October 2009 in beautiful Raleigh, North Carolina, gave Society for the History of Discoveries (SHD) members a great opportunity to hear numerous presentations on geographic discoveries, explorations, regional history, and cartographic history as well as attend delicious dinners and receptions, special tours, and experience the southern charm of the capital of North Carolina. From October 10-13, Raleigh was THE place to be if you were interested in geographic explorations and discoveries.
Following the Lawson events, SHD met on Saturday, October 10 – Tuesday, October 13 at 1:00 PM. SHD members arriving early and wanting a taste of local culture and sites had an opportunity to attend a pre-conference “Welcome to Raleigh” BBQ dinner sponsored by the North Caroliniana Society (thanks H. G. Jones!) on Saturday, October 10 at 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the historic State Capitol Building, only three blocks from the Clarion Hotel. More local history was explored on the preconference Tar Heels and Tobacco Tour on Sunday, October 11. The opening dinner was held at the North Carolina Museum of History later that evening. The SHD paper sessions began on Monday, October 12, and concluded at mid-day on Tuesday, October 13. The paper sessions were at the Museum of History, only four blocks from the meeting hotel.
COMBINED PROGRAM
SHD members were encouraged to arrive early and attend all of the meetings and activities discussed above. Like last year’s meeting in Arlington, Texas, there was much to do, people with different interests to talk with, and engaging presentations to hear. There were registration fees associated with the various meetings.
John Lawson Tercentenary Symposium and Exhibition October 9-10
E. Thomson Shields Jr. is Associate Professor of English at East Carolina University where he also teaches North Carolina Studies. A specialist in early American literature, he directs the Roanoke Colonies Research Office and co-edited Searching for the Roanoke Colonies.
Perry Mathewes is Education Program Manager at Norfolk Botanical Garden. Formerly Curator of Gardens at Tryon Palace Historic Sites and Gardens in New Bern, he researches historic gardens in the coastal Carolinas and Virginia.
John Hairr is Manager of the House in the Horseshoe State Historic Site. Author of Great Hurricanes of North Carolina and Col. David Fanning: the Adventures of a Carolina Loyalist, he is a frequent contributor to Our State.
Kathy O. McGill teaches history at George Mason University. She takes a particular interest in travel and migration in the eighteenth century. Her dissertation concerned British national identity and America.
Marcus Simpson Jr. is Vice-chairman of the Department of Pathology and Director of Clinical Laboratories at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. He has published widely on topics ranging from blood transfusion to natural history.
Society for the History of Discoveries October 10-13
Saturday, October 10. “Welcome to Raleigh.” 5:30-7:30 p.m. The North Caroliniana Society (H. G. Jones, longtime SHD member, is the secretary) invited all SHD members to attend a “Welcome to Raleigh” event at the State Capitol on the evening of Saturday, Oct. 10, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The informal dinner featured the best of Eastern North Carolina style barbecue , provided by Wilber’s of Goldsboro , including slaw, potatoes, hush puppies, and iced tea. This was the first chance to mingle that weekend and a chance to tour the 1840 North Carolina State Capitol, 1 East Edenton Street, which is just three blocks from the Clarion Hotel. The dinner was sponsored by the North Caroliniana Society thanks to Dr. Jones.
Sunday, October 11. Tar Heels and Tobacco Tour (Optional Tour). 9:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. On Sunday, participants traveled by motor coach west from Raleigh about 25 miles to Durham County, and visited four sites, all tied to the theme of tobacco, the pernicious weed so long vital to the economy of North Carolina. Our day started at Stagville, the largest antebellum plantation in the state, home in 1860 to 900 slaves on 30,000 acres. Today, the 71-acre complex has four rare surviving slave houses and the largest agricultural building of its day in the state, the “Great Barn,” in addition to the owner’s house. At mid-day we moved to the former headquarters of American Tobacco Company, once the world’s largest tobacco company, the site of which recently has been transformed into an office park and downtown destination. At Tyler’s we had lunch and heard speakers describe the heyday of tobacco manufacture. After lunch we moved to Duke Homestead, home to Washington Duke and the starting point for the Duke legacy. His son James Buchanan (“Buck”) Duke founded American Tobacco and, through a gift in 1924, transformed tiny Trinity College into Duke University. Duke Homestead includes the family home, agricultural buildings, and a museum. We ended our day at the Duke campus. Given the emphasis on Duke, the Dukes, and Durham, perhaps Blue Devils and Tobacco would be a better title for our tour!
