Nokes Book Blog
Stay current on articles, notes and appearances.
Reuben Shipley honored in Philomath, Oregon
Former slave Reuben Shipley was honored on April 30, 2022, at Mount Union Cemetery near Philomath, Oregon, where he and his family are buried. Shipley was honored by the DAR for donating the land for a cemetery for both Blacks and whites. He also successfully sought...
The Oregonian: New historic plaque honors legacy of formerly enslaved couple who helped found Benton County
By Peter Sleeth and R. Gregory Nokes | For The Oregonian/OregonLive A tribute to Reuben Shipley, who was brought across the Oregon Trail as an enslaved man in 1853, but wound up a well-to-do farmer and founding citizen of Benton County, will be unveiled this weekend...
New book tells the stories of 3 Oregonians considered iconoclasts in their times
By Amy Wang, The Oregonian/Oregon Live — Jesse Applegate, a white 19th-century emigrant to Oregon, worked to keep slavery from becoming established in Oregon. Abigail Scott Duniway was a leading voice in advocating for women’s rights, particularly at the ballot box....
News-Register: Applegate left imprint on Oregon’s history
Elected to Oregon’s pre-statehood provisional government in 1845, Jesse Applegate helped write some of Oregon’s first laws. But it was the issue of slavery where he made perhaps his biggest contribution to shaping the future Oregon.
A New History of Three Nearly Forgotten Oregonians: Abigail Scott Duniway, Richard Neuberger, Jesse Applegate
What made Applegate, Duniway and Neuberger “eminent” was they knew they had to convince their fellow Oregonians of ideas most did not yet believe. Book Review by Matt Buckingham Willamette Week November 03, 2021 at 5:30 am PDT Six years before a young John F. Kennedy...
Fort George Brewery will host discussion on ‘Eminent Oregonians’ Wednesday
ASTORIA — Fort George Brewery will host an in-person discussion of the recently released book, “Eminent Oregonians” Wednesday evening. The event is scheduled to take place in the Lovell Showroom. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the event will begin at 7 p.m. The book focuses...
Freedom in the Balance
Most Oregonians today are probably unaware of how close Oregon came to becoming a slave state.
Slavery was intensely debated at Oregon’s Constitutional Convention in 1857. In fact, it was the overriding issue facing the 60 delegates gathered in the old wood-frame Marion County Courthouse in Salem.
Nokes speaks at Cannon Beach NW Authors Series
March 20th’s NW Authors Series program is ready to view online. Author, journalist, and historian R. Gregory Nokes discussed the history of slavery in early Oregon.
Nokes makes Black History Month presentation on Breaking Chains
https://youtu.be/dCgV95oQu9Y