They Had Names

African Americans in Early Records of Liberty County, Georgia

Toney: One Man’s Long Journey Through American Slavery

Presented by Dr. Scott Giltner, Professor of History, Culver-Stockton College, Canton Missouri

Dr. Giltner’s bio

VIRTUAL PRESENTATION (via ZOOM)

Toney spent the first 50 years of his life unfree. Evalina Dunham of Liberty County, Georgia, inherited him from James and Martha Carter. When she married noted Irish-born educator and minister James Shannon, Toney lived with him in Georgia, Lousiana, Kentucky, and Missouri between the late 1820s and his Emancipation in 1861. Looking at his life in those distinct contexts allows us to view Toney’s story not just as accompaniment to that of his so-called “master” but more importantly to better understand how antebellum slavery evolved over time and in different places.

Saturday, June 7, 2025 at 1 PM Eastern Time

Free and all are welcome. Registration required.