In continued recognition of the lost Eastern Shore history of Dr. Frederick (Bailey) Douglass, a special presentation on Rev. Henry Augustus Monroe will be delivered Friday, September 20, 2019 at 6:30 PM at the The Heritage Museum and Gardens at Dorchester (home of the Dorchester County Historical Society) in Cambridge, Maryland.
Introductory remarks will be offered by Maryland Delegate Sheree Sample-Hughes, Maryland Delegate Johnny Mautz, Shirley Jackson of the Dorchester County Historical Society and Sharon Lucas, niece of Rev. H. A. Monroe’s deceased granddaughter Honorable Winifred Monroe.
Following last fall’s presentation of “The Lost History of Frederick Douglass in Cambridge, Maryland,” at the Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center, historian and journalist John Muller returns to Cambridge to present “Lost History: Rev. H. A. Monroe, Godson to Frederick Douglass and Publisher of The Eastern Shore’s Only Black Newspaper.”
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Following the Civil War, the Massachusetts-born and educated Monroe was sent to Somerset County on Maryland’s Lower Eastern Shore to serve as an educator and supervisor for the Freedmen’s Bureau Division of Schools. After receiving a patronage position in Baltimore City, Monroe and his family returned to Somerset County where Monroe launched a newspaper and joined the ministry of the Delaware Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. After serving as pastor of Waugh Chapel in Cambridge, where he became a well-respected editor, historian and community leader, Monroe respectfully declined the opportunity to serve as the first principal of the Princess Anne Academy — today the University of Maryland – Eastern Shore.
While serving as pastor for a church in New York City Monroe and a fellow delegation of ministers traveled to Washington City where they met with Frederick Douglass at the train station who escorted the group to meet with the President of the United States regarding conditions in the American South, including the Delmarva Peninsula.
Holding prominent leadership positions within the church and communities of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia, Monroe was active until his passing in 1912.
Q&A will follow the 45-minute presentation.
John Muller is the author of Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C: The Lion of Anacostia (2012) and Mark Twain in Washington, D.C.: The Adventures of a Capital Correspondent (2013) and is at work on Lost History: Frederick Douglass and Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
Tickets cost $5 for members of the Dorchester County Historical Society; $8 non-members, free for students of Dorchester County Public Schools, Chesapeake College, Salisbury University and University of Maryland – Eastern Shore.
RSVPs are encouraged but not necessary to Ann or Mitch at dchs@verizon.net. For more information call 410.228.7953 or visit dorchesterhistory.com.
Address; 1003 Greenway Dr, Cambridge, Maryland 21613