Portland Public Library

The first Black archaeologist, a life of John Wesley Gilbert, John W.I. Lee

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 349-395) and index

individual biography

mapsillustrations

index present

non fiction

The first Black archaeologist

bibliography

1241732573

John W.I. Lee

a life of John Wesley Gilbert

This is a biography of John Wesley Gilbert, a man famous as 'the first black archaeologist.' The text uses previously unstudied sources to reveal the triumphs and challenges of an overlooked pioneer in American archaeology"The boy was determined to write. It was Monday, the first of May, 1871, and he had come with his mother to open an account at the Augusta, Georgia branch of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company. The clerk opened his account register and took down the new customer's information. Age: 7. Residence: corner Center and Telfair Streets-- just two blocks from the bank office on Broad Street. Occupation: Go to school to Miss Chesnut. Father: Tom Dasher. Mother: Sarah Dasher. Uncles: Gabriel, Simon, Jim, William, John, in that order. Then, as he usually did with young or illiterate patrons, the clerk wrote the boy's name on the signature line, added the notation "his mark," and offered the page for an X. The boy, however, insisted on signing for himself. He ran out of space on his first try but succeeded on his second. The register (Figure 1.1) still survives today in the National Archives in Washington, DC, bearing a shaky but legible signature: Wesley Gilbert"--, Provided by publisher

Introduction: Out of the ashes -- Nursed in the arms of poverty -- This young man deserves special mention -- Nothing less than glorious -- The American school -- No stone unturned -- The Demes of Athens -- Excavating Eretria -- A humble worker in the Colored ranks -- Mutombo Katshi -- The old veteran -- Conclusion: Enduring spirit

1st Black archeologistLife of John Wesley Gilbert