Dr. Jane Simonsen: Biracial Women in Quad Cities History

Dr. Jane Simonsen, professor of history, will present "Louise Burtis and Matilda Hilbring: Biracial Women in Early Quad Cities History" via Zoom. 

Her talk is sponsored by the Davenport Public Library.

This talk will explore race, property, and power in the antebellum Quad Cities by looking at the lives of two biracial women, Louise Burtis and Matilda Hilbring.

Burtis, whose mother was Meskwaki, attempted to secure a place for herself in 1830-50s Iowa through her land claims and a series of strategic marriages.

Hilbring was a Black woman, possibly born into indentured servitude, who lived in the household of Rock Island Mayor Bailey Davenport and married a white man after giving birth to Davenport’s son.