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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Andrews, Charles C. (fl. 1830) The history of the New-York African free-school, from their establishment in 1787, to the present time; embracing a period of more than forty years: also a brief account of the succesful labors of the New-York Manumission Society

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06084 Author/Creator: Andrews, Charles C. (fl. 1830) Place Written: New York, New York Type: Book Date: 1830 Pagination: 1 v. : 148 p. ; 18.9 x 11.3 cm. Order a Copy

Written by Andrews as the principal of the African Free School. Printed by Mahlon Day at 376 Pearl Street in New York. First edition copy. Includes engraving of the school building, from a drawing by a student, opposite the title page. Provides a history of the institution and how the manumission society attempted to provide for the future of free blacks. Andrews is overflowing with praise for the activities of the school, its students, and the famous political leaders who were members of the manumission society. Page 123 provides a list of the school's top five students: Peter Williams the Minister of the Episcopal Church (St. Stephens) New York, Jacob Matthews the Minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church (Zion) New York, James Varick, deceased, formerly the Minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church (Zion) New York, William M. Read a teacher of the African District School in Brooklyn, and Margaret Odel the former teacher of the African School in Hudson. Sections on various school exercises, including manners and morals. Also has sections on various classes taught, including astronomy and navigation. Brief account of the Marquis de Lafayette's visit to the school. Also includes important documents and letters by members of the manumission society. Inscribed on inside front cover: "Charles E. Scott from Walter Trimble, Esq. April 10, 1912." On the first page the name "G.T. Trimble" is partially erased. Book bound in yellow boards.

Charles E. Scott represented Ward 3 in Worcester, Massachusetts from 1917-1938. He was the cities first black legislature.

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