For Immediate Release: June 30, 2020
Contact: Marie Cheek Community Relations Coordinator Culture & Heritage Museums www.chmuseums.org 803.909.7312 mcheek@chmuseums.org
Local author garners national recognition with 2020 Leadership in History Award
Patricia V. Veasey’s award winning book focuses on the life of an educator, poet and community activist
ROCK HILL, S.C. – The American Association for State and Local History has awarded Patricia V. Veasey with a national honorable mention for her recent book “A Relentless Spirit: Catharine Ladd, Southern Educator, Entrepreneur, and Author, 1808-1899.” Veasey’s biography of Catharine Stratton Ladd, Brattonsville Female Seminary’s first schoolmistress, is the product of over two decades of research that began at Culture & Heritage Museums’ living history site, Historic Brattonsville. The book opens with the author’s notes and describes how reading a few of Ladd’s handwritten letters, donated to the museums by Ladd’s descendants, were pivotal in Veasey’s early research and helped define the relentless spirit of Catharine Ladd.
A former teacher, Pat Veasey was Historic Brattonsville’s director of education and programs from 1990-2002. After retirement, she served on CHM’s board of commissioners, was honored by CHM in 2014 as a Keeper of the Culture, and continues interpreting history at the museums as a volunteer.
Veasey’s dedication to research of local history and interest in the Bratton family, York County’s early colonists, has produced a wealth of scholarly documentation on South Carolina history. Her work, as an educator and a writer with an extensive body of publications, has gleaned a bounty of accolades and recognition.
About AASLH: For over 50 years, the American Association for State and Local History has provided leadership and resources to preserve and interpret state and local history. “AASLH is the professional association for history-doers.” https://aaslh.org/
Want to learn more? Pat Veasey is available for media opportunities; contact Marie Cheek for more information.
IMAGES:
for high resolution images, contact Marie Cheek Image 1: a photograph of Catharine Ladd; courtesy of Culture & Heritage Museums Image 2: Patricia V. Veasey; courtesy of the author
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