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History to be proud of Ancestor of Fredericksburg Councilman Matt Kelly founded D.C.'s Howard University, administered agency that aided former slaves. Date published: 11/29/2004 By PAMELA GOULD City Councilman Matt Kelly loves history and believes he has a valuable family story for the U.S. National Slavery Museum. A staunch abolitionist on his mother's side not only served as a Union general, but after the Civil War headed up the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands--the federal agency created to help former slaves. The same relative also is credited with founding Howard University in Washington in 1867 to assure blacks an opportunity for higher education. Kelly describes Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard as a principled man who put his beliefs into action. "He stood by his principles and acted on them at a time when it was not popular, frankly," Kelly said in an interview last week. When Kelly told Vonita W. Foster, the museum's executive director, a bit about his activist ancestor at the opening of the museum's collections display at the University of Mary Washington's Ridderhof Martin Gallery in August, he said she asked to hear more. They haven't yet met for that purpose, but he said he's willing to share what he knows. Kelly, who earned a history degree from Mary Washington College in 1982, is also willing to do more research if the museum wants his help. Foster was unavailable for comment last week. The idea for the U.S. National Slavery Museum was inspired by former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder--the grandson of slaves--while he was on a trip to Goree Island in West Africa during his gubernatorial tenure. Museum officials say construction of the three-story, 250,000-square-foot facility should start before year's end and be finished in 2007. Artifacts are being gathered, and a clear picture of the precise story it will tell has not yet emerged. Kelly said Howard's military career and the nation's history could be described similarly--not all flattering. The Maine native commanded troops in many of the major battles of the Civil War--including Gettysburg, Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg. He lost his right arm in 1862 after getting shot twice at Fair Oaks.
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