Ph.D Student in Public History
Middle Tennesse State University
Research & Projects
Available for Download
Travellers Rest Enslaved Persons Documentation Project
Continued research on the enslaved is an on-going priority for the staff at Travellers Rest and is compiled into the Travellers Rest Enslaved Persons Documentation Project. Individuals from all over the world who are conducting research will be able to view the currently known information about the lives of those who were enslaved at Travellers Rest.
The Chapman-Singleton House, New Hope Baptist Church Cemetery, Union Ridge Cemetery, and Hord Chapel A.M.E. Church, Bedford County, TN Historic Structure Report and Preservation Assessments
The research for the report was started in 2022 and finalized in 2024. The research was conducted by several people in conjunction with different graduate classes. Abigail worked on the initial fieldwork and helped with the artifact report and the section on New Hope Baptist Church.
The Preservation of a Historic Black Farm: Matt Gardner Homestead in Giles County, Tennessee.
Masters thesis on the lives of African American Families in the rural South. The thesis is a case study on a middle-class African American landowning farming family and how they supported the African American enclave of Dixon Town in Giles County, Tennessee.
National Register of Historic Places
Campsite 3: The Gardner Farm
The Robert Gardner Farm is located in Lowndes, Alabama, and was the third campsite for the Selma to Montgomery March in 1965 during the Civil Rights Movement. Abigail was involved in the fieldwork and research on the Gardner family for the National Register listing which was approved in 2023.
Dickinson Era Arabian Collection
The Dickinson Era Arabian Collection at Travellers Rest in Nashville, TN, is being digitalized for public research. The collection contains correspondence about the Arabian horse farm J.M. Dickinson operated. It also includes photos and pedigrees of horses Dickinson owned. The project is currently ongoing, with phase one being completed spring of 2022.
Farm EquipmentÂ
and Their Uses Beyond the Field
The focus of this paper was the adaptive reuse of farm equipment as yard art in Kentucky. Abigail selected four counties in KY after driving around and taking photos in the state. The examples provided detail how farm equipment has been refurbished into art and its previous purpose. The paper was part of HIST 6550 Seminar in American Material Culture.
Green Book Preservation Report
Preserving the Franklin Green Book House was important to Dr. Hill and Shorter Chapel AME, who own the property. The preservation report addressed the structural problems with the home and included recommendations on how the community could use the space. The report was done in a group with two other MA students from MTSU during HIST 6520 Seminar on Historic preservation,
Benevolent Cemetary Bibliographies
The genealogical research from this paper was used for Benevolent Cemetary’s National Register for Historic Places Nomination. The report was the final project for HIST 6610 Essentials of Historic Preservation. In the cemetery, there are several marked and unmarked graves. It is crucial to preserve Benevolent Cemetary because it is the last place associated with the people buried there. The Shane family and John Cheers were the main focus of the paper. The paper was done in collaboration with another student taking the class.
