Staten Island's Elliottville: Abolitionist Enclave, Gilded Age Retreat, Ferry Suburb

New York City was known for supporting concessions with the South; however, on Staten Island, one neighborhood stood out for providing national leadership in the movement to end slavery. That neighborhood, Elliottville, was settled by New Englanders committed to social reform, including rights for women, economic reform, religious reform, and an end to slavery. Residents included editorialists, Sydney Howard Gay, editor of the New-York Tribune, and George William Curtis, political editor of Harper’s Weekly, each of whom influenced national opinion. Two Civil War heroes also lived in the neighborhood: Robert Gould Shaw, commander of the 54th Massachusetts, the first all-black regiment in the Northeast, and Theodore Winthrop, one of the first Union officers killed in the Civil War. Winthrop’s posthumously published novels and travel writings found a broad audience after the war. So, too, did the publications of Anna Leonowens, who moved to Elliottville after the war to write her accounts of Siam, one of which is still popular as the musical, Anna and the King.

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This event is held in observance of American Archives Month, which is observed nationally during October to celebrate and promote the rich documentary heritage of our nation and the importance of archival and historical records to our lives.

The presentation will be given by Professor James Kaser, Archivist, College of Staten Island/CUNY.

This is a co-curricular credit event, and is co-organized by the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Professional Development and the Archives and Special Collections, Department of the Library.