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Hello!
I know we haven't posted in a while but we would like to announce that we have been invited to talk on a Humanities Council podcast called Before Your Time. Check it out here: https://www.beforeyourtime.org/princes-and-free-men/ There are other people who are speaking on the podcast so if you don't want to listen to the other speakers you will have to skip forward. Thank you all! Gabby and Esme
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Hello Readers!
The Alexander Twilight Girls will be presenting at Wednesday, October 2, 2019 at the Blake Memorial Library in East Corinth, Vermont! The presentation will start at 5:00 p.m. Come join us to learn more about this driven man and highly educated scholar. To learn more, click HERE. We look forward to seeing you there! The Alexander Twilight Girls We started our research on Twilight in September, 2017, about six months before we were going to present at Vermont History Day. We started building our board in January after we felt confident that we had enough information and primary sources.
We presented with our first draft of our board at the Athenaeum in St. Johnsbury, VT as our practice round for Vermont History Day. After presenting, we realized we wanted to make some changes to our board. Then, once we had revised, we came out with our final product which is the one we ended up presenting with. Presenting at VT History Day was amazing. We talked to three judges while they filled out some sheets for feedback which they sent to us after Vermont History Day. The feedback was very helpful for adjusting our board and how we worded things for National History Day. Nationals, held in Maryland, was also an exceptional learning experience. We stayed in a dorm with the rest of the competitors from Vermont. During Nationals, we were selected to present at the Smithsonian Museum of American History to represent Vermont in Washington, DC. Later, about a month after going to Nationals we were honored to be the first kids to ever present at Boston History Camp. For this, we created a slide presentation that we continue to present with and make edits to. Throughout this journey with Alexander Twilight we learned how to present in front of curious audiences, how to gather information and piece it all together to create a whole project, and we learned that through history, you can connect all sorts of events and movements with the time period in which one person lived. Thank you so much for all your support! Alexander Twilight Girls, Old Stone House Museum Associates To give you more context about the time period in which Twilight lived, we decided to provide some background information.
In 1777, Vermont passed a law against slavery. However, this did not completely end racial tensions in Vermont. Even though slavery was illegal, people could still find their way around the law. The law stated that an African American woman could be kept in slavery until she turned 18 and, for men, it was until 21. Many slave owners found legal loopholes such as claiming that the slave owed them money. The idea that, at any moment, you could be kidnapped from your home was scary. African Americans often tried to keep low profiles in hopes not to be noticed by any slave traders. Conflicts were close to home. In fact, only miles away in Canaan, New Hampshire, an integrated school called Noyes Academy was ripped off its foundation and dragged blocks away by angry townspeople. Alexander Twilight probably heard of this hateful act. What if this had happened to his school? What if the townspeople had found out he was African American? Would they have acted out? What do you think? Let us know in the comments. Alexander Twilight Girls, Old Stone House Museum Associates Alexander was an exceptional teacher and a great role model for his students. When we were researching his effects on his students, we needed some primary sources, so we visited the Old Stone House Museum. There, we were shown a quote from one of his students.
“But who could ever forget him… That pursy, rotund form, the inevitable calico gown, the bronzed yet mirth-provoking face, the jest-loving propensity, the perennial fun, sometimes breaking out in the midst of the school room, the abrupt, contagious but quiet laugh.” This quote came from one of his students, E. A. Stewart, when he was asked to describe Twilight on August 30, 1888. This quote clearly shows his students love him and they have a trustworthy friendship. So we’ve already established that Alexander had a strong relationship with his students. The question is: did he tell them about his heritage? We have no way of knowing for sure, but we do suspect they may have known because, in the quote, the student described him as “bronzed” and “swarthy”. This is not usually a term you would use for a white man. Alexander Twilight Girls, Old Stone House Museum Associates  This week, there was an article in The Caledonian Record about removing slavery from the Constitution. We definitely recommend reading the article for more information. This may come as a surprise to many because not a lot of people know that slavery is still written in.
