Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites

The Levi and Catharine Coffin State Historic Site is hosting a series of programs as part of Indiana Humanities One State/One Story program. Hoosiers are invited to engage deeply with a book as part of a statewide conversation tied to our current times. In 2024, Dr. Tiya Miles’ book “All That She Carried” will be featured.

“All That She Carried” chronicles Miles’ work in interpreting an object passed down through an enslaved Black family. Known as “Ashley’s Sack,” this object was created by an enslaved woman known as Rose facing the sale of her daughter Ashley. “All That She Carried” focuses on understanding why Rose felt it was important to give her daughter such an item, and how it was viewed by later generations of the family after emancipation.

The Levi and Catharine Coffin State Historic Site will tie “All That She Carried” to Wayne County, Indiana’s own stories of freedom-seekers pursuing a life of freedom in the years before emancipation. Participants can also dive into preserving their own family stories and objects.

Program registration is required and available by clicking below or calling the site at 765.847.1691. Participants must register for each program in this three-program series. Participants may register for one, two, or all three programs.

WILLIAM BUSH’S JOURNEY TO FREEDOM PRESENTATION
Levi and Catharine Coffin State Historic Site
201 U.S. 27 North, Fountain City, IN 47341

Join Levi and Catharine Coffin State Historic Site volunteer Eileen Baker-Wall as she uses an object from her family to tell the story of her great-great grandfather William Bush. Bush, a freedom-seeker who escaped enslavement, came to Fountain City in the 1840s where he became a business and landowner and was known as the “captain” of the Underground Railroad efforts in town. Site Manager Joanna Hahn will provide participants with connections between the story of William Bush and Tiya Miles’ book “All That She Carried.”

Price: $5/person; 25% discount for members

Learn more about the other two programs in this series:

PRESERVING FAMILY HISTORY WORKSHOP

“ALL THAT SHE CARRIED” BOOK DISCUSSION

These programs have been made possible through a grant from Indiana Humanities in cooperation with the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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