Bushel, 106 Main Street, Delhi, will present a talk by Diane Ciccone who will discuss her research into the life of her great-great-grandfather Toliver Holmes Thursday, Aug. 17, from 5–6 p.m.
Buried in the Woodland Cemetery in Delhi, Holmes was born into slavery, walked to his own freedom, enlisted as a soldier in the Civil War, and became a husband, farmer, and respected member of his community.
A Q&A will follow Ciccone’s talk. Afterwards, attendees are welcome to take walk to Woodland Cemetery to visit the gravesite of Toliver Holmes. Co-sponsored by Bushel and the Friends of Woodland Cemetery, this program is free and open to the public.
Ciccone’s research on Holmes has come to life in her cousin Kyle Bass’s play Toliver & Wakeman, currently being performed at the Franklin Stage Company franklinstagecompany.org through Aug. 20. Ciccone, a lawyer, serves as an administrative law judge and has always found African American history important and inspiring. She is writing a book on her earliest known ancestor, Lill, who was enslaved in Connecticut during the Revolutionary War.
