A Note from: Harry Bradshaw Matthews

As you walk across Frisbee field, you might want to enter Yager Hall and observe for a minute the names identifying spaces. Glance to the left and you will see John Christopher’s Café, honoring the namesake of the founder of Hartwick College. Glancing straight ahead you will see the names Stevens-German Library, reflecting the respective married surnames of two sisters whose maiden names were Helena Pruyn and Sarah Pruyn. The sisters were generous financial donors to the College. Allow your eyes to next turn to the right and travel a short distance to glance at the Slade Theatre. It is the namesake of Professor Lillian A. Slade, the cousin of the Pruyn sisters. According to the Library’s website, “All three women were the descendants of Mr. Sherman Winslow Slade upon whose property Willard Yager found many artifacts now in The Yager Museum’s Upper Susquehanna Indigenous Collection.” And finally, you will next see the Harry Bradshaw Matthews Belonging Center, named for the former Associate Dean and founding director of the Office of Intercultural Affairs from 2016-2020.

Having a curious mind as a historiographic genealogist, I was surprised to learn of the family relationships between the Pruyn sisters and their cousin Lillian Slade, and further, that all three were the descendants of Sherman Winslow Slade. Clarity was gained from Sherman’s obituary. He was born in 1825 in Meredith, NY, Delaware County. During 1832, he relocated to Oneonta with his father, James Slade. Sherman became a land owner in 1848, with a profitable farm on the South Side, Oneonta. According to the 1875 Census for Oneonta, Sherman’s wife was Sarah Ann (Mickel) Slade; the couple had four children, including James R. and John, E.C. Slade and Mrs. Van B. Pruyn, whose maiden name was Jennie Slade. Her father, Sherman, died in 1900 and was buried at the Riverside Cemetery in Oneonta.

Jennie’s husband’s full name was Cornelius Van Buren Pruyn (1857-1944). His obituary indicated that he was buried in the Oneonta Plains Cemetery. The couple’s two children were Helen Pruyn Stevens (1891-1991) and Sarah (Mrs. Henry German), whose life span extended from 1903-1994.

A very interesting discovery was learning that James Slade had a close friendship with David Yager, both of whom were elected Deacons during 1833 for the newly established First Baptist Church of Oneonta. Just as interesting was learning that along with many members surnamed Yager, Smith and Babcock were the admittance of Eliakim Reed Ford’s family in 1834. Until the final church structure was built in 1835, the Baptist congregation worshiped at the First Presbyterian Church. Also notable was that James Slade and E.R. Ford were brothers-in-laws via the marriage between James Slade and Samantha (Ford) Slade (1801-1875). (The Oneonta Historical Souvenir, 1896).

The abovementioned Willard E. Yager (1855-1929) was the son of David J. and Emogene Shephard Yager. He was prominently educated at Phillips-Exeter Academy, Cornell University and Harvard Law School. His greatest passion was practicing in American archeology, with a focus upon the culture of American Indians. Upon his death, he was interred at the Riverside Cemetery.

As I continued the research, I became curious about the supportive relationship between congregants of the First Baptist Church and the First Presbyterian Church, particularly since I had previously documented anti-slavery support at the latter. The thought prompted me to ask myself, “Does Hartwick College have the key to unlock the mystery of where Frederick Douglass spoke in 1857?” Could the answer be connected to the alliance between the Slade-Ford-Yager families and their religious affiliation?

A logical thought became, “if there were connections between all of the abovementioned, could there also be a common ground reference that also connects with the earlier research efforts by Harry Bradshaw Matthews?” As I pondered the latter I became interested in knowing how these early events in Hartwick’s history spoke to the concept of Belonging. I found it in the bits and pieces of the era of the anti-slavery movement and the Underground Railroad. I learned that in 1837 a radical group of members of the Hartwick Synod broke off and established the Franckean Synod with one of its most important goals being to “wipe slavery from the face of the earth.” One of its most important congregations by 1841 was in Oneonta. It was there that the Franckean Congregation joined with the Free Will Baptist Congregation of the Oneonta Plains as a federation in jointly building a structure for their respective worship and anti-slavery advocacy. So, it seems reasonable that the federation extended to include both the First Presbyterian Church and the First Baptist Church of Oneonta, in which documented evidence identified additional anti-slavery advocacy.

Today, historical preservation in Oneonta remembers the local anti-slavery advocacy and its role in the Underground Railroad with a New York State Historical Marker honoring Eliakim Reed Ford. Further, a webinar detailing Oneonta’s involvement in the Underground Railroad was produced by the Southcentral Regional Library Council (SCRLC) for YouTube viewing. In addition, the Greater Oneonta Historical Society will soon place a similar marker honoring the Riverside Cemetery that is behind the First Presbyterian Church on Main Street. There you will find the burial sites of many of the early leaders and their families. In addition, the Harry Bradshaw Matthews Belonging Center will continue to expose and communicate new findings, including Hartwick College’s continuing efforts with local preservation and remembrance of the historic visit of Frederick Douglass to Oneonta in 1857.