Putnam History Museum to Screen Film on Slave Trade in the North May 11

Filmmaker discovers ancestors were largest slave-trading family in U.S. history

On Friday, May 11, starting at 5 p.m., the Putnam History Museum will screen Traces of the Trade: A Story From the Deep North, a documentary in which filmmaker Katrina Browne discovers that her New England ancestors were the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. She and her nine cousins, including James DeWolf Perry, retrace the Triangle Trade, bringing them face to face with the history and legacy of the North’s “hidden enterprise.”

DeWolf Perry was the principal historical consultant on Traces of the Trade, which led to him receiving an Emmy Award nomination. He is also the executive director of the Tracing Center on Histories and Legacies of Slavery. DeWolf Perry is making a dedicated trip from Cambridge, Mass., to present the film to residents of the Hudson Valley.

There will only be 45 seats available for this event, and tickets are $15 per seat. For members, tickets purchased on or before May 3 will be sold at a reduced rate of $10 per seat. To purchase tickets and RSVP, call 845-265-4010 or email [email protected]. The museum is located at 63 Chestnut St. in Cold Spring.

Local educators and the public are welcome to attend an Interpreting Northern Slavery workshop on May 10, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz; the cost will be $25. This event is co-sponsored by Historic Huguenot Street and Teaching the Hudson Valley.