Mary Conable, Vice President, of the Warsaw Historical Society is pleased to announce receipt of a large, framed watercolor of the William Smallwood home. Doris Smallwood of Leesburg, Florida, had commissioned the watercolor from an old photograph of her husband's beloved family home on Smallwood Road shortly after the home burned in 1946. The Society is very pleased to display the signed artwork, said Conable, because it is a distinctive memorial of the strong, pioneer families occupying Warsaw during the abolitionist era.

William Smallwood and his wife and five children came to this country from Yorkshire England. In 1823, they began living in Warsaw on the East Hill on what is now called Smallwood Road. A member of the Methodist Church, Smallwood lived in the home until his death at age 90 in 1867. His tombstone in the Warsaw Cemetery is inscribed "friend of the slave." Andrew Young, Warsaw historian, described his sympathies: "No class of suffering had a stronger hold on his feelings than the bondmen of the South. No man rejoiced more heartily than he at their deliverance, an event for which he long labored and prayed."

This gift, Conable remarked, may also lead to additional research which may result in listing the Smallwood home site on the "Freedom Trail" map. The Warsaw Historical Society hopes to research and list numerous sites in preparation for becoming a part of the "Freedom Trail." For more information, consult www.warsawnyhistory.org

December 20, 2003