LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - OCTOBER 20, 2019 by Lynne Belluscio This Sunday, at 3 PM Rev. James Evinger will present his research into the abolition meet- ings that were held in the Pres- byterian Church in LeRoy. Like so many other events in history, they have been embellished, retold, forgotten, edited, and reprinted for nearly 175 years, and it takes a tenacious and persistent researcher to find the truth, and indeed that is what Rev. Evinger has done. This is a project that has footnotes and bibliographic notations. And once and for all, his research proves, that indeed, the LeRoy Presbyterian Church put itself right in the middle of a conten- tious issue of national impor- tance – not once, but on four different occasions. I have often said while guiding people along the Under- ground Railroad route through LeRoy, that growing up in Yan- kee country, and having ances- tors who fought for the Union army during the Civil War, it is easy to think that we all were helping enslaved people get to Canada. Or that we all support- ed abolition, when in fact that was a minority, and the peo- ple who believed in abolition had a long uphill battle. And Evinger’s presentation certainly substantiates that. Two of the four meetings held at the church were met with violence. In to- day’s press, it would have made national news, yet the accounts weren’t included in the newspa- pers, nor were they included in the minutes of the church ses- sion meetings. Why there was an obvious oversight remains to be addressed, but the one thing that Rev. Evinger has done, is to set the story straight, and to ver- ify that they did indeed happen. He also went to great length to research all the people who are mentioned in all the accounts, including Frederick Douglass. Although Frederick Douglass is the most recognized of the participants of the events at the Presbyterian Church, there were questions as to the validity of the claim that he actually ap- peared in LeRoy. Now there is no doubt. Dr. Evinger has taken all the snippets of this story, and has gone through each and ev- ery one to prove or disprove their validity. From the dia- ry account of Miles Lampson of LeRoy: “Dec. 9, 1847 – N - - - - - lecture by Douglass at Presbyterian house.” Dec. 10, 1847 – Great abolition excite- ment from lecture of Douglass a colored man.” (I keep won- dering, if there were notes of what Frederick Douglass might have said.) The usual chatty Le- Roy Gazette makes no mention of Douglass’ appearance. It is only after Dr. Evinger goes to Frederick Douglass’ timeline that Miles Lampson’s diary en- try is collaborated. Armed with all of the re- search that Dr. Evinger has done, as Village Historian, I will be applying for a historic marker to be placed near the Presbyterian Church. The New York State historic marker pro- gram was discontinued in 1939, but has been revived by the Wil- liam G. Pomeroy Foundation in Syracuse. The next deadline for an application is in the spring of 2020. The guidelines are very strict but I think Rev. Evinger’s research will provide the nec- essary data. (The LeRoy Town Bicentennial marker on Trigon Park was acquired through the Pomeroy Foundation.) Dr. Evinger’s program will be held at the Presbyterian Church - - the Church where it happened - - at 3 PM, Sun- day October 20 and is free and open to the public. The lecture will be followed by a spaghetti dinner in Olmstead Hall at 4:30. Donation: $6 per person. Please make a reservation by calling 768-6700. The Church Where It Happened T-shirts • Hats • Visors • Tank Tops • Jackets • Towels GREAT GIFTS FOR YOUR FAMILY • FRIENDS • ETC. 1 Church St., Le Roy, NY • 585-768-2201 • Fax 585-768-6334 • Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8:00-5:00 E M B R O I D E R Y lpgraphics.net