Today in Wheeling History: September 22--Frederick Douglass, the renowned abolitionist and speaker, was the esteemed guest of honor at Wheeling's Emancipation Day celebration (1884). Douglass delivered a speech at the Opera House, introduced by Dr. Boswell H. Stillyard, the first African American to be elected to Wheeling's city council.
The African American community in West Virginia and other states marked September 22nd as "Emancipation Day," even though West Virginia, which had joined the Union in 1863, had not seen slaves freed by Lincoln's executive order. The chosen date coincided with the so-called preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, announced on September 22, 1862, with the official order following on January 1, 1863. (https://tinyurl.com/5677mvtb) (https://tinyurl.com/3h4ke2ee)
The African American community in West Virginia and other states marked September 22nd as "Emancipation Day," even though West Virginia, which had joined the Union in 1863, had not seen slaves freed by Lincoln's executive order. The chosen date coincided with the so-called preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, announced on September 22, 1862, with the official order following on January 1, 1863. (https://tinyurl.com/5677mvtb) (https://tinyurl.com/3h4ke2ee)
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