collection is something not only to be marveled at,
but is as model to anyone having similar tastes. It was,
in the reporter's words, quote, probably the most remarkable little
(25:33):
museum in the country. Every inch of the walls was
covered with art, except the parts that were covered with
shelves full of books. Quote with scrupulous neatness and systematically arranged.
So these books might be what Dorsey is best known
for today. Those are his scrap books. In a profile
on him in the Philadelphia Times, which was also published
(25:56):
in eighteen ninety six, he said of this scrap book quote,
it has been my continual aim as I have journeyed
along to gather every fragment of published matter concerning the
Colored Race. I have spared neither time nor money in
prosecuting this hobby, you may call it if you wish,
And the fruits of my labor are beginning to show naturally.
(26:19):
In all these years, I have been an enthusiast in
garnering anything and everything that had to me an intrinsic value.
But the most careful work and the best results I
have here. Dorsey went on to say, quote, nothing of
importance has escaped me, as I am a subscriber and
reader of the more important books and magazines. While I
(26:39):
seldom preserve any data in its original state, you will
find it cut out and placed in its proper position.
I have not made any history. I have simply collated,
and to anyone wishing to write an essay or a
volume upon the history or progress of the Colored Race
in the nineteenth century, I have here material that cannot
(26:59):
be duplicated elsewhere. My portraits, books and letters are simply priceless,
and nothing gives me more pleasure than to show and
explain them to anyone feeling sufficient interest in them.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
To visit me.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Dorsey created these scrap books by methodically clipping articles from newspapers, magazines,
and other publications. Many of these publications were black owned,
but he also included works by white publishers, and sometimes
he would juxtapose the coverage about the same subject from
multiple perspectives, so that meant, as kind of a hypothetical example,
(27:36):
the white press's coverage of an incident of racial violence,
which often tended to be racist in its characterization of
the black victims, could be placed adjacent to the coverage
of that same incident that was written from a black
point of view.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
He pasted his clippings into existing volumes, including printed books
and wallpaper sample books. Each book book was devoted to
a particular topic, with the material inside arranged approximately by date.
Dorsey carefully wrote in the date each item was published,
and sometimes other information as well.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
With these scrapbooks, Dorsey was intentionally creating a record of
black life and black achievement in Philadelphia and elsewhere. He
also had clippings related to other subjects, including indigenous North
American and Pacific Island cultures and histories. He created almost
four hundred scrap books, totaling more than thirty thousand pages,
(28:37):
and some of the publications that he clipped from are
incredibly rare or even nonexistent today. Also, as we alluded
to in those quotes that we read, he tried to
share this collection of knowledge with other people. For example, W. E. B.
Du Bois used the scrapbooks as a major source for
his book The Philadelphia Negro, which was published in eighteen
(28:59):
ninety nine, which we read from earlier on in the
episode Beyond That.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
Dorsey also collected whole manuscripts, compiling nearly one thousand folders
full of publications and correspondents from black people and people
of other races who supported equal rights. He also conducted
interviews with people who were more than one hundred years
old about the momentous historical events that they had lived through,
(29:25):
including the American Revolution and the Civil War. Dorsey was
not the only person who was doing stuff like this.
He was part of a community of black collectors and
chroniclers and self taught curators and activists who were documenting
a part of history that the white academic establishment was
mostly ignoring. In eighteen ninety seven, many of these folks
(29:48):
came together and formed the American Negro Historical Society. Dorsey
was one of the founders and was also named its custodian.
