The site we were the most eager to see during our recent trip to New York was the Harriet Tubman Home, just a couple miles from the Seward House Museum. Fun fact: Harriet purchased the land around 1859 from Frances Seward, who was then the wife of a U.S. Senator from New York, William Seward. Frances had inherited the land & home the Seward family lived in from her father, Judge Elijah Miller, as her husband William helped pass a New York law in 1848 that allowed women to inherit property under certain conditions. While Frances would have given Harriet the land free of charge as they had both worked closely together as part of the Underground Railroad,, Harriet insisted on paying $1200 for a 7-acre parcel that included a small wooden farmhouse. Frances was actually breaking the law: The transfer of a land to a self-emancipated woman was illegal under the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act. Frances didn't care & took the risk anyway. She figured that due to her husband's status as a Senator, that no one would dare take action. And no one did.

For over 100 years, the AME Zion Church has been the guardian of this important historical site, and the work they've done & continue to do is incredibly impressive. There is a lot of confusion regarding their status with the National Parks Service (NPS); while they have a partnership of sorts, the AME Zion Church is the one doing all of the heavy lifting & they are the ones putting the time & money into the repair, upkeep, and most importantly, the almost daily tours they provide. While their partnership with the NPS is somewhat "frozen" while the new administration figures out funding, I can't state enough how much this site needs support from anyone willing & able to give it.

As a humble wedding videographer I certainly have no secret fortune to leave them, but all of us can help by signing up for one of their tours, which they perform twice daily, Tuesday through Saturday, at 10am and 2pm, for a very reasonable fee (under $20 per person). These tours are almost two hours long, but the time flies by and you'll be sad it's over so quickly. I guarantee you will learn things you never knew, and you'll be captivated by the storytelling. The first hour focuses on Harriet's story, and you do get to sit during this time. The house you're able to tour is the one Harriet's parents & siblings lived in, and eventually it became a home for the aged. Also on the property is the home Harriet lived in near the end of her life with her second husband, Nelson Davis, though it is currently in the middle of a long restoration. Not far from these two homes is the AME Zion Church, but because of the NPS issue, the church is unfortunately not open for tours at this time (May 2025). Harriet Tubman Davis is buried nearby at Fort Hill Cemetery.

Though the home you're able to tour does not have much that belonged to the family, the in-depth stories you will learn more than make up for the lack of family relics. It truly is a master class on Harriet & her life, and I cannot recommend it enough.

Stay tuned, for I'll be doing an in-depth video on Harriet, her life, and this site in the near future. If you don't want to miss it, please subscribe to my YouTube Channel (thecivilwarproject_tcwp) & hit the bell for notifications.

Though it's most notable resident was President Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of State William Seward, the entire Seward family left their mark on history, so it's fitting that the historical site I recently visited is called the Seward House Museum.

While William was off working in Albany as Governor, or in Washington D.C. as a NY Senator & later as Secretary of State, his wife Frances was using their Auburn home as part of the Underground Railroad. Daughter Fanny is responsible for the most complete diary of a young lady in Washington during the Civil War. Sons Augustus & Frederick were attacked at their father's D.C. home on April 14, 1865 by Lewis Powell, though his sole target was William Seward (Sr), who was given to him by John Wilkes Booth, who shot President Lincoln that same evening while at Ford's Theatre. Son William Jr. had a knack for money & banking, and would inherit the estate after both of his parents had died.

If you are looking to visit a home where more than 95% of the items belonged to the family, this is the house for you! Almost everything is original to the home & family, and with it's connection to the Underground Railroad, it makes it a must-see. This is my second visit, and in both tours (which often last around an hour or even more) I learned a great deal of information & walked away feeling like I knew the family personally. It's one of those historical sites where you learn something new every time.

I love the library, the shelves with Fanny Seward's book collection, the gallery of notables, and the green couch that William Seward passed away on. There are also a few relics from the assassination attempt. I would have loved to have spent some time in the garden, but there was a great deal of work going on so...next time!