Virginia Consortium of Early Americanists

The third annual conference of the Virginia Consortium of Early Americanists meets this coming Saturday, January 28, at the Library of Virginia in Richmond. All are welcome.

Founded in 2014 in order to provide a forum for the wealth of scholarship focused on early American history in Virginia, the group meets at least once a year. Graduate students are strongly encouraged to participate.

Saturday’s program opens at 10:00 with welcoming remarks from Karin Wulf, Director of the Omohundro Institute, and John Kneebone, Chair of the Department of History at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), followed by a presentation on “Early American Resources at the Library of Virginia” by Gregg Kimball, Director of Public Services and Outreach for the Library.

Session 1 then begins at 11:10 with a Lightning Round featuring presentations by Mary Draper (University of Virginia), Ana Edwards (VCU), Melissa Gismondi (UVA), Steve Harris-Scott (George Mason University), Alex Humes (UVA), Ryan Smith (VCU), Hannah Tucker (UVA), Spencer Wells (William & Mary), and Holly White (W&M).

Session 2 starts at 1:15, after a group lunch. Jim Ambuske and Loren Moulds, both from the University of Virginia, will present “Recovering Hidden Histories of Early America with the Scottish Court of Session Records Digital Archive” and Susan Perdue of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities will present “The Patrick Henry Digital Edition.”

Afternoon presentations include

Hugh Roberts (University of Kent), “‘Running Wild in the Recess of Government’: Patronage and Partisan Politics in the Mississippi Territory, 1798-1801”

Alyssa Penick (University of Michigan), “‘To Attend the Sick Belonging to the Parish’: Established Religion and Public Healthcare in Colonial Virginia”

Amanda White Gibson (William & Mary), “African American Credit Use in the Early National Period”

The day will close with a networking session and then Happy Hour at Penny Lane Pub in Richmond. For more information or to register, please contact Ryan Smith.