Horatio Theodore Strother (February 1, 1930 – September 14, 1974) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

and educator who wrote an influential 1962 book on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. His teaching career culminated in a professorship at the University of New Haven from the 1960s.

Early life

Strother was born on February 1, 1930, in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

to Helen and Theodore Strother. The family was

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

. They moved to Middletown,

, soon after his birth. After moving with his father back to New York City a year later, Strother returned to Middletown in 1943, where he attended Woodrow Wilson High School and participated in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

. A track star, he achieved second place in a statewide running broad jump competition. Strother enlisted in the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

on December 8, 1950, and served four years on active duty in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

Education

Strother earned his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(1956) and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

(1957) degrees in history from the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

. His thesis, studying the Underground Railroad in Connecticut, was supervised by

Albert E. Van Dusen Albert Edward Van Dusen (May 14, 1916 – November 26, 1999) was an Americans, American historian who served as Professor of History at the University of Connecticut from 1949 to 1983. He also served in the unpaid honorary position of Connecticut ...

. He was a member of the

Phi Alpha Theta Phi Alpha Theta () is an American honor society for undergraduate and graduate students and professors of history. It has more than 400,000 members, with new members numbering about 9,000 a year through its 970 chapters. Founding Phi Alpha The ...

history honors society.

Career

After a short stint teaching at

Killingworth Killingworth, formerly Killingworth Township, is a town in North Tyneside, England. Killingworth was built as a planned town in the 1960s, next to Killingworth Village, which existed for centuries before the Township. Other nearby towns and ...

Elementary School, Strother taught history at the Nathan Hale-Ray High School in

Moodus Moodus is a village in the town of East Haddam, Connecticut, United States. The village is the basis of a census-designated place (CDP) of the same name. The population of the CDP was 1,982 as of the census of 2020. History Prior to its purchas ...

starting in 1959. He quickly became head of the social studies department. He also taught history at South Central Community College in

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

. By 1963 he was teaching part-time at the University of New Haven, where he received a promotion to assistant professor of history by 1966. After years of research, Stother published a rewrite of his thesis. He drew on manuscripts and published sources, notably the work of

Wilbur Henry Siebert Wilbur Henry Siebert (August 30, 1866 – September 2, 1961) was an educator and historian from the United States. Biography Wilbur Henry Siebert was born in Columbus, Ohio on August 30, 1866. His father had emigrated from Frankfurt, Germany in ...

, while also conducting oral history interviews with descendants of

agents and passengers. ''The Underground Railroad in Connecticut'' was published by

Wesleyan University Press Wesleyan University Press is a university press that is part of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The press is currently directed by Suzanna Tamminen, a published poet and essayist. History and overview Founded (in its present for ...

in 1962. Critics tempered praise of Strother's unique take on a long-neglected topic with criticism of his reliance on reminiscences. The book's reputation has grown since its publication—reissued in 2012, it is still in print and is held by more than 1370 libraries worldwide. Strother's book continues to be "regarded as the definitive text on the Underground Railroad in Connecticut."

Personal life

Strother married Joanne Horner in June 1951. The couple lived in

Higganum Higganum is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Haddam, a part of Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,089 at the 2020 census. History The name "Higganum" is derived from an Indian name mean ...

and had five children, one of whom died in infancy in 1961. Strother drowned on September 14, 1974, while swimming in Hidden Lake near his home. He was survived by his wife and four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strother, Horatio 1930 births 1974 deaths People from Harlem People from Middletown, Connecticut University of Connecticut alumni African-American schoolteachers 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers African-American historians Historians of the United States Historians of Connecticut University of New Haven faculty Deaths by drowning in the United States Historians from New York (state) Historians from Connecticut 20th-century American male writers 20th-century African-American writers African-American male writers