Did you catch last night's "Black History Quest" on Albert and Mary Ann Bayless, with Kylie Pine from the Mill?
It was fascinating!
Here are four moments, but you should just check out the whole.
Pine located a reference to an early shop at the new Police Station site. She wondered if the archeological investigation that preceded construction turned up any relevant discoveries. Her tone suggested the Bayless site was not known about before the dig and that there is not yet a final report on the dig's findings.
 |
| Early shop at site of Police Station |
Other evidence located a shop one block east on High Street, so there some uncertainty on this.
Maybe there will be more information and certainty later.Reverend Obed Dickinson celebrated the Bayless marriage and that's another sign he really needs more attention in Salem history. There were other names in the document to follow up on also.
 |
| Marriage Certificate signed by Rev. Obed Dickinson |
She also located the Bayless house and shop on the edge of Piety Hill, the current location of the State Revenue building. (North is basically on the right, so rotate the map 90 degrees left for North to be at the top.)
 |
| House and shop on Marion & Summer Streets |
And she was able to propose an identification for a Black fireman in a 1913 photograph.
 |
| Identifying a Black Fireman in 1913 |
There were tons of other details and discoveries, of course, and also more questions. We'll return to some of them later - and hopefully Pine will, too.
The whole thing, again, is worth a watch. The Bayless family was more involved in Salem history than our establishment, consensus history has indicated, and restoring some of what was erased or overlooked a fascinating and important project.
See previously here on some of the names and places Pine references, and drawing on her previous research:
No comments:
Post a Comment