Pod Insights Stuff You Missed in History Class Two Dorseys: Thomas J. and William Henry About this episode Thomas J. Dorsey liberated himself from enslavement and became one of the most sought-after caterers in Philadelphia. His son William Henry Dorsey was born a free Black man before the Civil War, and became an artist, collector and scrapbooker.
Transcript Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
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0:04 Holly Frey? A rare disease diagnosis can change your life, but it doesn't have to define your future. In season seven of Untold Stories: Life with a Severe Autoimmune Condition, host Martine Hackett continues the conversation with people living with MG, CIDP, and the broader rare disease community, exploring what comes after diagnosis through stories of hope, progress, and connection. Produced by Ruby Studio in partnership with Argentix. Listen on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
0:35 Tracy V. Wilson? Whether you're calling the wise women in your life, video calling your girlfriends across the country, or checking in on someone who always knows how to make you smile, staying connected matters. Those small conversations, shared laughs, and quick hellos are what keep relationships strong even when life gets busy. Some of the most life-giving conversations start with just a phone call. That's why AT&T guarantees the network you can rely on, so you can focus on the moments and people that matter most. That's the AT&T Guarantee. AT&T: Connecting Changes Everything. Terms and conditions apply. Visit att.com/guarantee for details. The Old Gays are back with Silver Linings, their lovable podcast from iHeart's Ruby
1:15 Tracy V. Wilson? Studio in partnership with ViiV Healthcare. Robert, Mick, Bill, and Jessa strut back down memory lane for season two, sharing lessons on life, love, and loss. These are the kind of insights that only come from experience. So tune in to Silver Linings with The Old Gays on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Workplace chaos. We've all been there. Deadlines are slipping, projects are piling up, and suddenly you realize the missing piece is the right person. That's when you say, this is a job for Sponsored Jobs. With Indeed Sponsored Jobs, your job post gets a boost, so you can connect with quality candidates faster. In fact, Sponsored Jobs posted directly
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2:16 Holly Frey? Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production of iHeart Radio.
2:26 Tracy V. Wilson? Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson.
2:29 Holly Frey? And I'm Holly Frey.
2:31 Tracy V. Wilson? In one of our recent installments of Unearthed, we talked about a painting that was bought at a thrift store that turned out to be the work of William Henry Dorsey, who was a free black man born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, prior to the Civil War. And in addition to being an artist, he was a collector and a scrapbooker. And I said I would put him on the list for an episode because I found him very interesting from that brief description. He is interesting, indeed. His story is also connected to that of his father, Thomas J. Dorsey. So this episode kind of turned into a little bit of a duology focusing on both of them, father and son.
3:13 Holly Frey? Thomas J. Dorsey was born sometime around 1812, and most sources agree that he was born in Maryland and that he was enslaved from birth. One of the articles that Tracy used as research said that he had been born in the deep south and then escaped and then was re-enslaved in Maryland, but it isn't clear at all where that information came from or why it is so different from all of the other sources. Thomas had three brothers, Charles, William, and Basil. They were enslaved by a man named Sabriks Solers, and in some accounts, Solers may have been the father of at least some of them.
3:50 Tracy V. Wilson? Sabriks Solers died in 1834, when Thomas was about 22. And it seems like Thomas and his brothers believed that they were going to be freed upon Solers's death. But instead, some of the people that Solers had enslaved were sold during the settling of the estate, with some of those being bought by his son, who was also named Thomas. There's people who were sold included the Dorsey Brothers.
4:17 Holly Frey? About two years later, in 1836, the four brothers liberated themselves and went to Philadelphia, one of the US cities that was becoming a frequent destination for people who were escaping from their enslavers. Pennsylvania was a free state, and Philadelphia had a reputation for being welcoming, relatively speaking. So the city's black population was growing rapidly.
4:41 Tracy V. Wilson? But that relative level of welcome was, in a lot of ways, just not welcoming at all. Philadelphia and Pennsylvania more broadly could be actively hostile toward its black residents. A lot of the city was racially segregated, and black workers were excluded from most industries. That meant that, for the most part, the only jobs available to them were in manual labor and domestic work. In 1837, not long after the Dorsey Brothers arrived, a Pennsylvania judge also ruled that black people living in the state did not have suffrage rights. And then the following year, Pennsylvania voters ratified a new constitution that gave only white freemen the right to vote.
