Lecture: The American Revolution of Hunterdon’s Private Jacob Francis

Free and open to the public!

Historian and author Larry Kidder is the guest speaker at the Hunterdon County Historical Society’s library talk on Wednesday, June 20, @ 6:30 p.m. The lecture will be held at the Society’s headquarters, 114 Main Street in Flemington.

The evening lecture will discuss the fascinating life of Jacob Francis born in 1754 in Amwell Township. Mr. Kidder has been researching the life of Jacob for several years and has accessed the materials in the Society’s manuscript collections to help tell his story. Jacob Francis, a freed black man, had his time as an indentured servant sold to several different people before he enlisted in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He married a woman who was enslaved in Hunterdon County and purchased her freedom. The historic details of his life and times in the 18th century were difficult to research. Learn how Mr. Kidder conducted his research and how the story unfolded.

Larry Kidder taught high school history for forty years and has been a volunteer interpreter and historian for Howell Living History Farm in Hopewell, New Jersey for thirty years. He is a member of the Washington Crossing American Revolutionary War Round Table, the Association for Living History, Farm, and Agricultural Museums, and serves on the New Jersey Living History Advisory Council and the Crossroads of the American Revolution Advisory Council. An author and frequent speaker, he has published several books on the American Revolution.

The talk is free and will last about 45 minutes, followed by questions. For more information, call 908-782-1091.

Read more about it at American Revolution Private Jacob Francis.