A Canandaigua program marking the end of slavery in the British Empire will be held Aug. 1 at the gravesite of abolitionist, businessman and author Austin Steward.
The 1816 Farmington Quaker Meetinghouse Museum and Ontario County Historical Society will co-sponsor the Commemorating Emancipation Day event at 1 p.m. at West Avenue Cemetery, 100 West Ave.
Speakers will include Ontario County Historian Preston Pierce and Chester Freeman, who arranged for a historical marker honoring Steward.
Robin Nowell of AKWAABA will portray her ancestor Nancy Tolliver, and members of the Rochester Women's Community Chorus will perform.
Steward was born into slavery in Virginia in 1793 and later secured his freedom before settling in western New York. He became a successful businessman, abolitionist and author and spent time in Farmington among a Quaker community that became deeply involved in anti-slavery work.
Steward later published one of the earliest autobiographies written by a formerly enslaved person, sharing his experiences and advocating for freedom and equality.
If weather prevents the outdoor program, the event will move to the Ontario County Historical Society at 55 N. Main St. in Canandaigua.
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