Ten Hills Farm: The Forgotten History of Slavery in the North

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments Every journey, however solitary, has its fellow travelers. I would like to thank mine here. First, my warmest thanks to my superb editor, Brigitta van Rheinberg, for awakening me to this project, putting my gaze back to the blank page after an absence, and staying with me every step. It has been a singularly inspiring professional relationship. My thanks, as well, to her wonderful team at Princeton who always went the extra mile. Ideas must begin somewhere. Mine began in an informal conversation with Ruth O’Brien in her office at the City University of New York in 2004. Of course, as with many books, this idea morphed over time and with deeper thought. For the morphing, my thanks to Neta Crawford, who pointed me toward the Royall House and helped me see the story in its earliest outline. She has a courageous mind. Many others have provided guidance and support along the way. I owe a special thanks to the patient staff at the American Antiquarian Society, who in the early days of this project cheerfully filled my many requests, indulged my dead-end turns, and humored my desire to work not in my quiet fellow’s cubby but out under that glorious dome that fills the Society’s central chamber with light and a temper of solemn magnificence. The AAS was the perfect place to start this work; and the staff’s support gave me all I needed to rethink everything I knew. There I remain especially grateful for the support and kindness of Caroline F. Sloat, Director of Publications, and Marie E. Lamoureux, the Collections Manager , who tirelessly combed the archives on my behalf and continued to assist me long after I moved on. Marie also gave my young friend Rose a memorable tour of that facility so full of treasures. At Harvard I owe a deep bow of thanks to Skip Gates, who offered 306 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS me a happy berth at the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research and proved an enthusiastic supporter and friend throughout. During these years of work he arranged my unfettered access to Harvard’s exceptional archives and libraries, a gift for which I could never thank him heartily enough. There, too, I am grateful for the support and assistance of Lisa Gregory and Dell Hamilton. While at the Institute I befriended Susan Reverby and her partner, Bill Quivers, a pair whose humor, sophistication, and edge sharpened my own, even at the most difficult of times. At the Newhouse Center for the Humanities at Wellesley College I found time and space to complete the manuscript and the funds to travel to Antigua where I was able to do a last—and crucial— piece of research. At Wellesley my warmest thanks to Susan and Donald Newhouse for their vision in establishing an important sanctuary for deep thought; to the director,Tim Peltason, for opening those doors to me; and to Deb Carbanes, who made everything possible—and fun. In these years I also worked with Jonathan Wyss and his partner, Kelly Sanderfer, of Topaz Maps. This pair bent their heads over a four-hundred-year-old sketch of the farm, and using their own wizardry—and modern tools—managed to trace the outlines of the farm on modern ground. That worked helped me in innumerable ways and led me to the startling realization that America’s forty-fourth president, Barack H. Obama, lived on the farm’s southeastern edge (365 Broadway) while he studied law at Harvard. Various people at the Royall House Association gave freely of their time, their files, and their insights. Among them I would particularly like to thank Peter Gittleman, Tom Lincoln, and Leslie Spaeth. At many a stop along the way I received gracious help from men and women who toil in local and state archives. I thank you all, and applaud the work you do. Thanks, too, to Clara Platter for reappearing in my life and helping to shepherd the manuscript home, to Terri O’Prey, whose patient oversight kept me sane at the end, and Maryanne Alos for her careful indexing. Lastly, a special huzzah to Barbara Goldoftas, who helped me through the eye of one last needle. How nice to be blessed with friends and colleagues of such warmth, intelligence, and generosity. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 307 On a more personal note, I owe a great debt to my...