|
Fort Smith, Arkansas – In an ongoing effort to document the history
of the nation’s oldest law enforcement agency, a coalition of public
agencies is organizing an event for descendants of families
associated with the United States Marshals Service (USMS), and the
United States Court in the Western District of Arkansas.
“Descendants Day 2007” is designed for people to share their family
stories and artifacts at an event scheduled for October 27, 2007, as
a joint venture of the United States Marshals Service, the Fort
Smith Public Library, the Fort Smith National Historic Site, and the
University of Arkansas -Fort Smith.
Relatives of men and women associated with the Marshals – on either
side of the law – are encouraged to share their family stories and
artifacts from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the historic downtown Frisco
Station Depot and the Riverfront Events Building in Fort Smith.
“Our National Historic Site staff is taking on the task of
specifically seeking descendants of the Tribal Lighthorse and Agency
Indian Police organizations,” said Library Director Jennifer
Goodson. “Both of these organizations played critical roles in
working with the U.S. Marshals in the 1800s in this area,” said
Goodson. “The Marshals efforts of the were greatly enhanced by the
contributions made by the Tribal Lighthorse and Agency Indian
Police, and we want to help document more of the great law
enforcement services they rendered to their own people and the U.S.
Marshals.”
Descendants Day 2007 also hopes to attract descendants of
African-American Deputy Marshals who served in Fort Smith, including
Bass Reeves, John Garrett, and Rufus Cannon. A series of speakers
also will present sessions on a variety of topics related to USMS
history throughout the day. The event is free and open to the
public. In addition, the United States Marshals Service (USMS) will
be hosting a symposium on Friday night, October 26. Details on this
companion event will be communicated through the USMS Historian from
the agency’s Washington, D.C. headquarters office in the coming
weeks.
For more information about Descendants Day events, call the Fort
Smith Public Library, (479) 783-0229. If you have information about
the Tribal Lighthorse, Agency Indian Police, or African-American
Deputy Marshals, please call U.S. Marshals Historian David S. Turk
(202) 307-9065, or the Fort Smith National Historic Site at (479)
783-3961.
Fort Smith was named the host city for the establishment of the
United States Marshals Service national museum last January, and it
is hoped that information and artifacts documented during the
“Descendants Day” event will prove useful to the content and/or
creation of exhibits for the museum. Information would augment the
existing artifacts owned by the USMS, covering the Service’s 217
year history. |