5:26 Holly Frey? Black people in and around Philadelphia also faced ongoing racially motivated violence, often instigated by Irish immigrants who were also arriving in Philadelphia in large numbers and competing for the same low-wage jobs. There were deadly attacks on black people and their neighborhoods. And the same year that the new constitution was ratified, an anti-abolitionist mob burned down Pennsylvania Hall, which had been built as a venue for anti-slavery speakers.
5:57 Tracy V. Wilson? So Philadelphia's reputation for being welcoming to black people was largely the work of black people themselves. While there were white abolitionists and other white activists and sympathetic legislators and government figures, in the pre-Civil War years, Philadelphia's growing black neighborhoods became home to their own churches, mutual aid societies, and fraternal organizations that were really focused on helping and looking out for one another. Black residents also established their own schools and literary societies and art societies. Because Black people were given such limited opportunities for work in Philadelphia,
6:38 Tracy V. Wilson? poverty and violence were still serious problems in these neighborhoods. But there was also a deep culture of outreach and support.
6:47 Holly Frey? One of the people in Philadelphia who was known for providing assistance and resources to people escaping from slavery was Robert Purvis. He was an abolitionist who was born to a free Black woman and a British immigrant. And word spread among escaping people and their contacts that he was someone who could help. After the Dorsey brothers arrived in Philadelphia, Purvis helped them get settled, including giving Basil a job on his farm in Byberry, which is considered a neighborhood of Philadelphia today.
7:19 Tracy V. Wilson? But not long after the Dorseys arrived, their brother-in-law came to visit from Maryland. It is not completely clear whether this brother-in-law was free or enslaved when this happened, but regardless, when he went back to Maryland, he told Thomas Solers where they were, and Solers sent slave catchers after them. Under the US Constitution and under federal law, escaping to a free state did not confer freedom on an enslaved person, so people could be caught and returned to their enslavers or enslaved elsewhere at any time.
7:57 Holly Frey? Charles and William Dorsey were sent to New Jersey to try to keep them safe. Thomas Dorsey was captured, but Purvis and some of the other friends he'd made raised $1,000 to purchase his freedom. Basil was captured as well, and this turned into a lengthy saga for him. First, he was jailed, and Purvis hired a well-respected lawyer to represent him. When they went to court, Solers agreed on a price for Basil Dorsey's freedom. But then he kept raising that agreed-upon price, infuriating Basil and leading him to say he would cut his own throat in the courthouse rather than return to slavery. Basil was ultimately freed on a technicality when the prosecutor wasn't able to prove
8:41 Holly Frey? that he was actually enslaved under Maryland law. Once he was released, the Dorsey brothers' friends rallied around him to protect him as he moved farther north. And eventually, his wife and children also joined him from Maryland.
8:56 Tracy V. Wilson? After this whole experience, Robert Purvis helped found the Vigilant Association of Philadelphia, which was an aid and protection society for people who were escaping from bondage. Other people who were active in the Vigilant Association included James Fortin, who we covered on the show in 2020, and Thomas Dorsey. Today, Purvis is known for his work as an abolitionist, as well as his work with the Vigilant Association and the Underground Railroad, and it's believed that he helped thousands of people liberate themselves from enslavement.
9:31 Holly Frey? Although his brothers had moved on, Thomas Dorsey remained in Philadelphia after this. According to W. E. B. Du Bois's book, "The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study," in 1837, there were about 10,500 Black people in Philadelphia, and only about 350 of them worked in trades. Even fewer Black people were in what we would think of as white-collar jobs, and many of those were the first Black person in that field in Philadelphia, and they worked almost exclusively within Black communities. As we said earlier, almost everyone else was doing manual labor or domestic work. The only other occupations that were generally more open to Black workers were barbering
10:16 Holly Frey? and hairdressing and shoemaking. Initially, and for the next several years, Thomas Dorsey worked as a shoemaker.
10:23 Tracy V. Wilson? He also got married to Louise Tobias, and their son, William Henry Dorsey, was born on October 23rd, 1837. Of course, we'll be talking about him more in a bit. They eventually had two daughters as well. They were named Sarah and Mary Louise. In the early 1840s, Thomas Dorsey changed fields and he started working as a waiter. Service occupations were another field that was becoming more open to black workers, in part because white visitors from the South expected black people to be in those roles. And by about 1860, he had started his own business, and we'll get into that after a sponsor break.
11:07 Speaker 03 First thought is like, wow, how are we going to do all this?
11:10 Tracy V. Wilson? Hey, everybody. It's Tracy from Stuff You Missed in History Class. That's Alan Goya, a planning engineer at AT&T. He's talking about Intuit Dome, home of the Los Angeles Clippers, where every seat, screen, phone, and transaction is connected with AT&T fiber and 5G, defining the fan's experience. And Alan's master plan made it all possible.
