Authors Fielding, Ankrom to present January program at History Museum

QUINCY — The Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County is kicking off its 2022 program schedule with presentations by historian and artist A.K. Fielding and local historian Reg Ankrom at 2 p.m. Sunday at the History Museum, 332 Maine.

Fielding will discuss her new book, “Rough Diamond: The Life of Colonel William Stephen Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton’s Forgotten Son.” The focus of Fielding’s presentation will be on the prolific life of Hamilton, a soldier, politician, miner, pioneer, as well as scion of a Founding Father. William, only 7 when his father was infamously killed in a duel with Vice President Aaron Burr, attended West Point but left inexplicably in 1817 and moved to frontier Illinois. A veteran of the Winnebago and the Black Hawk War, Hamilton was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives before moving to Galena and then to the Wisconsin Territory to be a miner.

Fielding expands the story of the Hamilton family and offers a first-hand account of the formation of Illinois and Wisconsin. An exhibit of Fielding’s early American art will also be on display at the museum.

Ankrom will also give the presentation, “John Wood Caught California Gold Rush Fever.” He will explore Wood’s mining expeditions and examine his possible connections with William Stephen Hamilton. John Wood artifacts from the Historical Society collection will be on display for the event, including the rare gold cane given to John Wood by D.G. Whitney commemorating Wood’s time in California.

A social and a meet the author/book signing event will be held after both presentations. Both authors will be available. Fielding’s book and Ankrom’s books on Stephen A. Douglas will be sold in the gift shop at the History Museum. The event is free and open to the public.