In 1777, Vermont became the first state to abolish adult slavery. However, even though slavery was “illegal”, it wasn't fully written out of the Constitution. There are still references to it that send the wrong message about African Americans. The Constitution states that no one older than 21 shall be kept as a slave unless they are legally bound to the owner or “by law for the payment of debts, damages, fines, costs, or the like.” Now, slavery has been completely abolished in Vermont. But, in today’s world, things are rapidly changing and the fight for equality is becoming stronger. This year, the Vermont government has the opportunity to vote on changing the Constitution and taking any references to slavery out. However, this raises a question. Should they make it so that the Constitution has no trace of slavery. It would make our state much more appealing to people of African American heritage. Let us know how you feel about this tough decision in the comments! Thank you! Alexander Twilight Girls, Old Stone House Museum Associates  Racial discrimination is an ongoing issue in the United States. Fortunately, there are people who are willing to risk everything to make a difference in the world. Throughout the years, there have been people who crossed racial boundaries. We now believe Alexander Twilight was one of those courageous, progressive people. We have been researching Alexander Twilight thoroughly for over a year. We spent about five months, under the instruction of Jennifer Manwell, preparing to display an exhibit at Vermont History Day. As a result, we earned the opportunity to compete at the national level in Washington D.C. We also wrote an essay to procure a spot for our exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History for a day. Next, we were asked to present at Boston History Camp to a room filled with history lovers. This opportunity allowed us to share the story of Alexander Twilight with the city of Boston and the many people who came from various states. We are scheduled to present at the Old Stone House Museum on April 26th to celebrate volunteers in the community. We also have been asked to present at the Ryegate and Corinth Historical Societies in the upcoming season. When we began studying Twilight, we expected his life to be ordinary; he went to college and became a school teacher. However, as we dove into our research, we uncovered many questions we wanted answered. What was Twilight's true legacy? Why did he start appearing as white in the census records? Why did his father disappear? The Old Stone House Museum staff provided us with primary sources including census records, newspaper clippings, a painted rendition of Twilight, and the only existing tintype photo. Twilight became known as the first African American to graduate from an American college. Of course, at the time, it is probable that the college was unaware that he was not white since his skin was so light. We discovered that, when Twilight applied to Middlebury College, he was no longer categorized in census reports as African American. In fact, Middlebury had a policy not to admit African Americans. According to Michael T. Hahn, in his book “Alexander Twilight: Vermont’s African American Pioneer”, a number of African American men, who applied not long after Twilight, were rejected on those terms. We also believe that when he joined the State Legislature, they would not have permitted him to serve if they knew he was black. He overcame so many obstacles in his young life in order to succeed so markedly as a scholar and teacher. He needed to be driven, determined, and persistent in order to be creative enough to escape the poverty of his rural location, his indentured servitude which started at age eight, and others’ biases toward people with African American heritage. Twilight's legacy still lives on today. He left an impact on us and how we perceive the world, giving us new insight into racial issues. We now can better identify racist comments and can stop ourselves from accidentally disparaging people affected by delicate issues. We learn new things about Twilight weekly and, as we continue to examine his life, we discover facts we can use to create an ongoing debate. Is it okay to ignore your race in order to reach your goals? Were Twilight’s students aware he was African American and would it have mattered to them? People usually take their right to an education for granted, but, after researching Twilight’s struggles in being able to receive schooling, we looked at our own education with fresh eyes. We love sharing the story of Alexander Twilight because he played such a crucial role in our history. We encourage others to check out our blog, and we hope his story will affect our readers in the same important ways getting to know Twilight affected us. Thank you! Alexander Twilight Girls, Old Stone House Museum Associates This article was published in The Caladonian Record, The Newport Daily Express, and The Barton Chronicle. We thank the Old Stone House Museum for providing us with many primary sources. We would also like to thank our teacher Jennifer Manwell because we never could have come this far in our research without her. We continue to study Twilight’s life and his time period. Also, if you have any additional questions or comments, please contact us at alexandertwilightgirls@gmail.com In 1855, Alexander had a stroke which left him partially paralyzed. He lived for two more years then died in 1857. His legacy lives on today. The dormitory he built in 1836, a four story building with the help of an ox, which still stands today. He was the first African American to graduate from an American college and the first in a state legislature. He helped educate hundreds of students by giving them the schooling he always desired.
Thank you! Alexander Twilight Girls Alexander Twilight met his future wife Mercy Merrill in Peru, New York while he was searching for a teaching job. They got married in 1826. We can assume Mercy’s family was very comfortable because Mercy came with a big dowry, which is believed to have helped Alexander in paying for some of the land for the dormitory.
We believe that Mercy was white because of her family’s high social stature, and her listings in the census records. The Merrill family probably wouldn't have wanted their white daughter to marry an African American man, but maybe they never knew that he was actually African American. We’re unsure if Mercy ever found out he was of African American descent. They spent the rest of their lives together and they had no children. Thank you! Alexander Twilight Girls Middlebury College is a Vermont college located in Middlebury, Vermont. Middlebury is about 70 miles Northwest of Dartmouth. It was founded in 1800 by Gamaliel Painter. Middlebury became the first operating college in Vermont and it is now educating over 2,500 undergraduates. Middlebury’s claim to fame is that they graduated the first African American: Alexander Twilight.
Alexander Twilight was accepted into Middlebury in 1821 but, since Middlebury had a policy against African Americans, he had to pretend he was a white man. We believe the reason he graduated was because they thought he was white. Years later, they claimed they graduated the first black man in America, even though they probably had no idea that he was African American at the time. Let us know how you feel about Middlebury’s claim in the comments. Alexander Twilight Girls |
AuthorsGabrielle and Esme have been researching Twilight thoroughly for three years. They started off working on their Vermont History presentation and eventually ended up, more recently, presenting at Boston History Camp in Boston, Mass. Archives
December 2019
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