Saratoga Soul Brandtville Blues

Book excerpt: Saratoga Soul Brandtville Blues is a visual narrative collection representing an historic agglomeration of African-American life in upstate Saratoga Springs, New York. This publication includes an initial sampling of the photographic collection. The greatest number of photographs were acquired as relatives passed away. Photographic materials then passed into the author's possession. Other photos have long been in the Daggs family circulation. Many of the vintage images capture the quiet lucid beauty of a rural African American family and their beautiful life experience. The earliest photograph captures the author's paternal Grandfather Emory, Sr. with his mother Eliza and another Saratoga Soul seated in the horse-drawn buggy. The trio stands alongside their Brandtville home circa 1909. Other photographs adduce the subtle details and appurtenant realities of Brandtville's prevailing agricultural existence. The photographs span several decades during the Twentieth Century. These souls were the early inhabitants of Brandtville and stewards of the land. They tell the story of Saratoga Soul Brandtville Blues.