Daniel B. Matthews Historical Society in Sewickley to formally install new officers

A historical society dedicated to preserving African-American history in the Sewickley area has been re-formed.

The Daniel B. Matthews Historical Society at the St. Matthews AME Zion Episcopal Church had its first meeting on Jan. 16 after being dormant for around seven years.

Officials plan to formally install the new officers at the March 12 meeting.

The private organization has 11 active members, including past president Helene Zacharias and new president Stratton Nash, a Quaker Valley School Board member and vice chair of the borough community center.

“I am so happy,” Zacharias said. “It’s a wonderful society to have. I just want to see it continue with the work that can be done, and keep our history up-front with everybody.”

She said most of the previous members have either died or have not been able to continue their volunteer efforts.

According to its literature, the nonprofit’s purpose is to educate, empower and impact the lives of people through preservation of records, visual aids and a rare collection of photographs and artifacts that depict African American history.

The goal is to empower generations of strong educated leaders of faith, vision and purpose.

It was founded on Jan. 23, 1967, by the late Susan J. Blockson, a church member, and named in honor of the late Rev. Daniel B. Matthews, church founder and its first pastor.

The church is a historical landmark and the oldest African American church in the Sewickley area. It was established in 1857.

Zacharias moved from Asbury Park, N.J., to Sewickley in 1967. She served as society president for at least 10 years. It had about 50 members at its peak.

Nash said the society would not have been able to survive without Zacharias’ commitment and perseverance to the cause.

He called her “a person whose value cannot be calculated.”

There are currently 11 members and three honorary members. No new members are expected to be added any time soon.

Other officers announced in late February include vice president Gwen Cole-Strickland, treasurer Carla Nash, society historian Gloria Cook, secretary Brandy Whitehead, local historian and author Autumn Redcross, and senior advisors Mark Foster, Dan Golden, Thomas Robertson and Allen Milliner.

Honorary members are Joyce Parker, Grace King and Henry Scales.

Zacharias said she has known Nash for several decades and has full confidence in him and the new board to move the society forward. She plans to remain involved as his assistant.

“I am happy to see that this is a good start,” she said. “I’m sure with the group he is able to put together; we’ll be able to work diligently for success. I’m going to have his back.”

One of the goals is to continue the digitization of photos and other media documenting African American culture and experiences in the Quaker Valley area.

“We’ve established an agenda,” Nash said. “We’ve established our objectives and prioritized our objectives. A lot of work needs to be done.

“It was a very significant restart and it’s perfectly timed because our artifacts and our pictures are getting to become of age.”

The society partnered with Shelley Murray of Rescuing Photos to help digitize its collection as well as contributions from the Sewickley Community Center.

There were about 800 pieces in the collection as of June, including photos, newspaper clippings, pamphlets and event announcements.

Nash said the collection has grown to more than 1,100 pieces and 227 audio cassettes with thousands of hours of interviews by Cook.

People can still submit content to the society for review and potential preservation. There is no deadline for submissions.

The society plans to establish security protocols before publicly posting the collection online.

“The digitization of those photos helps the society meet its most important long-term objective,” Nash said. “The safety and preservation of pictures and artifacts that define African American history in Sewickley.”

People interested in submitting items can email StMatthewsAMEzSewickley@gmail.com or call 412-741-4239 for more information.