September
19,
2006
Jean Libby to "John Brown Scholars" list. New Books on
John Brown:Tomorrow morning I
will have the happy experience of a visit from John Brown's greatest
(four times great) granddaughter, Alice Keesey Mecoy. I'll ask her about
the program, because she is the relative who is keeping best track.
Anyone who has anything you would like to send for Alice and our quest
please drop it on the email
[email protected] or
[email protected] and I
will print it for her.
The reason for our visit is my gift to the family of the new book
John Brown's Family in California, which has Alice's photograph (and
that of her grandmother, Beatrice Keesey) when she was sixteen, in 1976.
It has taken me this long to develop the right publication avenue for
these photos. It was Alice's grandmother, who is the granddaughter of
Annie Brown, and had a direct memory of her in relation to the John
Brown raid, that inspired me to research oral history near Harpers Ferry
among the African American congregations. They welcomed me as much as
the Keesey family!
What Mrs. Keesey said to me is that her grandmother, Annie Brown, would
ask the children for their history textbooks. She would turn to the
section on the John Brown raid and write firmly in the margins: "This is
not true!."
I am asking Alice and my good friend Lori Deal, who inherited a John
Brown letter which was featured on "History Detectives" a couple of
years ago and who has since donated it to The Bancroft Library for
public access, to autograph these new books as well as myself for those
whom I have promised copies--the Allies for Freedom authors, Gwen
Robinson, the Newby descendants, the contributors to John Brown's
Family in California (April Halberstadt, Eric Ledell Smith, John M.
Lawlor, Louis A. DeCaro, Jr.), and for new author Bob O'Connor who is
bringing his adult education class to the Kennedy Farm for a history
party on October 16.
Bob O'Connor's book, The Perfect Steel Trap; Harpers Ferry 1859
is in novel style but is very factual and features the real persons
Osborne Anderson, Annie Brown, and Owen Brown telling the story from
John Brown's side. You can find it on
www.boboconnor.com.
You can find John Brown's Family in California with beautiful new
color cover, on
www.alliesforfreedom.org.
Please write a letter or question for Alice Keesey Mecoy and I will give
them to her in the morning.
Best regards to all, thank you for writing, Bryan,
Jean 1
Bryan Prince <[email protected]> wrote:
Hello Jean,
We had an elderly lady come to the Buxton (Canada) museum on the weekend
who said that she had watched the tv show "Antiques Roadshow" earlier
this year. She said that there was a lady on that show who had letters
from and family photos that included John Brown. She could not provide
any other details - she suggested contacting the show's producers.
I expect that you may be aware of this, but thought I would pass it
along, just in case.
Bryan Prince 2
www.alliesforfreedom.org
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