Children’s Tea Party with Delia Webster

Press Release January 27, 2024)

Children’s Tea Party with Delia Webster

“Celebrating Black History Month”

February 17, 2024, 11:00 a.m.

Oldham County History Center
Rob Morris Chapel, 207 West Jefferson

Join our tea party with special guest Delia Webster as she describes etiquette and life during the Antebellum years. Delia was a strong abolitionist and Underground Railroad Conductor whose life was jeopardized many times as she helped freedom seekers escape from their enslavement. Delia will tell her story how “tea” saved her life from a raiding party that sought to carry her off to the Trimble County jail.

Delia Ann Webster was the first white woman to be jailed in the Kentucky penitentiary for her part

in aiding the enslaved Lewis Hayden family in their escape to Canada in 1844. Delia Webster and Reverend Calvin Fairbank made national headlines when they were convicted in Lexington, Kentucky, for ‘stealing’ slaves. After serving only six-weeks of her two-year prison sentence (Calvin

served almost 5 years for his part) Delia continued her mission as a Freedom Seeker on her 600-acre farm in Trimble County, Kentucky, even though she was jailed several more times, banished from her beloved home-stead, and hounded for years by an ardent admirer, Kentucky Penitentiary Warden, Newton Craig.

In a time when women were expected to be pious, submissive, and domestic, Delia fought for the rights and freedom of enslaved persons in the antebellum South, standing shoulder to shoulder with some of the most influential men and women of the 19th Century. Her story is one of resilience, intrigue, and unrequited passion in a decades-long plot for revenge. In 1996, Delia was honored in the Kentucky Capitol exhibit as one of the Kentucky Women Remembered. A highway marker in Trimble County, KY was established to honor her as the “Petticoat Abolitionist.”

Participants will learn proper 19th Century etiquette with hands on activities and special treats. Join us as we celebrate Black History month and learn about life before the Civil War in Kentucky!

Cost: $15 per participant. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Register by calling:

The Oldham County History Center, 106 N. Second Ave., LaGrange KY 40031 502.222.0826, info@oldhamkyhistory.com www.oldhamkyhistory.mkyhistory.com Instagram oldhamkyhistory

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