Kentucky Chronicles: A Podcast of the Kentucky Historical Society

In the nineteenth century, individuals who wanted to study medicine often had few options for formal study, with only a handful of schools accepting students. This meant that most of those who came to Kentucky to teach at places like Transylvania were not from the state. Join us today for a discussion with a scholar who has written an article about the “Pioneer Professors” of Kentucky medicine.

Dr. Christopher Willoughby is an assistant professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He holds a PhD in history from Tulane University. He is the author of Masters of Health: Racial Science and Slavery in U.S. Medical Schools. He is the co-editor of the collection Medicine and Healing in the Age of Slavery. He is here today to talk about his article in the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society: “Pioneer Professors of Kentucky Medical Education and the Spread of Racial Science, 1792-1861.”

Kentucky Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers from across the world who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, in publication since 1903.

https://history.ky.gov/explore/catalog-research-tools/register-of-the-kentucky-historical-society

Hosted by Dr. Daniel J. Burge, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.

https://history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-researchers/research-fellowships

Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.

https://history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation

Our show is recorded and produced by Gregory Hardison, and edited by Gregory P. Meyer. Thanks to Dr. Stephanie Lang for her support and guidance. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay. Other backing tracks are also used courtesy of Pixabay.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:

https://history.ky.gov/

https://history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts

Richard Mentor Johnson is one of the most famous Kentuckians of the nineteenth century, having ascended to the position of Vice President of the United States in 1837. While much has been written about Johnson’s political career, nobody has uncovered the story of the enslaved woman whom he considered his wife, Julia Chinn, until now. Join us today for a discussion with a former research fellow who wrote a book about Julia Chinn and who will explain why we should remember her story.

Dr. Amrita Chakrabarti Myers is the Ruth N. Halls Associate Professor in the Departments of History and Gender Studies at Indiana University. A historian of the Black female experience in America, she is the author of Forging Freedom: Black Women and the Pursuit of Liberty in Antebellum Charleston. In 2012-13, she received a fellowship to the Kentucky Historical Society to begin working on her second book. In 2023, she published The Vice President’s Black Wife: The Untold Life of Julia Chinn. We are delighted to talk with her today about this excellent book.

Kentucky Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers from across the world who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, in publication since 1903.

https://history.ky.gov/explore/catalog-research-tools/register-of-the-kentucky-historical-society

Hosted by Dr. Daniel J. Burge, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.

https://history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-researchers/research-fellowships

Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.

https://history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation

Our show is recorded and produced by Gregory Hardison, and edited by Gregory P. Meyer. Thanks to Dr. Stephanie Lang for her support and guidance. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay. Other backing tracks are also used courtesy of Pixabay.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:

https://history.ky.gov/

https://history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts

Many of us have seen images of a naturalization ceremony in the United States, where a group of individuals become citizens. Or perhaps you have participated in a naturalization ceremony yourself. But did you know that the process to become a citizen used to be quite different? Join us today for a discussion with a research fellow who talks about how a person could go about becoming a citizen of the United States in the nineteenth century and who will help us understand why that process was so complex.

Sara Egge is the Claude D. Pottinger Professor of History at Centre College. She holds a Ph.D. in history from Iowa State University. Her first book (Woman Suffrage and Citizenship in the American Midwest) won prizes from the Western Association of Women Historians and the State Historical Society of Iowa. She has articles in the Middle West Review, the Annals of Iowa, and was a co-guest editor of the Summer/Autumn 2018 issue of the Register on “Agriculture and Rural Life in Kentucky.” She is now turning her attention to her second book project: “The Nature of Naturalization: Exploring Citizenship by Consent.”

Kentucky Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers from across the world who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, in publication since 1903.

https://history.ky.gov/explore/catalog-research-tools/register-of-the-kentucky-historical-society

Hosted by Dr. Daniel J. Burge, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.

https://history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-researchers/research-fellowships

Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.

https://history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation

Our show is recorded and produced by Gregory Hardison, and edited by Gregory P. Meyer. Thanks to Dr. Stephanie Lang for her support and guidance. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay. Other backing tracks are also used courtesy of Pixabay.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:

https://history.ky.gov/

https://history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts

On the early morning of November 7, 1825, in Frankfort, Ky., Jereboam Beauchamp stabbed Kentucky Legislator Solomon Sharp, in an event that would become known as the Kentucky Tragedy. But did the murder really occur as Beauchamp explained in his sensational confessions? Join us today for a special discussion of one of Kentucky’s most notorious murders,

and a story that inspired Edgar Allen Poe and Robert Penn Warren.

