July 30 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
As part of its Portsmouth 250 celebration, we welcome author Jane Lancaster who will tell the story of Phebe, a Black/Narragansett woman born in Portsmouth, and her African-born husband, Arthur. Phebe worked for, and Arthur was enslaved by wealthy merchant and politician Metcalf Bowler. In the 1770s, the entire Bowler household—Black and white—moved from Newport to Bowler’s late father’s estate in Portsmouth. A former Speaker of the Rhode Island General Assembly, Bowler secretly spied for the British during the War for Independence. Lancaster has turned this story into a novel; Liberty is Sweet published by Stillwater Press.
Author Jane Lancaster, a historian with a Ph.D. from Brown University, has spent her career uncovering the stories of women, Black Americans, and ordinary people whose lives shaped history. An award-winning history teacher in both the United Kingdom and the United States, Lancaster has written extensively on local, women, and Black history before turning to historical fiction.
This talk is free and open to the public although donations are welcome.
Portsmouth Historical Society is located at 870 East Main Road and is handicap accessible.