I think most of you are familiar with my fictional heroine Wilma. I've been "writing" her story for several years, but am gathering momentum. Wilma is no longer a librarian, simply because I don't know anything about the workings of a library, except to check out books.
Wilma is now a legal secretary and that is something that I do know lots about. Not to worry, Wilma is still old and cranky. While letting my the "next great novel" sit around and gather computer dust, I've come up some new ideas.
I've done a lot of research lately for history in and around Baltimore. What I have found is very interesting. Baltimore was one of the stops on the Underground Railroad and slaves were apparently shuttled through tunnels to the harbor where they took ships to Canada.
There was also a freed slave, Trueman Pratt, who founded the Orchard Street Church in 1837 still stands today in Baltimore. The picture shows the building after restoration.. The church had been vandalized and stained glass windows, banisters and furnishings were removed possibly to be restoration projects for private individuals. I've put in a picture that is the original Charter Record of the original church in 1882-1883.
Constructed in 1882, this church is actually the third on the site dating back to 1837. It is a monument to the efforts of a former slave sometime between 1837 and 1840. The Orchard Street Church may have served as a hiding place for the Underground Railroad.
In the Business Directory published in 1842, the Orchard Street Church is listed under Methodist Churches. Also I've included the page for the Consensus of the United States in 1840. You will see, if you enlarge the page that there were over one million slaves in Baltimore in 1840. Doing the research and finding these statistics was eye opening for me.
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