Friday, September 4, 2009 9:39 PM CDT
Tickets on sale for Oakland Sept. 18-19 production of Lincoln, Rutherford roles in Matson slave case
By ROB STROUD, Staff Writer
rstroud@jg-tc.com
OAKLAND — Tickets are now available for the bittersweet story of Abraham Lincoln’s role in the 1847 Matson slave trial involving an Oakland physician and a slave family.
“Trial & Tribulations: The Story of the 1847 Matson Slave Trial” is a living history and theatrical program to be performed Sept. 18-19.
The program combines first-person interpretation at two Oakland historic sites, an 1847 meal, and the performance of “Three Fifths of a Man,” an original drama written and directed by David Jorns.
Public shows are set for 4-8:30 p.m. Sept. 18-19 and 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Sept. 19. Tickets are $25 each and are limited, so advance purchase is encouraged. Groups of 10 or more will receive discounts. Two special shows will be offered earlier on Sept. 18 for grades 5-12 school groups. Call 508-9113 for ticket reservations.
The Robert Matson slave trial, a case that originated in Oakland, was the only time that Lincoln represented a slave owner in a case to keep a family enslaved. Speculation has continued to this day about Lincoln’s reasons for taking on the slave owner as a client.
“This is a bittersweet story about Lincoln, local, and African-American history that makes us look at what happens when our moral beliefs collide with the law,” said project coordinator Renee Henry.
Matson, a Kentuckian, brought his slave Jane Bryant and her four children to live on his farm east of Newman. Matson’s white housekeeper subsequently threatened to send the children south to be sold.
Bryant and her husband, Anthony, a free man, took the four children to Matt Ashmore’s tavern in Oakland on the belief that since they were in a free state, they should be free. Matson filed a complaint with Coles County officials to recover his “property,” which resulted in the trial.
First-person interpreters will portray seven of the major characters in the story from the vantage point of the 1870s, looking back at the trial’s events and how it impacted their lives Freetown Village, a group that demonstrates African-American history in Indianapolis, will portray three characters, including Anthony and Jane Bryant.
The “Three Fifths of a Man” play is set in 1847 at the time of the trial. The play is named after the phrase in the U.S. Constitution that had named African-Americans as three-fifths of a citizen when counting for the census to determine legislative districts. Most of the nine actors in the cast will play two characters.
Kansas resident Caleb Schaffer, a history buff, plays abolitionist leader William Lloyd Garrison and Oakland Dr. Hiram Rutherford, who sheltered the Bryants. Schaffer said he has heard Rutherford was willing to use a small militia to help the the Bryants if they lost their case, so he tried to bring some of this abolitionist passion to the role.
Rutherford and Lincoln were friends, at least until Lincoln represented the slave owner. Schaffer said he has a few scenes as Rutherford with Lincoln, played by his friend Jacob Norris of Oakland, and these scenes are heated.
“This basically tore Lincoln and Rutherford’s relationship apart,” Schaffer said.
The play and an 1847 dinner will take place at the Columbian Building on the south side of Oakland’s square. Living history events will take place at the nearby Rutherford House and at Independence Pioneer Village on the north side of town.
The Independence Pioneer Village, Oakland Historical Foundation, Oakland Landmarks, City of Oakland and Oakland Chamber of Commerce are sponsoring the program to celebrate the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth. The Ruth and Vaughn Jaenike Access to the Arts Outreach Program of the Eastern Illinois University College of Arts & Humanities also has provided funding for the program.
For more information on the program, go online to http://matson1847.blogspot.com or e-mail at trial.tribulations1847@gmail.com.
Contact Rob Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc.com.
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