When you think of slavery’s role in American history, Maine is probably not the first state that comes to mind. Yet Maine was bitterly divided over slavery, and her citizens played key roles in supporting and undermining the institution.

On February 6, at 5:30 p.m., Old Bristol Historical Society, in collaboration with Lincoln County Historical Association, will host a Zoom presentation with local author Carol Gardner. She will discuss her forthcoming book, The Divided North: Black and White Families in the Age of Slavery, which traces two Maine families, one Black and one White, as they navigate the turbulent nineteenth century.

Mark your calendar and register for this free presentation at www.lincolncountyhistory.org/event/carol-gardner

The Divided North chronicles the lives of two Maine families: the Rubys who were well-known anti-slavery activists and Underground Railroad operatives and the Gordons who were prominent ship masters—among them the only American executed for participating in the transatlantic slave trade. The experiences of these families reveal what it meant to live in a free state during the age of slavery.

Carol Gardner earned a Ph. D. in English from The Johns Hopkins University and taught at Johns Hopkins, Wake Forest and Florida State Universities. She has published fiction and nonfiction in a wide variety of books and periodicals, and is the author of the 2019 narrative history, The Involuntary American: A Scottish Prisoner’s Journey to the New World. She lives in Alna, Maine.