A recap of findings and discussions during the last year as presented at the July family reunion in Colorado Springs. Each page highlights an aspect of the life story we simply ran out of time to unpack. Which of these are you interested in knowing more about? What questions should we explore? Send thoughts here: Contact Form. Johann Barnyard Events_FFR JUL 2025Download
Gene Floersch recounts the information uncovered by his research and his journey to uncover the amazing story. https://youtu.be/D2Ai3zthymg?
Preserving a historic landmark November 26, 2024 Rimsie McConiga The Black Ancestors Awareness Campaign (BAAC) and Weston residents are committed to an important mission. They, along with other local residents have been tirelessly working to get the Halfway House Cellar nominated to the National Register of Historic Places. Bill Nichols’ research project on the Halfway House Cellar began in mid-2023 after he met with BAAC founder, Angela Hagenbach. “Along the way the research project was aided or supported by BAAC members and dozens of local residents who shared their stories and information about the Halfway House Cellar,”…
1852.02.23 De.I.170 Floersh to DoniphanDownload
FRIDAY, JULY 25TH 4:00 pm-8:00 pm is a bar b q picnic at Bear Creak Regional Park (21st Street and West Rio Grand Ave) under a large Pavilion (#1 pavilion)with picnic tables. This park has pickleball courts, basketball court and a large green space for soccer and/or kickball. Water will be supplied, please bring your own special drinks and comfy chairs. Location - Map SATURDAY, JULY 26TH 2:00-8:00 pm at Saint Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church (8755 Scarborough Drive). For anyone who would like to do a presentation, the hall has up to date AV…
A perfect day for Juneteenth Jubilee The fourth annual Juneteenth Heritage Jubilee in Weston was celebrated at the Weston Red Barn Farm on Saturday, June 15 under perfect weather. Each year the event has featured a different theme. This year’s theme is “Freedom Seekers, Freedom Fighters, People, Places and Passageways.” The event is presented by the Black Ancestors Awareness Campaign (BAAC) of Weston. Go to source article: A perfect day for Juneteenth Jubilee, The Platte County Citizen, June 18, 2024 Dennis Sharkey
by Jennifer Berry Hawes, photography by Gavin McIntyre for ProPublicaJune 16, 2023, 5 a.m. EDT Lauren Davila made a stunning discovery as a graduate student at the College of Charleston: an ad for a slave auction larger than any historian had yet identified. The find yields a new understanding of the enormous harm of such a transaction. Go to story: https://www.propublica.org/article/how-grad-student-discovered-largest-us-slave-auction
This timeline of "slave stampedes" from across the nation details nearly 200 attempted group escapes as reported in period newspapers, with the majority coming from the Upper South states of Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and Virginia. According to the existing sources, these stampedes involved nearly 12,000 freedom seekers between 1847 and 1865. Clearly, some of these attempts ended in tragedy, but a surprising number were successful, or least never produced definitive accounts of capture. The few reported stampedes in Northern states typically described alleged fugitive slaves fleeing to avoid rendition under the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law. The…
Two Kinds… Although there were people in Missouri throughout the pre-Civil War period who abhorred the institution of slavery, those who advocated its abolition were a minority. Their views were bitterly opposed and often suppressed by the irate proslavery forces. There were two kinds of abolitionists: (1) those who only advocated ending the system and (2) those who acted illegally to spirit slaves away. The Missouri slaveholder did not discriminate between the two and considered the first as bad as the second. …Among Three Groups Abolitionists in Missouri can be classified into three groups: (1) certain…
Photo above "Halfway House, Platte City-Weston toll Road, Hwy. 273" from Memories of Weston, Missouri, Vol. II Millennium Edition - 1837 to 2000, p. 16 The Half-way House, Underground Railroad, and John McCurdy Records from the Platte County Civil Court and from the Weston Court of Common Pleas, show that one John McCurdy was frequently arrested on charges of aiding and abetting slaves to run away to freedom. He was also charged with transporting them out of the State of Missouri. Most, if not all, of those cases occurred in 1850-1851-1852. It is known that John…
Columns continue below with 1) "But no one..." 2) "Floersch was tried..." and 3) A Dungeon for Slaves Article view in its entirety