The City School District of Albany and Giffen Memorial Elementary School partnered with the Daughters of the American Revolution and the City of Albany on Oct. 17 to dedicate an historical marker honoring one of the city’s early African-American leaders.
Benjamin Lattimore Sr. came to Albany after fighting in the American Revolution. In the early 19th century, he founded the first school and church for the city’s African-American residents.
He and colleagues constructed the building on a piece of land not far from Giffen that Lattimore purchased for $400 from Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton’s widow.
Members of Lattimore’s family – his great-great-great-great-great-grandchildren! – came to Albany to participate in the dedication ceremony at the intersection of South Pearl and Rensselaer streets.
Five Giffen students officially unveiled the marker – JayQuan Chatman, Sophia Diaz, Lucky McDaniels, Carley Talleyrand and Octavia Zeno
The Mohawk Chapter of the DAR spearheaded the project, researching Lattimore’s life and achievements. The organization received a grant from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation for the historical marker.
Representatives from the statewide DAR also participated in the Oct. 17 ceremony, along with Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter, Board of Education Vice President Tabetha Wilson, city and state elected leaders, and Lacey Wilson, a project manager from the Underground Railroad Education Center.
“Learning about Benjamin Lattimore’s life in Albany more than 200 years ago will help us better understand who we are as a community,” Hochreiter said. “It will help us understand the progress Albany made following the American Revolution, and it also will help us ask important questions about our city’s evolution since his death in 1838.
“Because you have to know where you were to begin to make sense of how you got to where you are today, and of where you’re going in the future.”
Follow these links to learn more about Lattimore’s life and achievements: