Monthly Meeting

We welcome Dr. James Delle, who will lead a discussion on significant findings from his archaeological excavation of a Lancaster County property once owned by Lydia Hamilton Smith, a free African American woman best known as the longtime housekeeper and close confidante of Thaddeus Stevens. The presentation explores material evidence connected to Smith’s life and legacy, offering new insights into African American property ownership, abolitionist networks, and daily life during the Civil War and Reconstruction eras.

James Delle, PhD, is Vice President and Dean of the College of Graduate Studies and Associate Provost for Academic Administration at Millersville University of Pennsylvania. An historical archaeologist, Dr. Delle has written extensively on the archaeology and architectural heritage of the African Diaspora in North America and the Caribbean and is the author of three scholarly books and numerous peer-reviewed articles on the material realities of slavery. He has directed archaeological projects in the Caribbean…