Dr. Matthew Schoenbachler is a professor of history at the University of North Alabama. He holds a PhD in history from the University of Kentucky and has co-authored a book and published in the Journal of the Early Republic. We are delighted to talk with him today about Murder and Madness: The Myth of the Kentucky Tragedy, which was published in 2009.

Kentucky Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers from across the world who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, in publication since 1903.

https://history.ky.gov/explore/catalog-research-tools/register-of-the-kentucky-historical-society

Hosted by Dr. Daniel J. Burge, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.

https://history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-researchers/research-fellowships

Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.

https://history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation

Our show is recorded and produced by Gregory Hardison, and edited by Gregory P. Meyer. Thanks to Dr. Stephanie Lang for her support and guidance. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay. Other backing tracks are also used courtesy of Pixabay.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:

https://history.ky.gov/

https://history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts

Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. These are the four “hs” of the youth organization formed in 1912 that is known as 4-H. Although many Americans are aware of 4-H, or perhaps have been a member at some point in time, few realize its international dimensions. Join us today for a talk with a research fellow who is examining the links between Kentucky and Japan through agricultural extension programs such as 4-H.

William C. Sack is a PhD Candidate in history at Harvard University. He holds an A.B. from Harvard and recently had an article accepted in Past & Present. He has been funded by institutions in South Korea, Japan, and the United States. He is currently working on a project that deals with Kentucky entitled: “A Little Patch of Kentucky in Yamanashi: 4-H and Transpacific Agricultural Extension in Japan (1938-1979).”

Kentucky Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers from across the world who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, in publication since 1903.

https://history.ky.gov/explore/catalog-research-tools/register-of-the-kentucky-historical-society

Hosted by Dr. Daniel J. Burge, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.

https://history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-researchers/research-fellowships

Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.

https://history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation

Our show is recorded and produced by Gregory Hardison, and edited by Gregory P. Meyer, with original underscoring by Gregory Hardison. Thanks to Dr. Stephanie Lang for her support and guidance. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:

https://history.ky.gov/

https://history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts

In 1798, Kentucky established the Kentucky State Penitentiary (KSP) in Frankfort. Although prisoners were expected to remain silent, the state soon put them to work. Over time, those housed in the Penitentiary made shoes, plow irons, and an assortment of other items. Join us today for a discussion with a KHS research fellow, who will explain how the practice of inmate labor evolved over time and how it continued to shape Frankfort—and the rest of the state—long after the Civil War.

Dr. Charlene J. Fletcher is an assistant professor of history at Butler University. She is the author of ‘Home Ain’t Always Where the Heart Is: The Home as a Site of Confinement,” which was published in “Re-Visiting My Old Kentucky Home: Slavery and Freedom in the Bluegrass State.” For the Autumn 2023 special joint issue of the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society and the Journal of Arizona History she wrote: “Borderland Business: Slavery and Convict Leasing in Antebellum Kentucky.” Dr. Fletcher was awarded a Spring 2016 research fellowship at KHS.

Kentucky Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers from across the world who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, in publication since 1903.

https://history.ky.gov/explore/catalog-research-tools/register-of-the-kentucky-historical-society

Hosted by Dr. Daniel J. Burge, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.

https://history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-researchers/research-fellowships

Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.

https://history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation

Our show is recorded and produced by Gregory Hardison, and edited by Gregory P. Meyer, with original underscoring by Gregory Hardison. Thanks to Dr. Stephanie Lang for her support and guidance. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:

https://history.ky.gov/

https://history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts

Drive through Kentucky today and you are likely to come across signs reading “Welcome to the Front Porch of the South.” Yet Kentucky has never been an easy state to define. During the Civil War, Kentucky straddled the line between North and South, gaining the somewhat generic classification of a “Border State.” Yet there is a region that Kentucky at one point in time was most identified with and it was neither the North or South. Join us today for a talk with a former research fellow, who helps explain why Kentucky was considered to be a part of the West and why that changed after the Civil War.

