Lecture: A Freeman on the River: The Life, Work, and Journal of James F. Brown

A Freeman on the River:

The Life, Work, and Journal of James F. Brown

Date: Wednesday, July 9th, 2025

In-Person Event
$10/person | HRMM Members $5/person

Presentation topic: A fugitive enslaved man from Maryland, James F. Brown made his way to New York and worked for the renowned Verplanck family in Beacon for nearly forty years. He started as a waiter, then a coachman, a ferryman on the Hudson, and then master gardener and property manager for the family. From 1829 to 1866,  he kept a unique journal of daily life on the Hudson. Mr. Brown’s prime goal was full citizenship and gaining the right to vote, a highly restricted privilege for Black men at the time. Harv Hilowitz will tell the true story of Mr. Brown’s quest to vote in New York, including observations from Brown’s journal about working and living along the Hudson. 

Presenter: Harv Hilowitz is a Contributing Scholar to the Hudson River Maritime Museum, as well as a researcher and docent at Mount Gulian Historic Site. Be sure to check out Harv’s lectures regarding the daily life of the Lenape people on the Manhicannituck on the Museum’s solar powered boat and floating classroom Solaris. 

This program is being presented in-person at the Hudson River Maritime Museum's Wooden Boat School. The Wooden Boat School is located at 86 Rondout Landing, Kingston, NY 12401.

Members can receive their registration discount by logging in. Please note that you must be a current member the date of the event to receive your discount.