11:31 Speaker 03 It was going to rival anything that was already built, and that takes quite a bit of people and different teams to all be on the same page.
11:38 Tracy V. Wilson? That includes field services manager Drexel Jones. His team made sure it all came together and held up on game day.
11:45 Speaker 04 Through what Alan's whole crew designed, we connected the event visitors to the world.
11:51 Tracy V. Wilson? And after years of hard work and collaboration, it was opening night.
11:54 Speaker 04 To actually see the whole stadium light up and data is flowing is a beautiful thing.
11:59 Speaker 03 With the fan's experience, it's incredible. It gave me a lot of pride.
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12:43 Tracy V. Wilson? You can add to your system as you need to with things like extra cameras or motion sensors. Some life decisions are hard, but thanks to ADT Blue, And DIY trusted ADT home security in a snap. Head to ADT.com/BLU to build your system today. And to hear more about home protection than the other grown up topics, check out new episodes of Grown Up Stuff on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
13:15 Holly Frey? We've all done it. Tumble down an internet rabbit hole trying to self diagnose. And sometimes doing our own research can leave us more anxious than informed. Your feed is packed with wellness trends telling you to cold plunge, protein max, detox, track your sleep. But what's actually real? What's exaggerated? What's just wrong? That's exactly what Health Versus Hype from the American Medical Association and iHeart Media's Ruby Studio is here to find out. Each episode, Emmy nominated science communicator Trace Dominguez, who's racked up billions of views across PBS, Discovery Channel, and YouTube, talks to doctors, influencers, and real people trying these trends.
13:57 Holly Frey? Not to cancel them, not to hype them more, but to actually understand them. Because when it comes to your health, who you listen to matters. Start asking better questions and listen to Health Versus Hype on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
14:18 Holly Frey? A rare disease diagnosis can change your life, but it doesn't have to define your future. Tune in for season seven of Untold Stories: Life with a Severe Autoimmune Condition, a Ruby Studio production in partnership with Argenx. Hosted by public health and policy expert Dr. Martine Hackett, Untold Stories: Life with a Severe Autoimmune Condition pushes the conversation within the rare disease community forward. Featuring guests living with MG, CIDP, myositis, SMA, and other rare autoimmune conditions, each episode explores hope, progress, and connection. How does research create new opportunities? How do shared experiences help light the way forward? How do we best show up for each other?
15:03 Holly Frey? Tune in to find out. Listen on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
15:19 Tracy V. Wilson? When Thomas J. Dorsey started his own business sometime around 1860, it was as a caterer. Preparing and serving food was, of course, something that was already associated with Black workers, both free and enslaved throughout much of the United States. Catering as an industry was also a new development in the US and one that was overwhelmingly the work of Black people who had carved out their own niche in food service.
15:50 Holly Frey? When we say it was a new development, there have obviously been workers preparing and serving food for big gatherings and other functions throughout history. There were servants, enslaved people, proprietors of inns and public houses, and others doing something like catering all around the world for thousands of years. And the word catering goes back to at least the 16th century. But in terms of catering as its own industry, the way we think of it today, that's seen as starting in Philadelphia in the 19th century.
16:25 Tracy V. Wilson? Before the word caterer came into use in this context, specifically meaning these kinds of professionals, they were sometimes called "public butlers." In the words of W. E. B. Du Bois, "As the butler or waiter in a private family arranged the meals and attended the family on ordinary occasions, so the public waiter came to serve different families in the same capacity at larger and more elaborate functions. He was the butler of the smart set, and his taste of hand and eye and palate set the fashion of the day. This functionary filled a unique place in a time when social circles were very exclusive,
17:06 Tracy V. Wilson? and the millionaire and the French cook had not yet arrived."
17:12 Holly Frey? Little is known about Philadelphia's earliest Black caterers. One of the first, if not the first, was Caesar Cranchel, who worked with two assistants to serve Sir William Howe and his army during the Revolutionary War. It's possible that Cranshaw catered the elaborate farewell party known as the Miskinza, which was thrown in Howe's honor on May 18, 1778, after he had resigned from his post and was returning home.
17:40 Tracy V. Wilson? Philadelphia's first caterer, whose work was more really well documented, was Robert Bogle, who was born in the mid 1770s and was enslaved from birth. Pennsylvania's Gradual Abolition Act was passed while he was still a child, and as an adult, he became a cook. From there, he built a business, providing and serving the food and drink for occasions like christenings, weddings, funerals, and other functions. He was also an undertaker, and he sometimes combined these services. So he would prepare the body of the deceased and conduct the funeral service, and then feed the assembled mourners afterward. Or he might conduct one person's funeral in the daytime and cater someone else's wedding or party that night.
18:25 Tracy V. Wilson? He is sometimes called the "Father of Catering."
18:29 Holly Frey? In the decades after Bogle established his business, black chefs and restaurateurs really cornered the market on catering in Philadelphia. W. E. B. Du Bois described it this way, quote, "It was at this time that there arose to prominence and power as remarkable a trade guild as ever ruled in a medieval city. It took complete leadership of the bewildered group of Negroes and led them steadily on to a degree of affluence, culture, and respect, such as had probably never been surpassed in the history of the Negro in America. This was the guild of the caterers, and its masters include names which have been household words in the city for 50 years: Bogle, Augustine, Prosser, Dorsey, Jones, and Minton."
19:15 Tracy V. Wilson? Du Bois went on to describe what an impact this industry had on Philadelphia's black community and the opportunities that were available to them. Quote, "The whole catering business, arising from an evolution shrewdly, persistently, and tastefully directed, transformed the Negro cook and waiter into the public caterer and restaurateur, and raised a crowd of underpaid menials to become a set of self-reliant, original businessmen, who amassed fortunes for themselves and won general respect for their people."
19:51 Holly Frey? Dorsey, in particular, really stood out, becoming one of the most sought after caterers in the city in a business that he ran from his home at 1231 Locust Street. DuBois described him as, quote, "the most unique character with little education, but great refinement of manner. He became a man of real weight in the community." In 1867, The Evening Telegraph called Dorsey "the prince of caterers." A later newspaper article about his son William described Thomas as being part of a triumvirate of caterers, the other two being Henry Jones and Henry Minton, that, quote, "might have been said to rule the social world of Philadelphia through its stomach."
20:34 Holly Frey? This article went on to say, quote, "Time was when lobster salad, chicken croquettes, deviled crab, and terrapin composed the edible display at every big Philadelphia gathering, and none of these dishes were thought to be perfectly prepared unless they came from the hand of one of the three men named." In DuBois's view of those three men, Dorsey was at the top.
20:56 Tracy V. Wilson? While building a business as a caterer, Dorsey continued to work as an abolitionist and an activist. He was friends with people like William Lloyd Garrison, Charles Sumner, and Frederick Douglass. Douglass's daughter Rosetta lived with the Dorseys while she was in Philadelphia. Dorsey was also one of the founders of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, along with Robert Purvis and Stephen Smith. He was one of the people who worked with John Brown as he planned his raid on Harper's Ferry, including hosting some of Brown's meetings at his home. We did an episode on John Brown's raid that ran as a Saturday classic on May 9, 2020.
21:38 Holly Frey? After Abraham Lincoln was elected president around the start of the US Civil War, Dorsey reportedly refused to cater a party that was being held by and for Democrats, saying, quote, "No, sir. I cannot serve a party that is disloyal to the government." He then pointed to a picture of Lincoln on the wall and said, quote, "And that's the government." Dorsey also helped recruit soldiers to fight for the United States during the war, and his wife Louise helped raise money and gather supplies for the war effort.
22:11 Tracy V. Wilson? After the Civil War, Dorsey teamed up with Stephen Smith and John Page to buy a hotel on Cape May in New Jersey called Banneker House, named after Benjamin Banneker. Our episode on Benjamin Banneker came out on June 10, 2013. When The Evening Telegraph reported on the hotel purchase, it also said, quote, "With Dorsey at the head, it cannot fail to become a popular resort." This was one of the only summer resorts for Black guests.
22:42 Holly Frey? Dorsey's career as a caterer made him one of the wealthiest and most prominent Black men in Philadelphia, and probably in the United States overall. But he still faced prejudice and bigotry because of his race. In 1865, he and his wife accompanied Frederick Douglass to Lincoln's second presidential inauguration, and Louise was Douglass's guest at the inaugural ball. In Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, he describes all his other friends as having found some excuse not to go with him because they were not willing to risk the indignity of being turned away. And police did try to turn them away. Douglass wound up basically dodging past them, and when he got to the president, Lincoln
23:26 Holly Frey? invited both of them into the East Room of the White House.