Little is known about the last decades of William Henry
Dorsey's life. His last scrap book entry was in nineteen
oh seven. He died about fifteen years after that, on
January ninth, nineteen twenty three, at the age of eighty five.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
The American Negro Historical Society dissolved in the years after
his death. Most of its other prominent members had already died,
and the society had become largely inactive in the early
twentieth century. Its holdings were donated to the Historical Society
of Pennsylvania in nineteen thirty four.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
Most of Dorsey's collections seem to have been scattered and
lost in the years after his death, with the exception
of his scrap books. These eventually became part of the
collections at Cheney University, which, as we said earlier, had
evolved from his alma mater. Exactly how they got into
the Cheney University collection is not completely clear. There's one
(30:55):
story about a janitor rescuing them from the trash ahead
of a major restore reation project in the campus building,
where they were being stored. It's very possible that's apocryphal
or embellished. There are also some materials in the collection
of Moreland's Spingarn Research Center at Howard University, donated by
Ruth L. Ramsey, widow of James Ramsey, great great grandson
(31:18):
of Thomas Dorsey. Today, while these scrap books are part
of the Cheney University Archives and Special Collections, they are
housed at Penn State. More than half of them have
been transferred onto microfilm. Apparently the funding for that project
ran out before it was complete. According to a twenty
twenty one article in the Atlantic, this collection is kind
(31:41):
of in limbo.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Obviously, a collection of three hundred and eighty eight scrap
books takes up a lot of space, and while they
were being kept in acid free containers at Cheney University,
there really wasn't a lot of room or good climate
control to help preserve them there. Transfer to Penn State
was initially meant to be for one hundred and fifty
(32:04):
days for an archiving project, but that one hundred and
fifty days is long past. At Penn State, the scribe
books are protected from heat and cold and moisture. They're
still in acid free boxes, but it's not clear when
or whether there will be funding to digitize the remaining volumes,
or whether they will return to Cheney University.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
Do you also have listener mail for us today? I do.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
I have listener mail that is from Tara uh and
I'm not gonna read one hundred percent of it, but
I'm gonna read a big chunk of it. Tara wrote,
high ladies, I've waited a long time to send this email,
procrastinating for quite literally years. I initially was going to
write when your episode about the Six Triple Eight came
out in twenty nineteen, I put it off, and then
(32:52):
actually met you both at the Denver Show later that year.
Most recently, when you released an episode on ac uctuaries,
I almost ran to the computer to email you. That
is what my first degree is in. Thank you, Georgia.
State again that ADHD procrastination waylaid the best of intentions.
In twenty nineteen, my father's friend shared an article on
(33:14):
Facebook about a new monument that was dedicated to the
six Triple Eight. Out of curiosity, my father read the article,
which led him to the website for the monument. As
he read through the names on the monument. He was
shocked to see his mother's name, although we had long
known she served in the army during World War II.
Her service photo is attached. We had no idea about
(33:37):
this connection to history. She passed along stories of her
ride in the boats and that one of the sailors,
a captain, told them once they saw the White Cliffs
of Dover, they would know they were safe. My father
is currently on a wait list to have his wish
of a lifetime AARP's make a wish for seniors granted
to go see the White Cliffs. She also talked about
(34:00):
being out and about somewhere and children would come up
to her and rub her skin to see if the
color came off. Based on these stories, she was not offended,
but rather amused. That is really the extent of what
has been relayed to me. This email goes on to
talk about the bill that was passed for the six
Triple eight to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, and
(34:24):
I think an upcoming ceremony related to that. And then
Tara in twenty nineteen worked with an artist to commission
a figurine of this grandmother, and there's a pictures, there's
a lot of pictures attached to this email.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
So we've got.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
Pictures of Tara's grandmother, a really lovely service picture, and
then a painting that was based on that photograph, which
is really lovely, and a figurine of Tara's grandmother in
uniform saluting. I love really all of this. Also, there's
(35:06):
another figuring as we move into the pet pictures of
Tara's dog, Artemis, because we did get pet pictures to
go along with this. Also, what cute puppy dogs. So
the dogs in the picture are Artemis, who is a
(35:27):
white Corgi Chihuahwa doxy mix and likes to stand on
her hind legs a lot, and the other is Tara's
daughter's dog, Venus. Thank you so much Tara for this email.
I love this story so much. I got choked up
a little bit at this idea of just reading the
list of names and realizing that you're related to somebody
(35:49):
on that list. Yeah. I think it is really lovely
that you have tried so hard to honor your grandmother.
I didn't get into detail about the parts about upcome
ceremony because I'm not actually sure at this moment that
it is, like I couldn't find public announcements about it,
so I didn't want to get into detail about that
(36:10):
without knowing if those announcements are public news at this point.
It will be later after it's happened, I'm sure. So
thank you so much again Tara for sharing the story
and all of these lovely pictures. If you would like
to send us a note about this or any other podcast,
where at history Podcasts at iHeartRadio dot com, and you
(36:34):
can subscribe to our show on the iHeartRadio app and
wherever I'll too late to get your podcasts. Stuff you
missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For
more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
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Holly Frey
Tracy Wilson
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