Our Mission
The mission of the African American Archive of Columbia County is to forge a deeper understanding of the lived historical experience of Black people in the Hudson Valley, for the benefit of both their descendants and the world at large.
Our Goals
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Collect
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• Establish a web-based chronicle of the documented and oral history of Blacks in Columbia County.
• Acquire a physical location as a repository for the preservation of artifacts and documents that illustrate our culture and heritage. |
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Educate
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• Present the authentic face of the Black experience in Columbia County via immersive special events, lectures and walking tours.
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Inspire
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• Cultivate an active community of people who appreciate the significance of our history in the Hudson Valley.
• Encourage the descendants of African families to celebrate and share the stories of their ancestors. |
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Support
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• Assist researchers, families and scholars in exploring the history and genealogy of Columbia County's Black families through the creation of a research and learning center.
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Our History
The African American Archive of Columbia County is a family run organization. It was founded by Victoria Jimpson-Fludd, her daughter, Lisa Fludd-Smith, and son-in-law, Peter Smith.
The inspiration for the Archive came in 2021, after several years of research into our family genealogy. While we knew our ancestors were from the Kinderhook area, we were surprised to discover how deeply interwoven the Jimpson and Van Ness/Jeffress families were with the local history. It seemed that the extended family included members from nearly all the original enslaved African families, and quite possibly had been in the Hudson Valley since the Dutch arrived in the 1600's.
We believe that our family history is emblematic of many Black Hudson Valley families. And, being acutely aware that this narrative is not the common one taught in schools, we undertook to create a home where we could collect this information and make it available for other families, researchers, and historians.
The inspiration for the Archive came in 2021, after several years of research into our family genealogy. While we knew our ancestors were from the Kinderhook area, we were surprised to discover how deeply interwoven the Jimpson and Van Ness/Jeffress families were with the local history. It seemed that the extended family included members from nearly all the original enslaved African families, and quite possibly had been in the Hudson Valley since the Dutch arrived in the 1600's.
We believe that our family history is emblematic of many Black Hudson Valley families. And, being acutely aware that this narrative is not the common one taught in schools, we undertook to create a home where we could collect this information and make it available for other families, researchers, and historians.
Our Founders
Victoria Jimpson-Fludd, Executive Director
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Vicki, a former professional management consultant, is responsible for overall project coordination, financial control/grants management and events management for the Archive. Inspired by the stories of her grandparents lives in Kinderhook and Stuyvesant, she brings a deep affinity for Afro-American heritage to the project.
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Lisa Fludd-Smith, Deputy Executive Director
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Lisa puts the stories and historical background to the names and dates compiled through her husband's research. She focuses on combining abstract data with social, historical and cultural observation to create compelling narratives. As such, she has created a website and blog to chronicle the lives of her Black ancestors in Columbia County, NY, and is presently writing a book on the history of slavery and freedom in the area.
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Peter Smith, Director of Research and Genealogy
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Pete is an amateur genealogist and researcher with almost 20 years of experience, and is responsible for the construction and maintenance of Lisa and Vicki's family tree. The tree currently contains approximately 1,800 individuals, and has been built through Pete's diligent research of census, birth, marriage, death and military records, obituaries, church, family and cemetery records, DNA matches, and interviews with family, friends and local authorities.
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Help Support our Mission!
As you can see, we're a small organization with big goals. Although we do apply (and have received!) grants to help fund our research and programming, many expenses are still paid for out of our own pockets. Every donation, no matter how large or small, can help defray the costs involved with running the Archive. If you are able to, please consider making a donation to the Archive.
If you're not able to make a monetary donation at this time, but would still like to support our work, please consider a donation of time. Whether you have a particular skill or just want to be an extra hand at one of our events, we appreciate you!