JACOB GASKINS CHAPTER, NSDAR, HOLDS INAUGURAL MEETING
Chapter Meets at Arrowhead Golf and Event Center – Land Once Owned by Namesake
Members of the Jacob Gaskins Chapter, NSDAR, posed for a photo in front of the historical marker dedicated to Jacob Gaskins and the Underground Railroad located on the grounds of the Arrowhead Golf and Event Center.
North Canton, OH — The Jacob Gaskins Chapter, NSDAR, held its inaugural meeting in September at the Arrowhead Golf and Event Center.
The special location for this initial meeting was especially noteworthy as the site on which Arrowhead sits was once part of the tremendous amount of land that Jacob Gaskins, for whom the chapter is named, once owned. Gaskins, who was born into slavery in 1792 in Winchester, Virginia, arrived in Plain Township in 1817 after being freed as a young adult. He soon married, started a family, and established himself in the area, becoming the first African American to vote in Plain Township after Ohio ratified the 15th Amendment to the Constitution in 1870. On his land, he operated a station on the Underground Railroad. He died in 1873.
The Jacob Gaskins Chapter, NSDAR, plans to meet monthly from September through May, excluding January, and will sponsor Wreaths Across America at North Canton Cemetery on December 13. Individuals interested in learning more about their genealogy or membership in the NSDAR should contact the chapter.