Sunday Evening, October 11. Opening Reception and Dinner at the North Carolina Museum of History. 6:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m. The Museum is located between the State Capitol Building and the Legislative Building at 5 East Edenton Street. The main entrance faces the Bicentennial Plaza pedestrian mall that links Jones and Edenton Streets.
Monday, October 12.
SHD Paper Sessions and Annual Business Meeting. 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Sessions were held in the Daniels Auditorium on the first floor of the Museum.
8:15 - 9:00
Pick Up Packets/Continental Breakfast
9:00 - 9:15
Welcome and Opening Remarks
9:15 - 9:45
Paper 1
Dan Terkla (read by Ron Fritze) “The Duchy of Cornwall and Hereford Mappaemundi: Heritage, Patronage, and Commemoration”
9:45 - 10:45
Papers 2 & 3
Sanford H. Bederman “The Rev. Charles New: Nineteenth Century Missionary in Eastern Equatorial Africa”
Mylynka Kilgore “Alexine Tinne: Nineteenth-Century “Lady Traveller” or African Explorer?”
10:45 - 11:00
Break
11:00 - noon
Papers 4 & 5
Phillip Evans, Eric Klingelhofer, and Nicholas Luccketti “Roanoke after Raleigh”
Jim Matthews ”The Place of Memory in Un Francais en Virginie”
Noon - 1:30
Lunch on one’s own
1:30 - 2:30
Papers 6 & 7
David Buisseret “The Sad Fate of Joseph Bannistre, Pirate, 1687”
Mark Wilde-Ramsing “Underwater Investigations at Blackbeard’s Flagship Queen Anne’s Revenge”
2:30 - 3:15
Paper 8
Panel Discussion, “The Society for the History of Discoveries: Its First 50 Years” Chaired by Tom Sander, president, including Norman J. W. Thrower and other SHD Members
3:15 - 3:30
Break
3:30 - 4:30
Papers 9 & 10
Donald D. Hogarth “La Peyrère's map of the Northwest and its Consequences” Ann M. Ortiz “Allegorical Appropriation and Improvisation in the Relacion [of Cabeza de Vaca]”
4:30 - 5:15
Annual SHD Business Meeting with the Membership
Monday Evening, October 12.
SHD Annual Banquet. 6:30-9:00 p.m. Clarion Hotel, Top of the Tower Room, 20th floor.
Keynote Address Paper 11
Louis De Vorsey “The Role of Native American Maps in the Discovery and Exploration of North America”
Tuesday, October 13.
SHD Paper Sessions continued. Daniels Auditorium on the first floor of the Museum.
8:15 - 9:00
Continental Breakfast
9:00 - 10:00
Papers 12 & 13
Anthony Paez Mullan “Demarigny’s Map of the Lower Mississippi Valley (1743) in the Context of French Presence and Expansion in Southeast North America” Gene Rhea Tucker “Lasalle, the Mississippi, and the Historians”
10:00 - 10:30
Paper 14
Roberta Williams “Bird’s Eye Views of North Carolina”
10:30 - 10:45
Break
10:45 - 11:45
Papers 15 & 16
Lauren Beck “Discovering Islam in the New World: Sixteenth-Century Representations” Anne Good “Marvels and Pleasing Thoughts: Practicing Natural History at the Cape of Good Hope, ca. 1740”
11:45-12:15
Paper 17
Arne Molander “How William C. Coker can solve the Columbus Landfall Question”
12:15-12:30
Closing Remarks
12:30
End
Call for Papers/Paper Sessions
The SHD Paper Sessions were planned by the Scholarly Activities/Program Committee chaired by Ron Fritze.
Hotels/Meals/Tour/Registration
Hotels: The meeting hotel will be the Clarion Hotel State Capital located at 320 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Meals: Registration included the October 11 evening reception and dinner at the Museum, snacks and munchies before and between sessions on October 12-13, and the SHD Annual Dinner on October 12.
