Sunday, July 3, 2016

Not a lot of reading, but books still beget books

I haven't managed much reading in the last couple of weeks - at least of books. Instead, I have been reading though paperwork. After many years of apartment living, I finally decided it was time to buy a house. I was lucky enough to find one that I liked - and not just because of its built-in bookcases. Things have moved more quickly that I thought possible. It doesn't seem quite real, despite the thick stacks of contracts and loan documents and association covenants that I am carting around. Yesterday I received a 58-page inspection report, which made me realize how much I have to learn about the care and upkeep of a house.

People keep asking if I am excited, and I'm not, yet - I'm anxious and unsettled. And I haven't even started packing, though a friend has collected boxes for me. Normally, I would turn to some comforting books for distraction, like the Little House stories. (At least I don't have to pack everything into a covered wagon to move to a sod shanty.) Or Georgette Heyer, where servants efficiently move families between London and their country estates. Instead, I inched my way, a few distracted pages at a time, through a biography of Harriet Tubman and the autobiography of Elizabeth Keckley.

Reading about Harriet Tubman made me want to learn more about the Underground Railroad. Catherine Clinton, author of the biography, wrote about other prominent "conductors" and "abductors," including Tubman's "great comrade and benefactor" William Still. The child of a fugitive slave mother, Still became the central agent of the UGRR in Philadelphia,
the primary mover and shaker, spending much of his career risking jail and sheltering fugitives. He also kept a remarkable record of the stories of those who passed through his station from 1852 onward. His notes were hidden away in a cemetery until after the Civil War. Finally, in 1872, the publication of Still's manuscript provided the most detailed record of the inner workings of the Underground Railroad. This volume offers a black eyewitness to these extensive operations and amazing tales.
After reading that, I put in a request for his book, via interlibrary loan. It's a big fat volume, almost 800 pages. William Still originally began documenting his "passengers" to help families torn apart, by sale or other forced separations, to find each other again. The first account is of his own brother Peter, whom their mother had to leave behind in slavery when she made her escape. Neither brother knew who the other was, when they first met forty years later. William afterward helped Peter buy the freedom of his own wife and children, left behind in turn.

Because their work violated the national fugitive slave laws, most of the workers on the UGRR were careful not to leave any incriminating evidence around. Many of the fugitives they helped couldn't read or write. So very few records of this work survive, and that makes William Still's book unique. The stories are amazing, and heart-breaking, and enraging, in turn.

It can't be coincidence that I had already found this in the new books bin at the library:


I'm sure eventually I'll need to take a break from history, for something lighter, but for now I am happily riding the rails.

15 comments:

  1. Congratulations on the house (and the built-in bookcases - I dream of those). You sound so calm about the moving - may that last all through the packing! The lovely thing about packing books, of course, is that one rediscovers so many things, has to sit down and read them, forgets the packing... ;-) Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I feel relatively calm about the packing because I've done that often enough (always with more books than I unpacked movung in). It's the house-buying that is so unfamiliar and anxiety-inducing!

      Delete
  2. Congratulations on the new home, and a new home with built in bookcases deserves double congratulation. When life gets too stressful just think about how much fun you will have arranging books on them after you move in.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Arranging books is such a happy thing :) And I think this means I can get rid of some of the old sagging bookcases that I've had too long.

      Delete
  3. Good luck with the move. I'm glad you have some good books to see you through...and that your new house has built-in bookcases! That's so awesome; I'm a little jealous. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The bookcases really caught my eye, when I was looking over the listings my realtor sent.

      I hope I haven't jinxed anything, because we haven't signed the final papers yet :) But I'd be moving anyway, due to issues with this apartment.

      Delete
  4. Whoa, congrats on buying a house! I don't blame you for being nervous, but I know the house will be wonderful once you're all set in it. Can I hope that you'll post pictures of the built-in bookshelves once you've got all your books unpacked and installed on them? Can that happen? Pretty please?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh definitely - I love posting pictures of bookshelves, and seeing other people's. Mine wouldn't be as impressive as Thomas @ Hogglestock, though - it's not a whole library. Though by the time I moved my own bookcases in too, it might feel more that way :)

      Delete
  5. How exciting! Yet, I completely understand about the anxiety - I think that is why I've resisted buying a house myself. I hope that everything goes smoothly and that you'll be enjoying those built in book shelves soon.
    I love how books can lead you into more paths of curiosity than you'd ever thought you'd be interested in. William Still's work sounds fascinating.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a major reason I haven't bought before - also the convenience of renting, with someone else responsible for repairs, and being able to walk away from a bad place. Such a commitment here :) I keep wondering what my cats will do, with two floors to romp around in.

      Delete
    2. And I love the book trails too! Starting out here, with one book, which leads to another & another - and seeing where you end up.

      Delete
  6. It is quite scary buying a house, especially the first time. That's great news about the bookcases though, we had to leave our lovely built in ones behind when we moved a couple of years ago, we still have boxes of books in the garage. Good luck with everything.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's been a very unsettling month. I can't believe how much information I have to give people - the bank now knows more about me than most of my family does! I just keep telling myself it will be worth it in the end.

      Delete
  7. Congratulations! That's very exciting...show us pictures!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I tried to take some pictures during the inspection, but I was distracted and they all came out blurry!

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to read, and to comment. I always enjoy hearing different points of view about the books I am reading, even if we disagree!