Abolitionist James Marshall DeGarmo (1838-1919) was a birthright Hicksite Quaker in Dutchess County, NY. A pioneer in secondary education, he received an honorary Master of Arts from Princeton and a Doctorate of Philosophy from Hamilton College for his success as an educator at the DeGarmo Institute in Rhinebeck and Fishkill-on Hudson (now Beacon).

He was trained as a linguist and studied French, German, Latin and Greek, and he soon demonstrated his passion for the natural sciences. An engaging and enthusiastic public speaker, he was sought after to speak at Anti-Slavery and Women's Equality conventions. For over forty years, he was an active public speaker on topics ranging from glaciers to character building and Quakers to "What I Do Not Know".

DeGarmo's early Letters to the Editor of the anti-slavery newspaper "The Liberator" were thought-provoking and his book "The History of the Hicksite Quakers and their Doctrines" added to his legacy.

"So goes the good work on..."

And now let the witness begin:

Affidavit of me, Christian Schultzs in the Love Affair formerly, but now Trouble depending between Marytje, daughter of Conrad Berringer, plaintiff and Benjamin Kip, defendant. May 1761

How did Rock City’s Native Son Martin Schultz become an “idle tramp”?