The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire is pleased to announce the appointment of Barbara McLean Ward to the new position of Senior Grant Writer & Program Developer. “We are excited to have Barbara working with us,” said JerriAnne Boggis, BHTNH Executive Director. “Barbara has been in the forefront in telling the story of enslaved people in Portsmouth’s historic sites, and will be working with us on major grant initiatives and programming planning and development.”
Ward was formerly the Director/Curator of the Moffatt-Ladd House & Garden where she instituted the groundbreaking program for high school students entitled “Exploring the Issue of Slavery in the Era of the American Revolution” under a Museums for America grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The program focused on the 1779 Petition of Freedom signed by 20 men who described themselves as “natives of Africa now forcibly detained in slavery.” The signers of the Petition included Prince Whipple, who was enslaved by signer of the Declaration of Independence William Whipple, and Windsor Moffatt, who was enslaved by John Moffatt. Experts believe that Prince Whipple, who accompanied William Whipple both in battle and during his service in the Continental Congress, was the probable author of the document. The Moffatt-Ladd House is the site on the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail for the Petition of Freedom. Under Ward’s leadership the Moffatt-Ladd House achieved the distinction of fully incorporating the story of the enslaved members of the household, and of the Petition, into all of its educational programs, as well as into its interpretation of the house. From 2017 to 2019 (the 2020 program was suspended due to the pandemic) the Moffatt-Ladd House hosted an annual workshop for teachers and museum professionals on teaching African American history in museums, under a grant from the NH Charitable Foundation, with funding in 2019 from the Vivian Treat Education Fund and the William Treat Foundation.
Ward, who holds a Ph.D. in American and New England Studies from Boston University, brings this experience, and her experience in researching, teaching, program planning, and grant writing to the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. Ward’s other accomplishments include curatorial expertise in American silver, American furniture, historic preservation, and material culture studies. In coordinating the recent project to restore the Parlor of the Moffatt-Ladd House, Ward worked to show how material culture can help to illuminate not only the lives of the elite, but the lives of the enslaved people who created and sustained the wealth that these objects embody. “Confronting our past with honesty, and with a commitment to promoting anti-racism and reconciliation are extremely important issues for me,” said Ward. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to further the critical work of the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, and to continue to promote a true and inclusive history of our region from its beginnings to the present day.”
