When Dr. Carla Peterson began her research that eventually shaped itself into a groundbreaking history,

not only of one African-American family in 19th century New York, but ultimately, of many,

she had very little with which to begin.

As with many of us trying to reconstruct the lives, realities,

and contributions of our ancestors, she had a single name and some bits of family lore.

Over the months and years that followed, she began the painstaking process of discovering

what was true and what had developed over time into a family mythology.

She spent hours and days in archives, libraries, and cemeteries, and in doing so, she

discovered a whole new story. What emerged was the story of a black elite in New York City beginning in the 1830s and 40s

that expanded and ran up into the years of the famed Gilded Age.

It was a story of communities of color that included an educated professional cosmopolitan class

that contributed profoundly to the economic and social structure of the city and America.

But it was a story that given certain factors and realities had been lost. It was little documented

and in many standard sources was not even told. But Dr. Peterson's work on her own family history opened an opportunity

to reestablish the parameters of the narrative of 19th century history, including the Gilded Age.

Without understanding the story and perspective, her work revealed, we have only part of the story.

Dr. Carla Peterson's distinguished work paved the way for additional scholars and historians

to illuminate long-forgotten history and to add richness to the canvas.

The Gilded Age in general is a story we thought we mostly knew, and many prominent names

have become familiar to us.

But we now find it's a story, at least parts of which we barely knew at all.

Thank you. Hello, I'm Carl Raymond, the host of the Gilded Gentleman History podcast where every two weeks we journey into corners light and dark

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