History
Honoring Augusta's Historian
The Ed Cashin symposium this month is a tribute to the late historian as well as an opportunity for Augustans to develop their understanding and appreciation of the city and the region's history.
by Monica Dutcher
BALANCED, FOCUSED AND PASSIONATE. This is how Dr. Lee Ann Caldwell describes the late Dr. Ed Cashin, a local historian and professor of history who contributed a legacy of research to the library of Georgia’s past. “Dr. Cashin’s goal was to get as much historical information about the Augusta community as he could. He had some 20 books published. Everyone who works in the field of Georgia history knows Ed Cashin,” says Caldwell, who has inherited Cashin’s directorship of ASU’s Center for the Study of Georgia History. A close friend, colleague and at one point student of Cashin, Caldwell has been committed to her latest project that will not only honor Augusta’s beloved historian but also laud his body of work, including those books that were published posthumously.
Last year Caldwell applied for a Porter Fleming Foundation grant to put on the Edward Cashin Memorial Symposium on Georgia History, which is co-sponsored by the Georgia History Consortium. Scheduled for October 16 and 17, the symposium is open to the public (free admission) and will mostly take place in ASU’s University Hall, room 170. Eleven scholars, each of whom had some connection to Cashin, will present papers and lead question/answer-type discussions on various facets of 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century Georgia history.
Dr. Betty Wood from Cambridge University in England will serve as keynote speaker. “She loved Ed as everyone who knew him did,” smiles Caldwell, sole coordinator of the symposium. “Her expertise is in 18th-century Georgia and slavery and she’ll be giving a talk on her research entitled ‘Rumors, Race and the Coming of the American Revolution in Georgia.’”
The last session in the symposium will highlight Cashin’s impact on education (his book The Story of Augusta was once used by the Richmond County Board of Education) and his contributions to academic literature—he wrote about everything from Augusta aviation history and William Bartram’s travels to Indian traders and the Augusta Canal. Dr. John Inscoe of the University of Georgia will emphasize this variety as well as Cashin’s passion for the lesser researched people, places and issues. Also speaking during the final session is William Bragg, a recently retired professor from Georgia College and State University who will specifically address one of Cashin’s latest books, The Biography of Berry Benson, published after Cashin’s death.
In addition to establishing a memorial for Cashin, Caldwell hopes this symposium will help Augustans develop their appreciation and understanding of the city and region’s history. “Sometimes when you’re from a place you forget its historical importance. One historian said, ‘All history is local.’ We all fit into that broader picture of how our country developed,” says Caldwell. And perhaps, she continues, the event will pique people’s curiosity, bring out the Ed Cashin in all of us and drive us to learn more about the area’s historic treasures.
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