History Unveiled: Journey to Freedom - Researching and Writing the Grayson Sisters' Escape

On Tuesday, August 11th, at 6pm, award-winning historian and author Gail Shaffer Blankenau shares the remarkable story behind her book, Journey to Freedom: Uncovering the Grayson Sisters' Escape from Nebraska Territory, while taking you behind the scenes of historical research and writing. Join us at the Nebraska History Museum to learn how court records, newspapers, family histories, and archival discoveries came together to reconstruct the lives of Celia and Eliza Grayson and illuminate the history of slavery and freedom seeking in Nebraska Territory.
This event is free and open to the public thanks to the support of the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation. This lecture is the final presentation during the museum’s summer History Unveiled program series, each month from June to August.

About Gail Shaffer Blankenau
Blankenau is an award-winning historian, genealogist, speaker, and author from Nebraska. Her book, Journey to Freedom: Uncovering the Grayson Sisters' Escape from Nebraska Territory, received the 2025 Nebraska Book Award for Nonfiction History and a Silver Midwest Book Award for History.
Blankenau holds master's degrees in history and international policy and has conducted research for museums, archives, and historical organizations. Her articles have appeared in scholarly and popular publications, including Nebraska History, Nebraskaland, The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, and Family Chronicle.
A frequent presenter at local, regional, and national conferences, she lectures on Nebraska history, slavery in the borderlands, genealogy, and research methodology. Through her writing and presentations, she seeks to recover overlooked stories and bring forgotten lives back into the historical record.