Sep 28, 2022
David Heighway is back to talk to us about the untold story of Pete Smith. Pete was a free Black man living in Hamilton County, IN in 1820. He found himself being captured and taken into enslavement in Kentucky. We explore how his life interesected with Conner Prairie and William Conner, as well as how his story has not been told and what the next steps are for sharing it.
David Heighway:
You can find more about Hamilton East Public Library’s work in history (County Historian David Heighway’s organization) here: https://www.hepl.lib.in.us/indiana-room/
Order your copy of David’s book “Hidden History of Hamilton County, Indiana” here: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467150170
Sources:
David Heighway. “The Mystery of Noblesville’s First Settler: Pete Smith,” Hamilton East Public Library. Accessed at: https://www.hepl.lib.in.us/the-mystery-of-noblesvilles-first-settler-pete-smith/.
Jeannie Regan-Dinius, “With Bodily Force and Violence: The Escape of Peter,” Indiana Historical Bureau, 2005 (State of Indiana, 2022).