Dr. Christopher Phillips is the John and Dorothy Hermanies Professor of American History and University Distinguished Professor in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the University of Cincinnati. He holds a PhD from the University of Georgia. He has written numerous books, including Damned Yankee: The Life of Nathaniel Lyon, Freedom’s Port: The African American Community of Baltimore, 1790-1860, and The Civil War in the Border South. We are talking today about his award-winning book The Rivers Ran Backward: The Civil War and the Remaking of the American Middle Border.

KHS Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers from across the world who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, in publication since 1903.

https://history.ky.gov/explore/catalog-research-tools/register-of-the-kentucky-historical-society

Hosted by Dr. Daniel J. Burge, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.

https://history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-researchers/research-fellowships

Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.

https://history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation

Our show is recorded and edited by Gregory Hardison, who also wrote the original underscoring of the interview. Thanks to Dr. Stephanie Lang for her support and guidance. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:

https://history.ky.gov/

https://history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts

Within popular culture, enslaved people are often depicted as robust, vigorous, and strong, yet enslaved people often suffered brutal injuries at the hands of their enslavers. What was lifelike for those enslaved persons who suffered devastating injuries and how did they deal with disability? Join us today for a discussion with a research fellow who is teasing out how masculinity, physicality, and disability shaped the worldview of both the enslaver and the enslaved.

Mia Edwards earned an MA in Atlantic History and Politics at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She is currently working on her PhD at the University of Warwick. She has won several research grants and the Bryan Marsden History Prize from the University of Sheffield. She is currently working on her dissertation, which is entitled: “Masculinity, Physicality, and Disability: Shifting Experiences and Ideologies within the Antebellum South, 1800-1861.”

KHS Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers from across the world who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, in publication since 1903.

https://history.ky.gov/explore/catalog-research-tools/register-of-the-kentucky-historical-society

Hosted by Dr. Daniel J. Burge, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.

https://history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-researchers/research-fellowships

Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.

https://history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation

Our show is recorded and edited by Gregory Hardison, who also wrote the original underscoring of the interview. Thanks to Dr. Stephanie Lang for her support and guidance. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:

https://history.ky.gov/

https://history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts

Have you ever visited “Mexington” Kentucky or do you know what a “Kentubano” is? Latino influences are all around us in Kentucky, but they can often be overlooked. Join us today for a discussion with a historian who has written an article on Latino migration into Kentucky and who will help us understand how Latinos are helping to remake the commonwealth.

Eladio Bobadilla is an assistant professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh. He received his PhD from Duke University. He has published articles in California History and History Now and is currently working on his first book manuscript: No More Back Doors: A History of the Immigrants’ Rights Movement. In 2023, he published “‘I Feel Like This Is My Home:’ Immigration and the Making of Latino Kentucky.” This article appeared in a special joint issue of the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society and the Journal of Arizona History in Autumn 2023.

KHS Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers from across the world who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, in publication since 1903.

history.ky.gov/explore/catalog-r…istorical-society

Hosted by Dr. Daniel J. Burge, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.

history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-re…earch-fellowships

Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.

history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation

Our show is recorded and edited by Gregory Hardison, who also wrote the original underscoring of the interview. Thanks to Dr. Stephanie Lang for her support and guidance. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:

history.ky.gov/

history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts

The right to a high-school level education is something that most people take for granted. Indeed, parents today often confront an array of options when it comes to the types of educational opportunities available to their children. But this has not always been the case. Join us for a discussion with a KHS research fellow who studies the Pine Mountain Settlement School and who will talk about shifting views on education in Kentucky.

Adrien Lievin earned his MA in American history at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Lille (in France). He has worked in France, Poland, and the United States. His dissertation focuses on the Pine Mountain Settlement School and is currently entitled: “Progressive Education and Industrial Capitalism Before and During the New Deal, in Harlan County, Kentucky, 1913-1944.”

KHS Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers from across the world who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, in publication since 1903.

https://history.ky.gov/explore/catalog-research-tools/register-of-the-kentucky-historical-society

Hosted by Dr. Daniel J. Burge, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.

https://history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-researchers/research-fellowships

Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.

history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation

Our show is recorded and edited by Gregory Hardison, who also wrote the original underscoring of the interview. Thanks to Dr. Stephanie Lang for her support and guidance. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:

history.ky.gov/

https://history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts