ENSLAVED AT THE GEORGETOWN HOTEL Slavery, Emancipation, Freedom, Resilience
ENSLAVED AT THE GEORGETOWN HOTEL
Slavery, Emancipation, Freedom, Resilience
Enslaved at the Georgetown Hotel tells the 100-year story (1824 -1926) of three generations enslaved by Eleanor Lang, the owner of the Georgetown Hotel, a historically significant building constructed in 1796, now known as the City Tavern. The lecture explains how the owner leveraged human property for financial gains, including increase, mortgage, collateral, insurance, and hiring out. It also explains the 1862 District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act and its petition process. This case study demonstrates the wealth of historical and genealogical information that can be gleaned from the compensation petitions and the records referenced in the petitions. Using a variety of other sources, the presentation charts the emancipated family's path to join Georgetown’s African American middle class and their interaction with other historic institutions. The presentation reviews the political, social, and economic context of their lives in the District of Columbia, thereby illustrating the life elements of the family’s contemporaries, including the Lang family. It also serves as a guide to help others do their own research
AGE GROUP: | Adults |
EVENT TYPE: | Know Your Neighborhood | Educational Program |