

# Event Details

- **Event Name**: WHHM Conversation: Joseph Story Fay, Thomas Simms and a Nation on the Brink
- **Event Start and End Date**: Thu, 12 Feb, 2026 at 12:00 pm
- **Event Description**: Join the Woods Hole Historical Museum for a conversation with scholar Brandon McGrath-Neely entitled “Joseph Story Fay, Thomas Simms, and a Nation on the Brink” on Thursday, February 12 at noon at the Woods Hole Public Library.

In his work, McGrath-Neely examines the “inverted lives” of Joseph Story Fay, a prominent landowner and "the first summer resident" of Woods Hole, and Thomas Simms, a man who escaped slavery, both of whom utilized geographic mobility to enhance their circumstances. Fay relocated from Boston to Savannah to capitalize on opportunities in the cotton trade and improve his financial standing. Conversely, Sims escaped enslavement in Savannah and stowed away on a Boston-bound vessel.

Both men’s endeavors collided with the crisis between North and South epitomized by the Compromise of 1850, particularly the Fugitive Slave Act. This compelled Simms’s return to slavery and complicated Fay’s business relationships in Savannah due to escalating distrust in a nation increasingly divided by region.

Their intersecting narratives reveal how individual ambition was constrained by the machinations of the slave economy within a nation teetering on the brink of civil war.

This Woods Hole Historical Museum Conversation will be held at the Woods Hole Public Library. Complimentary admission, no registration required.

For more information, email info@woodsholemuseum.org or call 508-548-7270
- **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/woods-hole/whhm-conversation-joseph-story-fay-thomas-simms-and-a-nation-on-the-brink/200029641128304
- **Event Categories**: 
- **Interested Audience**: 
  - total_interested_count: 8

## Ticket Details

- **Ticket URL**: http://facebook.com/200029641128304?utm_source=AllEvents.in&utm_medium=event-discovery-platform&utm_campaign=woods+hole-events

## Event venue details

- **city**: Woods Hole
- **state**: MA
- **country**: United States
- **location**: Woods Hole Public Library
- **lat**: 41.52344
- **long**: -70.66812
- **full address**: Woods Hole Public Library, 581 Woods Hole Rd, Woods Hole, MA 02543-1041, United States

## Event Organizer details

- **affiliate_id**: 2
- **organizer**: Woods Hole Historical Museum (https://allevents.in/org/woods-hole-historical-museum/15357695)

## Event gallery

- **Alt text**: banner
  - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events8/banners/acfd3280c144296901f30b67c81d91e1894dcbb8597106d8820ac00b8529d406-rimg-w727-h1024-dcd8c0a5-gmir?v=1770612604
- **Alt text**: thumbnail
  - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events8/banners/03dc9c1f7dd47189072f037b390f49df69531e226fc0b3c3bda09becebfaf7b1-rimg-w300-h300-dcd8c1a7-gmir?v=1770612604

## FAQs

- **Q**: When is the event happening?
  - **A:** Thu, 12 Feb, 2026 at 12:00 pm
- **Q**: Where is the event happening?
  - **A:** Woods Hole Public Library, 581 Woods Hole Rd, Woods Hole, MA 02543-1041, United States
- **Q**: Who is organizing the event?
  - **A:** Woods Hole Historical Museum
- **Q**: What type of event is this?
- **Q**: Where can I find ticket details about WHHM Conversation: Joseph Story Fay, Thomas Simms and a Nation on the Brink ?
  - **A:** You can find ticket details about this event on AllEvents.

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