Local Historian and Genealogist Speaks at D.C. Juneteenth Event

By WRILEY NELSON
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Amtrak’s A. Philip Randolph Employee Resource Group hosted six Juneteenth celebrations at train stations in different American cities at noon on Thursday, June 15. The guest speaker at the event in the Washington, D.C. Union Station was historian and genealogist Harry Bradshaw Matthews, retired associate dean and director of Intercultural Affairs at Hartwick College. He is the founding president of the United Stated Colored Troops Institute and a member of the SUNY Oneonta Foundation board of directors.

Matthews’ topic was “Juneteenth: Within the Historical Context of the Transnational Freedom Journey.” He shared the relationship of the Underground Railroad, U.S. Colored Troops, and his own family research. He called out the names of several formerly enslaved ancestors and stressed that these genealogical connections are important for descendants of the formerly enslaved and their ability to claim reparations.

Matthews also spoke about new research into the role Mexicans in Texas played in the self-emancipation struggle; some 3000 freedom seekers on the Southern Underground Railroad crossed the Rio Grande or otherwise escaped the slave state of Texas into free Mexican territory.

Since his retirement, Matthews has continued his extensive research and writing. He remains a sought-after speaker and consultant and is a prominent genealogist specializing in the often hidden family histories of Black Americans. According to one of his articles, he has collected more than 2,500 rare books since 1992 as part of developing a subdiscipline of historiographic genealogy.

Matthews’ work is history at the small scale, building portraits of individuals and families within the context of broader historical movements. The Hartwick College USCTI promotes original historical and genealogical research about the 200,000 Black men who served in the Federal armed forces during the Civil War. It encourages communities in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean to discover their local USCT members and to place soldiers, their families and descendants in local historical contexts through educational and commemorative events. Matthews received the Congressional Black Caucus Veterans’ Braintrust Award in 2003 for his efforts with the USCTI. His most recent published article, which examines the Underground Railroad and USCT connections in Norwich and Chenango County, appeared in the New York Almanack in April; it can be found at https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/author/hmatthews/.