Francis “Frank” Robinson (a.k.a. Roberson) was born to unknown parents about 1776, probably in Frederick County, Virginia. His mother, clearly, was enslaved because he was born into this institution. His last enslaver was James Wood, an immigrant from Winchester, England, who obtained a large grant of land in the Northern Neck of Virginia from Thomas Lord Fairfax.

A recent Perplexity.ai search led me to find letters written by one Samuel Bradley Wiggin, who had mentioed in one or more of the letters O.R. Singleton, the Mississippi lawyer, politician, plantation owner and slaveholder who signed Robert Jefferson’s freedom papers. A man who, despite serving in both the U.S. Congress and in the Confederate Congress, there seems to be little out there to find.

Several years ago, I read a biography of Miss Delia Ann Webster, an amazingly strong woman who was born and raised in Vermont, but moved south to become involved in anti-slavery activities from the 1840s through Emancipation. Recently, I read the only other biography about Webster that I could find.

On Tuesday, Jan. 6, 1880, the Indianapolis Journal, published 4,500-word essay on prominent Black citizens living in the Circle City....

For about three years, I've had somewhat of a love affair with a man who has been dead nearly 140 years. And yes, my husband knows all...