Black Civil War veterans of Yellow Springs focus of upcoming talk

• By Reilly Dixon
• Published: November 3, 2023

• 1 Comment »

The genealogy of Black Civil War veterans of Yellow Springs will be the focus of a community workshop presented by Antioch College and hosted by the Coretta Scott King Center for Cultural and Intellectual Freedom on two consecutive Saturdays in December.

The workshop — to be led by Dan Gediman, Antioch ’82, executive director of Reckoning, Inc., and Denyce Peyton, a professional genealogist and project director of Reckoning, Inc.’s Kentucky U.S. Colored Troops Project — will be presented Dec. 2 and 9, 9 a.m.–noon and 1–4 p.m. with lunch included.

An information session with Gediman about the workshop will be presented online Monday, Nov. 6, 7–7:30 p.m.

The deadline to register for the December workshop is Friday, Nov. 10.

To register for the information session and/or workshop go online to antiochcollege.edu/academics/community-based-learning.

According to Gediman, the research of Reckoning, Inc., has found “scores, if not hundreds of Black Civil War veterans who settled in Yellow Springs/Miami Township in the decades after the Civil War.”

“These men and their children in many cases became important pillars of the local Black community — as farmers, pastors, teachers, small-business owners, and indeed members of the Antioch staff,” Gettiman said in a press release about the workshop.

According to the release, each participant will research a 19th century Yellow Springs resident who was a Black Civil War veteran. Prior to the workshop each participant will be sent recommended readings about the history of Black soldiers’ role in the Civil War, as well as copies of the combined military service records and a pension file for their assigned veteran. There are no prerequisites, and no background in history or genealogy is necessary.

After the workshop, information about the veterans will be posted on the websites for Reckoning, Inc. and The 365 Project in Yellow Springs.

The workshop cost is $150 for the general public, $95 for seniors and $75 for students. The fee includes lunch and all workshop materials.

For more information, go to the website above or email Queen Meccasia Zabriskie at qzabriskie@antiochcollege.edu.

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One Response to “Black Civil War veterans of Yellow Springs focus of upcoming talk”

1. Eric Miller says:

   November 10, 2023 at 2:33 pm

   A couple of updates:
   The registration deadline is pushed back to Nov. 17th.
   The info session held on Monday Nov. 6th can be view on Vimeo here: https://vimeo.com/882723179
   And, if you would like to register you can do so here: https://antiochcollege.edu/academics/community-based-learning/

   Thank you,
   Eric