Author Michael N. Henderson on Galvez, Rum, and Winning Freedom

Timed to coincide with America250 celebrations, author Michael N. Henderson will visit the Galvez Rum Tasting Room to share the story of his ancestor who fought for and gained her freedom years before America won its independence. 

While under Spanish rule, the Louisiana colony operated under a three-tiered social system that included enslaved Africans, free people of color, and Europeans. While the thirteen colonies fought for their independence from British rule while maintaining the system of slavery, Colonial Louisiana, under Spanish rule, offered several avenues to freedom for enslaved persons. One was Agnes Mathieu, Henderson's fourth-generation great-grandmother, who gained her freedom with the assistance of her French consort, and the stroke of the pen of Governor/General Bernardo de Gálvez.

Attendees will hear how Henderson uncovered the intersection between slavery and freedom in Spanish Colonial Louisiana during the American Revolution, and how his discoveries led him, a Louisiana native, to become the first African American member of the National Society, Sons of the American Revolution in Georgia.

4 pm reception with cocktails and light hors d'oeuvres, 5 pm author talk, at Galvez Rum Tasting Room & Gardens, 1848 Charter Street. Afterwards, Henderson will sign copies of his book. Got Proof! My Genealogical Journey Through the Use of Documentation.  galvezrum.com