23:31 Tracy V. Wilson? There was a similar incident in 1871, when Dorsey tried to buy a ticket to a ball that was being held in honor of Grand Duke Alexei Alexanderovich of Russia. When Dorsey was refused because of his race, he wrote to the Grand Duke about it, saying in part, quote, "Denied access to your presence, I venture to thus pay you my respects. And I will add that, though a Grand Duke, I regard you as a much better Republican than those Americans who have, in my person, insulted a man on account of the accident of his complexion. The act would not be tolerated in Russia, and I believe you despise it, as does Thomas J. Dorsey, Philadelphia, December 1871."
24:16 Holly Frey? Dorsey's wealth allowed him to indulge his love of collecting, including books, artwork, and memorabilia. He made a museum in his home showcasing the work of Black writers, artists, and musicians, and preserving documents from Black history in Philadelphia and elsewhere.
24:34 Tracy V. Wilson? He died on February 17th, 1875. An obituary in the Philadelphia Press described him as someone who, quote, "gave character to any entertainment and presence was more essential than the honored guests." His death notice in the Philadelphia Inquirer read, quote, "Mr. Dorsey was extensively known in his business, even outside this city, and was also famed for his hearty encouragement and aid he extended to the antislavery clause. He leaves a widow and one son and a daughter."
25:09 Holly Frey? Some of his friends met in the wake of his death and drafted a set of resolutions that they published in the Philadelphia Inquirer, ending, quote, "resolved that in a long and varied life, he has given us a practical lesson in the most cardinal principle of our religious faith, which commands that we love our neighbor as ourselves and that his benevolent spirit, genial nature, and indomitable perseverance over life's barriers shall ever be handed down from time to time as aids to success."
25:39 Tracy V. Wilson? Thomas Dorsey owned multiple properties at the time of his death, and he left those to his family. He also had enough money to establish trusts that supported his descendants through the next two generations. None of them decided to go into the catering business, and by the end of the 19th century, that business was also on the decline. Of course, there were still plenty of caterers, but with the rise of luxury hotels that had their own in-house food service staff, there were just more options for hosting and arranging the food for big gatherings.
26:16 Holly Frey? Thomas Dorsey's wealth meant that his son, William, was able to pursue a fairly unique life in Philadelphia, and we're going to talk more about that after we have a sponsor break.
26:30 Holly Frey? We've all done it, tumble down an internet rabbit hole trying to self diagnose. And sometimes doing our own research can leave us more anxious than informed. Your feed is packed with wellness trends telling you to cold plunge, protein max, detox, track your sleep. But what's actually real? What's exaggerated? What's just wrong? That's exactly what Health vs. Hype from the American Medical Association and iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio is here to find out. Each episode, Emmy nominated science communicator Trace Dominguez, who's racked up billions of views across PBS, Discovery Channel, and YouTube, talks to doctors, influencers, and real people trying these trends.
27:12 Holly Frey? Not to cancel them, not to hype them more, but to actually understand them. Because when it comes to your health, who you listen to matters. Start asking better questions and listen to Health vs. Hype on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
27:33 Holly Frey? A rare disease diagnosis can change your life, but it doesn't have to define your future. Tune in for season seven of Untold Stories: Life with a Severe Autoimmune Condition, a Ruby Studio production in partnership with Argenx. Hosted by public health and policy expert Dr. Martine Hackett, Untold Stories: Life with a Severe Autoimmune Condition pushes the conversation within the rare disease community forward. Featuring guests living with MG, CIDP, myositis, SMA, and other rare autoimmune conditions, each episode explores hope, progress, and connection. How does research create new opportunities? How do shared experiences help light the way forward? How do we best show up for each other?
28:18 Holly Frey? Tune in to find out. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
28:31 Speaker 05 That sound? That's the National Squash League. Pro teams, the world's best players, and rallies so fast you'll forget to breathe. Season four is in full swing, and every match streams free on YouTube. Big hits, bigger rivalries, and a front row seat from wherever you are. Watch every match for free on YouTube. Search National Squash League and hit subscribe or follow live updates on Instagram at nsl.sport.
29:00 Speaker 06 Hey, it's Niall Rogers, host of Before the Moment, a Lincoln original series. I'm driving across the country, meeting some of today's most fascinating artists. We're exploring the stories before the moment that changed everything. This week, I'm joined by breakout singer-songwriter Alex Warren.
29:20 Speaker 07 To this day, Ordinary would not have done anything, and I would have not been able to put it out if Book Talk didn't back it up and if my wife and her friend didn't back it up.
29:28 Speaker 06 Amazing.
29:29 Speaker 07 Pretty crazy how, like, just one thing.
29:32 Speaker 06 Right.
