HVI’s Spring Membership Meeting

Join us for our Spring Membership Meeting in the Vienna Town Hall council chambers.
Our feature presentation is “Uncovering Hidden Histories in Southeast Vienna: Finding Escaped Enslaved Sarah Ann Brown“. Learn about the unsolved mystery of Sarah Ann, an enslaved woman owned by the Follin family in Vienna, VA.  On January 30, 1850, when 23 years-old and pregnant, Sarah Ann escaped with her 7-year old daughter.
Featured speaker is Annabelle Spencer, M.A. student in History and Graduate Research Assistant for the Center for Mason Legacies, GMU.

Who was Sarah Ann? How did she escape? Where could she have gone? What happened to her children?

Her never been told before story uncovers fascinating history about the underground railroad, abolitionist activities both local and throughout the northeast, the Follin plantation (present site of Our Lady of Good Counsel and surrounding area), their families and their extended relatives. Pertinent information from historical documents such as wills, property inventories, real estate and census records, legal documents, deeds and contracts, and generational family legacies all add to this newly uncovered, fascinating story of one missing person right here in Vienna.    
Free event. No registration necessary.