THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, December 13, 2024 Page 5 They found out through census records that Mire is a descendant of Mary Vanderzee, the woman in the photograph on the book’s cover. Mary was born into slavery or indenture in 1802 and was owned by people on Bruno’s family tree. From the ages of 13 to 19, she had four children, who were described as being mixedrace. One of them was Mire’s great-great-grandfather, Thomas Venderzee, who was born in 1815. In 1826, all slaves in New York were emancipated gradually through indentured servitude. However, Mary’s father had purchased his freedom seven years earlier in 1819. Miro and Bruno suspect he did so to help Mary secure her freedom from the household she worked for. In her adult life, she married and had more children. Even with modern databases such as Ancestry DNA, Mire acknowledged that in discovering history, there are still some things they will never know. “It said that she (Mary) had 11 children and we only know about five of them. And all I could think of was what happened to all those children?” she wondered. “That’s something that you go looking for and you probably will never find it. But that’s one of those things that brings you right back down to the feeling: what happened?” The story that did come together from those fragmented pieces of history deeply touched Mire and brought her closer to her family. Finding out this information was a process she described as being “remarkable”, and “sometimes overwhelming”. “It makes you feel all of a sudden 1800 isn’t that long ago,” she said. “All of a sudden, it’s much closer. The time is much closer, the people much closer, because you’re really seeing them and seeing their lives.” Mire also spoke about issues she sees in the way that history is taught in schools—concerned with memorizing dates and learning about the wealthy and powerful. She finds it more engaging and meaningful to explore the lives of real, everyday people, no matter how painful their stories are. “To just say they were slaves and then they were free doesn’t get to the heart of things like babies being sold and waking up and not knowing where you’re living,” she said. “You can’t just go on the good stories, the feel-good stories because I think in a sense, you’re denying them a certain amount of humanity by denying that they were sad. Things happened that hurt, but they lived through it and they had to persevere through it,” Mire said. A Hudson Valley Reckoning explores the often-overlooked history of slavery in New York, perpetuated by Dutch settlers since the state was called New Amsterdam. Mire provides the book’s afterword, having declined Bruno’s invitation to write the entirety of it together. Warm, funny, and straightforward, Mire admitted she would not be a good co-writer. “I’m very unreliable. To me, it would be like a year of homework, and I was never good at homework.” However, the story’s epilogue came to her organically. “I was able to sit down and do it. I don’t know how and I don’t know where the words came from, but since I had the feeling for the family and the subject matter, the words came,” she added. She hopes that the book inspires readers to look into their personal family histories, just as The Civil War did for her. “I think it’s important, not just for even enslavement, but for all groups of people to know how they got here, what the struggles of the people in the family [were].” The Malden Public Library will be hosting a talk with Deb Bruno and Eleanor Mire on Monday, December 9, from 6:00 – 7:00 PM in the library’s Maccario room. One can also attend the event via Zoom. Eleanor Mire will be present in person, while author Deb Bruno will participate via Zoom. Registration is required. Kami Nguyen is a contributing reporter for Neighborhood View, an online local new publication coordinated through Urban Media Arts. SABATINO/MASTROCOLA INSURANCE AGENCY 519 BROADWAY EVERETT, MA 02149 Auto * Home * Boat * Renter * Condo * Life * Multi-Policy Discounts * Commercial 10% Discounts * Registry Service Also Available Sabatino Insurance is proud to welcome the loyal customers of ALWAYS READY TO SERVE YOU: Our Staff are, Emma Davidson, Jeimy Sanchez, Josephine Leone, Marie D’Amore, Rocco Longo, Z’andre Lopez, Anthony DiPierro, Darius Goudreau, Laurette Murphy, Danielle Goudreau and Tina Davidson. PHONE: (617) 387-7466 FAX: (617) 381-9186 Visit us online at: WWW.SABATINO-INS.COM
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