29:32 Speaker 07 I mean, I bet we could point to nine different things in our careers where it's just one thing. All of a sudden, if that one thing didn't happen, then I wouldn't be here.
29:39 Speaker 06 What you're talking about right now is what I've been talking about since the beginning of my career. There's these things outside of you that make everything happen. These other forces somehow came into contact with each other and helped propel you to this place.
29:57 Speaker 07 It's just insane.
29:58 Speaker 06 Experience Before the Moment, a Lincoln original series on the iHeartRadio app, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
30:13 Tracy V. Wilson? As we said earlier, William Henry Dorsey was born on October 23, 1837.
30:20 Tracy V. Wilson? We don't have a ton of detail about his early life, but as he was growing up, his family became increasingly affluent and prominent. We do know that he went to the Institute for Colored Youth, which was established by Quakers before the Civil War. When Dorsey attended, this institute was open to boys and men, and it became coeducational in 1866. It later evolved into Cheney University, which still exists today.
30:47 Holly Frey? In 1859, when they were both 22 years old, William married Virginia Cashin. According to the book William Dorsey's Philadelphia and Ours by Roger Lane, William traveled to Savannah, Georgia for the wedding and brought Virginia back with him. This would have meant an incredibly dangerous journey, not just to a slave state, but into the deep South and back. But there is also a marriage notice in a Philadelphia newspaper that suggests the marriage happened there, and it's known that at least some other members of Virginia's family had moved to Philadelphia in 1856, including her mother and her brother Herschel.
31:29 Holly Frey? We don't really know how William and Virginia met, but it might have been through Herschel.
31:34 Tracy V. Wilson? At the start of this marriage, the couple lived with several members of Virginia's family before eventually moving into a home of their own. Virginia was a dressmaker, and she and William went on to have six surviving children together. They remained married until 1890. The details are fuzzy, but she moved out at that point and started describing herself as a widow.
31:57 Holly Frey? Dorsey was a self-taught artist, mainly painting in watercolors and oils. He also became a civil servant, starting with being appointed as a personal messenger to Mayor William Stokely in 1872. Dorsey was 35 at that time. This was apparently his first steady job that paid regular wages. Stokely's successor, Samuel King, later appointed him turnkey at Central Station.
32:25 Holly Frey? Regardless of what else he was doing, though, Dorsey always listed himself as an artist in the city directory. He seems to have persisted at this, even though there wasn't a huge market for his work among patrons of any race, and he never showed his work outside of exhibitions for black artists.
32:44 Tracy V. Wilson? As we said before the break, Dorsey's father, Thomas, established a trust for his descendants in the last years of his life. And after his death in 1875, William inherited money and property. He was able to live pretty comfortably and really spend most of his time focusing on his art and his collections, building on collections that his father had left to him.
33:07 Holly Frey? Over the years that followed, Dorsey turned the top floor of his home at 206 Dean Street into a museum. In 1874, his friend, LPM Watkins, visited and published a piece about the museum in Frederick Douglass's newspaper, The New National Era. Watkins wrote, quote, "To the lover of art, the admirer of rare curiosities, or the antiquarian, the collection of Mr. Dorsey would alike afford delight." He describes the museum as having collections of coins, minerals, weapons such as axes and battle axes, and of course, artwork.
33:44 Tracy V. Wilson? From there, this piece went on to say, quote, "The collection of books and pamphlets published by and concerning colored men and women, the music by colored composers, the number of steel and copper plate engravings of eminent Negroes, and photographs, autograph letters, autographs and facsimiles of men prominent in our race is very extensive, interesting, and valuable."
34:11 Holly Frey? Dorsey's collection of books and manuscripts included the work of so many people that we have covered on the show before, including the works of Ignatius Sancho in two volumes, an edition of Phyllis Wheatley's poems, The Letters of Sojourner Truth, works by Alexandre Dumas, Paire et Fils, and the autobiographies of Frederick Douglass. Dorsey also had portraits of prominent black people, including Shakespearean actor and playwright Ira Aldridge. There were also paintings and sculptures by black and white artists alike, and a framed letter written from Senator Charles Sumner to Dorsey's father.
34:49 Tracy V. Wilson? In 1896, a reporter from the Philadelphia Times visited the museum and described it this way, quote, "Three rooms are divided and subdivided, filled with shelves and tables, until pendant from the very ceilings hang rare and beautiful objects, all with histories. Carefully covered from the dust by glass cases are the most precious, each properly labeled, each in its own separate compartment. And the order and condition of the whole collection is something not only to be marveled at, but is as model to anyone having similar tastes."
