On Tuesday, February 4, Leslie Anderson will deliver an Overbeck History Lecture on the remarkable life of Michael Shiner, a freed slave who worked at the Washington Navy Yard, rose to prominence in the Capitol Hill community, and kept a diary from 1813 to 1869.
Shiner's eyewitness accounts are a goldmine of information on neighborhood events, ranging from fires, epidemics and industrial accidents to visits to the Navy Yard by several presidents. He also describes individual families, churches and businesses in his vibrant working-class community.
A genealogist and author, Leslie Anderson serves as reference librarian in the special collections branch of the Alexandria Public Library and has conducted extensive research on Shiner and his diary.
The Overbeck Lectures are an initiative of the Capitol Hill Community Foundation. Please remember CHCF in your charitable giving.
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