The Madison County Historical Society is proud to present a program and book signing with Dr. Norman K. Dann for his new book, Peter Smith of Peterboro: Furs, Land, and Anguish, on Saturday, April 7, from 1 pm- 4pm at the historical society located at 435 Main Street in Oneida. On view at the historical society that day, there will also be an exhibit on Peter Smith following Dr. Dann’s program.
After writing six books on descendants of Peter Smith, Dr. Dann has written the first full biography on Peter Smith. The story of Peter Smith is the story of Upstate New York in the earliest days of the United States. A billionaire by today’s standards, Smith made his fortune in the fur trade and especially as one of the country’s original land barons.
Norman K. Dann, Ph.D., is professor emeritus at Morrisville State College, where he taught Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Environmental Science from 1966 – 1999. Living in a cottage formerly on the Gerrit Smith Estate, Norm is a Gerrit Smith scholar and author of several other books concerning the Smith Family of Peterboro: When We Get to Heaven: Runaway Slaves on the Road to Peterboro (2007), Practical Dreamer: Gerrit Smith and the Crusade for Social Reform (2009), Greene Smith and the WildLife:The Story of Peterboro’s Avid Outdoorsman(2015), Cousins of Reform: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Gerrit Smith (2012), Whatever It Takes: The Antislavery Movement and the Tactics of Gerrit Smith (2011), Practical Dreamer: A Biography of Gerrit Smith (2009),When We Get to Heaven: Runaway Slaves on the Road to Peterboro (2008), Cousins of Reform: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Gerrit Smith (2013), and Ballots, Bloomers, and Marmalade: The Story of Elizabeth Smith Miller. Dr. Dann is a founder and member of the Cabinet of Freedom for the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum, a Steward of the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark, a 25 year member of the Annual Peterboro Civil War Weekend Committee, and Treasurer of the Peterboro Area Museum.
Dr. Norman K. Dann’s program will be from 1 pm - 2 pm. Viewing of the Peter Smith exhibit will follow Dr. Dann’s program from 2 pm- 4 pm. There will be an opportunity to purchase copies of “Peter Smith of Peterboro: Furs, Land, and Anguish” and to request the author’s signature. There is no fee to attend the program or view the exhibit. Refreshments will be served. For more information please contact the Madison County Historical Society at 315-363-4136, or history@mchs1900.org. The Madison County Historical Society is a nonprofit organization that operates both a museum and the Mary King Research Library located at 435 Main Street in Oneida. The society continues to preserve, collect, promote, and exhibit the history of Madison County and its fifteen towns and one city through the development of programs that enhance Madison County’s heritage. The historical society’s headquarters are housed in an 1849 Gothic Revival Villa that is listed on the State and National Registry of Historic Places.
Caption: On April 7 from 1 pm- 4 pm, The Madison County Historical Society will present a program and book signing with Dr. Norman K. Dann for his new book, Peter Smith of Peterboro: Furs, Land, and Anguish. Portrait of Peter Smith is from the collection of the Madison County Historical Society.