35:27 Holly Frey? It was, in the reporter's words, quote, "Probably the most remarkable little museum in the country. Every inch of the walls was covered with art, except the parts that were covered with shelves full of books, quote, 'with scrupulous neatness and systematically arranged.'"
35:44 Tracy V. Wilson? So these books might be what Dorsey is best known for today. Those are his scrapbooks. In a profile on him in the Philadelphia Times, which was also published in 1896, he said of this scrapbook project, quote, "It has been my continual aim, as I have journeyed along, to gather every fragment of published matter concerning the colored race. I have spared neither time nor money in prosecuting this hobby, you may call it if you wish, and the fruits of my labor are beginning to show. Naturally, in all these years, I have been an enthusiast in garnering anything and everything that had to me an intrinsic value, but the most careful work and the best results I have here."
36:28 Holly Frey? Dorsey went on to say, quote, "Nothing of importance has escaped me, as I am a subscriber and reader of the more important books and magazines. While I seldom preserve any data in its original state, you will find it cut out and placed in its proper position." I have not made any history. I have simply collated and to anyone wishing to write an essay or a volume upon the history or progress of the colored race in the 19th century, I have here material that cannot be duplicated elsewhere. My portraits, books, and letters are simply priceless, and nothing gives me more pleasure than to show and explain them to anyone feeling sufficient interest in them to visit me.
37:10 Tracy V. Wilson? Dorsey created these scrapbooks by methodically clipping articles from newspapers, magazines, and other publications. Many of these publications were black-owned, but he also included works by white publishers, and sometimes he would juxtapose the coverage about the same subject from multiple perspectives. So that meant, as kind of a hypothetical example, the the white press's coverage of an incident of racial violence, which often tended to be racist in its characterization of the black victims, could be placed adjacent to the coverage of that same incident that was written from a black point of view.
37:50 Holly Frey? He pasted his clippings into existing volumes, including printed books and wallpaper sample books. Each book was devoted to a particular topic, with the material inside arranged approximately by date. Dorsey carefully wrote in the date each item was published, and sometimes other information as well.
38:11 Tracy V. Wilson? With these scrapbooks, Dorsey was intentionally creating a record of black life and black achievement in Philadelphia and elsewhere. He also had clippings related to other subjects, including indigenous North American and Pacific Island cultures and histories. He created almost 400 scrapbooks totaling more than 30,000 pages, and some of the publications that he clipped from are incredibly rare or even nonexistent today.
38:42 Tracy V. Wilson? Also, as we alluded to in those quotes that we read, he tried to share this collection of knowledge with other people. For example, W. E. B. Du Bois used the scrapbooks as a major source for his book, The Philadelphia Negro, which was published in 1899, which we read from earlier on in the episode.
39:02 Holly Frey? Beyond that, Dorsey also collected whole manuscripts, compiling nearly 1,000 folders full of publications and correspondence from Black people and people of other races who supported equal rights. He also conducted interviews with people who were more than 100 years old about the momentous historical events that they had lived through, including the American Revolution and the Civil War.
39:27 Tracy V. Wilson? Dorsey was not the only person who was doing stuff like this. He was part of a community of Black collectors and chroniclers and self-taught curators and activists who were documenting a part of history that the white academic establishment was mostly ignoring. In 1897, many of these folks came together and formed the American Negro Historical Society. Dorsey was one of the founders and was also named its custodian.
39:55 Holly Frey? Little is known about the last decades of William Henry Dorsey's life. His last scrapbook entry was in 1907. He died about 15 years after that, on January 9, 1923, at the age of 85.
40:11 Tracy V. Wilson? The American Negro Historical Society dissolved in the years after his death. Most of its other prominent members had already died, and the society had become largely inactive in the early 20th century. Its holdings were donated to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in 1934.
40:32 Holly Frey? Most of Dorsey's collections seem to have been scattered and lost in the years after his death, with the exception of his scrapbooks. These eventually became part of the collections at Cheney University, which, as we said earlier, had evolved from his alma mater. Exactly how they got into the Cheney University collection is not Completely clear. There's one story about a janitor rescuing them from the trash ahead of a major restoration project in the campus building where they were being stored. But it's very possible that's apocryphal or embellished. There are also some materials in the collection of Merlin Spingarn Research Center at Howard University, donated by Ruth L. Ramsey, widow of James Ramsey, great-great-grandson of Thomas Dorsey.
