Using a range of artifacts and documents from the Old State House Collection and other resources, Dr. Blake Wintory will provide insight into the lives of James W. Demby and his son Josiah Demby, two Arkansas Unionists during the Civil War.

The Old State House's collection includes an 1864 carte de visite of Josiah Demby in his Union uniform, Demby's battleflag from the 1868 Militia War, and a hand-colored photo portrait of Josiah Demby.

Attendees will gain insight into the Demby family's unique experiences perspectives as Unionists in Arkansas during the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Dr. Blake Wintory is the director of museum services for the Division of Arkansas Heritage. He nearly 20 years of experience in historical research and preservation. Prior to his current position, Wintory served as the director of preservation at the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County (TN) and spent a decade as the director of the Lakeport Plantation house, an Arkansas State University Heritage Site in Chicot County.

Wintory is the author of Chicot County (2015) in Arcadia’s Images of America series, and has contributed articles on Arkansas history to the Arkansas Historical Quarterly, the Arkansas Review, the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, and the Biographical Database of Black Women Suffragists. His publications on Arkansas's 19th century African American legislators have helped elevate their important contributions to the state's history.