>> DECADES OF T WRITERS -- WRIDERS MAY HAVE WONDERED WHO
IS ANDREW?
>> EVERYONE KNOWS HE IS AN ABOLITIONIST.
HE WINS BY WIDE MARGINS.
HE IS AN EXPERT ON JOHN ANDREW, WHO ALSO WAS ACE OVAL POLITICIAN
-- WHO ALSO WAS A SKILLFUL POLITICIAN.
JOHN ANDREW TURNS OUT TO BE A WHO KNEW ON TOP OF A WHO KNEW.
THE LAST TIME THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN DOWN, IT LED TO A
DISCOVERY.
PETER WILLIAMS, A PAINTER IN HIS OWN RIGHT HAS RESTORED MANY
SIGNIFICANT WORKS, INCLUDING THE PHOTO OF ROBERT SHAW.
20 YEARS AGO, IT WAS THE PAINTING AS ANDREW THAT WILLIAMS
WAS HIRED TO RESTORE, BUT APPRAISERS MADE A STARTLING
DISCOVERY.
>> THERE IS REASON TO BELIEVE THERE IS A CHARCOAL LINE OF
ABRAHAM LINCOLN BEHIND IT.
>> THIS IS WHAT CAME TO YOU, HAD A BIG ORNATE FRAME, THEN YOU
FLIPPED IT OVER.
>> WHAT I SAW BEFORE US WAS AN AMAZING HISTORICAL -- ART AND
HISTORICAL DISCOVERY, IT WAS ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
>> IT WAS STRONG AND HID BEHIND -- WITCHHUNT COMPLETED AFTER
LINCOLN’S DEATH.
UNFORTUNATELY, THE LINCOLN PORTRAIT WAS DESTROYED IN A
FIRE, ALL THAT REMAINS IS A SMALL MODEL OF IT I’VE HAD,
WHICH REMAINS IN THE MUSEUM -- MODEL OF IT, WHICH REMAINS IN A
MUSEUM.
>> HE HAD A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PORTRAIT OF LINCOLN D
HAD MADE, AND WANTED TO CONNECT IT TO GOVERNOR ANDREW.
-- OF LINCOLN HE HAD MADE, AND WANTED TO CONNECT IT TO GOVERNOR
ANDREW.
>> BOTH MEN COMMITTED SO MUCH TO THE CAUSE AND PRESERVATION OF
THE UNION, IT SEEMS FITTING IF YOU WERE AN ARTIST WHO HAD
PAINTED OR SKETCHED THESE INDIVIDUALS THAT YOU WOULD PUT
THEM TOGETHER.
>> IN ONE BUILDING THEY STILL ARE.
WHEN IT COMES TO SITES AROUND BOSTON WHERE KEY ROLES WERE
PLAYED IN THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY, SOME ARE EASY TO FIND.
THE HISTORIC BEACON HOUSE, WHICH FOR A TIME WAS A CENTRIST -- THE
CENTER OF THE ABOLITIONIST MOVEMENT.
OTHERS ARE CONSPICUOUS.
>> THEY NAMED IT -- THEY STARTED LETTING ESCAPE SLAVES MOVE --
COME THROUGH AND THOUSANDS OF SLAVES PASS THROUGH THIS
PROPERTY -- PASSED THROUGH THIS PROPERTY.
>> THEIR LIBERTY FARMS PUBLIC NAME -- IT’S ROLE ON -- AS AN
ACTIVE STOP ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.
THE WOODEN SLIPPING BONES IN THE CELLAR, AND ONE OF SEVERAL
EMERGENCY HIDING SPOTS.
>> YOU CAN PULL THE SHELVES UP, AND THEN THE BACKING COMES OUT.
THERE’S ROOM FOR AT LEAST ONE PERSON.
>> IT ALLOWS SOMEONE TO BE COMPLETELY HIDDEN.
>> I HATE THEY ARE NOW RAISING THEIR OWN CHILDREN WHERE ABBY
AND STEPHEN FOSTER ONCE RAISED THEIRS.
>> THE HISTORY IS ROOTED IN THE HOUSE AND I FEEL IT WHEN I AM
THERE.
>> IT REALLY IS ALL ABOUT LIBERTY AND FREEDOM.
>> FASCINATING.
THE REFORM OWNERS JOSHUA AND POPPY HOPE TO TURN THE HOUSE
INTO A B&B WHERE VISITORS CAN STAY OVERNIGHT AND APPRECIATE
THE HISTORY OF THE PROPERTY UP CLOSE.
IF YOU LIKE TO VISIT IN THE SUMMER MONTHS