41:18 Tracy V. Wilson? Today, while these scrapbooks are part of the Cheney University Archives and Special Collections, they are housed at Penn State. More than half of them have been transferred onto microfilm. Apparently, the funding for that project ran out before it was complete. According to a 2021 article in The Atlantic, this collection is kind of in limbo. Obviously, a collection of 388 scrapbooks takes up a lot of space. And while they were being kept in acid-free containers at Cheney University, there really, really wasn't a lot of room or good climate control to help preserve them there. This transfer to Penn State
41:59 Tracy V. Wilson? was initially meant to be for 150 days for an archiving project, but that 150 days is long past. At Penn State, these scrapbooks are protected from heat and cold and moisture. They're still in acid-free boxes, but it's not clear when or whether there will be funding to digitize the remaining volumes, or whether they will return to Cheney University.
42:25 Holly Frey? Do you also have listener mail for us today?
42:28 Tracy V. Wilson? I do. I have listener mail that is from Tara. And I'm not going to read 100% of it, but I'm going to read a big chunk of it. Tara wrote, "Hi, ladies. I've waited a long time to send this email, procrastinating for quite literally years. I initially was going to write, 'When your episode about the 6888 came out in 2019, I put it off, and then actually met you both at the Denver show later that year. Most recently, when you released an episode on actuaries, I almost ran to the computer to email you. That is what my first degree is in. Thank you, Georgia State. Again, that ADHD procrastination waylaid the best of intentions."
43:09 Tracy V. Wilson? In 2019, my father's friend shared an article on Facebook about a new monument that was dedicated to the 6888. Out of curiosity, my father read the article, which led him to the website for the monument. As he read through the names on the monument, he was shocked to see his mother's name. Although we had long known she served in the Army during World War II, her service photo is attached, we had no idea about this connection to history. She passed along stories of her ride in the boats and that one of the sailors, a captain, told them, once they saw the White Cliffs of Dover, they would know they were safe. My father is currently on a waitlist to have his Wish of a Lifetime, AARP's Make-A-Wish
43:53 Tracy V. Wilson? for Seniors, granted to go see the White Cliffs. She also talked about being out and about somewhere and children would come up to her and rub her skin to see if the color came off. Based on these stories, she was not offended, but rather amused. That is really the extent of what has been relayed to me. This email goes on to talk about the bill that was passed for the 6888 to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, and I think an upcoming ceremony related to that. And then Tara in 2019 worked with an artist to commission a figurine of this grandmother.
44:36 Tracy V. Wilson? And there's the pictures, there's a lot of pictures attached to this email. So we've got pictures of Tara's grandmother, a really lovely service picture, and then a painting that was based on that photograph, which is really lovely, and a figurine of Tara's grandmother in uniform saluting. I love really all of this. Also, there's another figurine, as we move into the pet pictures, of Tara's dog Artemis, because we did get pet pictures to go along with this also. What cute puppy dogs.
45:20 Tracy V. Wilson? So the dogs in the picture are Artemis, who is a white corgi Chihuahua Doxy mix and likes to stand on her hind legs a lot. And the other is Tara's daughter's dog Venus.
45:36 Tracy V. Wilson? Thank you so much, Tara, for this email. I love this story so much. I got choked up a little bit at this idea of just reading the list of names and realizing that you're related to somebody on that list. Yeah. I think it is really lovely that you have tried so hard to honor your grandmother. I didn't get into detail about the parts about upcoming ceremony because I'm not actually sure at this moment that it is like, I couldn't find public announcements about it. So I didn't want to get into detail about that without knowing if those announcements are public news at this point. It will be later after it's happened, I'm sure. So, thank
46:19 Tracy V. Wilson? you so much again, Tara, for sharing this story and all of these lovely pictures. If you would like to send us a note about this or any other podcast, we're at [email protected] . And you can subscribe to our show on the iHeartRadio app and wherever else you like to get your podcasts.
46:43 Tracy V. Wilson? Stuff You Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
46:57 Holly Frey? A rare disease diagnosis can change your life, but it doesn't have to define your future. In season seven of Untold Stories: Life with a Severe Autoimmune Condition, host Martine Hackett continues the conversation with people living with MG, CIDP, and the broader rare disease community, exploring what comes after diagnosis through stories of hope, progress, and connection. Produced by Ruby Studio in partnership with Argenx. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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48:06 Speaker 05 That sound? That's pro squash. Some of the fastest rallies in sport played inches from the crowd. The National Squash League is back in full swing for season four. The sport is heading to the 2028 Olympics for the first time, and you can see it up close right now in a city near you. Watch every match for free on YouTube. Search National Squash League and hit subscribe or follow live updates on Instagram at nsl.sport.
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