A former slave who later in life would have a major impact on the Canandaigua and Rochester communities will be recognized on a day celebrating emancipation.
The 1816 Farmington Quaker Meetinghouse Museum in Farmington and the Ontario County Historical Society will co-sponsor Commemorating Emancipation Day, a program marking the end of slavery in the British Empire.
The event will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, at 19th-century businessman, abolitionist and author Austin Steward’s gravesite in the West Avenue Cemetery, 100 West Ave., Canandaigua.
Ontario County Historian Preston Pierce and Chester Freeman, who arranged for a historic marker in Canandaigua for Steward, will be the guest speakers. The Ontario County Historical Society hosted a dedication for the marker in February 2019, the 150th anniversary of Steward’s death.
Robin Nowell, from AKWAABA, will portray her ancestor Nancy Tolliver, and members of Rochester Women’s Community Chorus will perform.
Who was Austin Steward?
Steward was born into slavery in 1793 in Prince William County, Virginia, to a man who owned more than 100 slaves and eventually secured his freedom and settled in western New York.
He started a successful grocery store in Rochester, later moving on to live in a colony in Canada to help freed blacks. He eventually founded a school and taught in Canandaigua. He also spent time in Farmington among the Quaker community that would become deeply involved in anti-slavery efforts.
Steward later published one of the earliest autobiographies written by a formerly enslaved person, sharing his experiences and advocating for freedom and equality in “Twenty-two Years a Slave and Forty Years a Free Man.”
Steward died Feb. 15, 1869.
What is the significance of the Aug. 1 celebration?
The First of August celebration, also known as Emancipation Day celebration, recognizes the freeing of slaves in the British empire on Aug. 1, 1834.
The upcoming event ties the traditional celebration of the First of August observance with Steward and all the various things he did here, Pierce said.
Celebrations were typically staged in the Northeast, and Steward was involved in a celebration in Canandaigua in 1847, Pierce said.
These celebrations lasted into the early 20th century, in not only Canandaigua but Rochester, Geneva, Clifton Springs and elsewhere.
“They were celebrated in towns large and small,” Pierce said.
What if the weather is bad?
In the case of inclement weather, the event will take place at the Ontario County Historical Society, 55 N. Main St., Canandaigua.
Mike Murphy covers Canandaigua and other communities in Ontario County and writes the Eat, Drink and Be Murphy food and drink column. He can be reached at mmurphy@messengerpostmedia.com. Follow him on X at @MPN_MikeMurphy.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Canandaigua event celebrates life of Austin Steward
Reporting by Mike Murphy, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mike Murphy, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | USA TODAY Network
