June 10-15, 2012

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CG
CGL
B.A., History, Benedictine College
M.A., Teaching, Webster University

Lecturer: Courses 6, 8


Ruth Ann (Abels) Hager, CG, CGL, is an author, lecturer, and researcher. She is also a library reference specialist in St. Louis County Library's Special Collections Department where she works extensively with the Julius K. Hunter & Friends African American Research Collection. In 2006, Hager found the date of death and place of burial for Harriet, widow of Dred Scott-information previously unknown, even to Scott descendants. Dred Scott was the slave whose suit for freedom was rejected in the 1857 landmark Supreme Court Decision, Dred Scott v. Sandford. The resulting outcry further fueled the division between pro-slavery and anti-slavery supporters and contributed to the beginning of the Civil War.

She authored Dred & Harriet Scott: Their Family Story (2010), several family histories, genealogical books, and articles in genealogical periodicals. She has lectured at national, state, and local conferences, at libraries, including the Library of Congress, and began teaching at IGHR in 2005.

Her educational background includes a BA in history from Benedictine College, Atchison, Kansas, and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri. She is a member of the National Genealogical Society, Missouri State Genealogical Association, and is a Life Member of the St. Louis Genealogical Society.


Related Links:

• The Dred Scott Case -- from the National Park Service's Jefferson National Expansion Memorial website.
• The Dred Scott Heritage Foundation -- official website.