Paula Wright

Genealogist, Historian, Author

Writing / Publishing

I had been a genealogist for twenty-five years when I decided to write this book about the history of the Gist Settlement. I wanted to find the truth about how the freed slaves of Samuel Gist managed to find freedom and endure the discrimination and hardship they faced while living in their new homes in Ohio. This book shows the ugliness of slavery, but it also shows the goodness of the Quaker abolitionists. Gist’s freed slaves found a new home, but they were never given a deed for their land. A trust set up to care for them complicated the matter, and for one hundred and ninety-five years the land has been deed-less for many of the residents.