Join us on October 20th at 3pm as Julie Seely and Dev Seely, descendants of Nathan Thomas Seely, the African American builder of the Skinny House in Mamaroneck, will discuss the history of this ten-foot-wide house, which is now on the National Register of Historic Places and one of Westchester County’s treasures.
Nathan Seely, a talented carpenter and building contractor, worked closely with first-generation immigrants during the 1920s, establishing a successful business to respond to the wish of “every individual of every color or race to have a clean, decent place in which to house his family.” But his fortune like that of many others was wiped out by the Great Depression. He suddenly found himself without a house for his own family. Ever determined, in 1932, he built a narrow house on land given to him by Italian-American neighbors in the Washingtonville section of Mamaroneck.
Ninety-two years later, the structure still stands and was landmarked by the US Department of the Interior in 2015. It “represents both Black enterprise and good neighborliness, and is architecturally significant as a symbol of American ingenuity and craftsmanship.” Julie Seely compiled her research into a book of the same name called The Skinny House. Readers will identify with the book’s universal themes about “a struggle for education, father-son generational issues and the desire to own your own business.”
One reviewer said of the book, “The multilayered nature of the narrative is alluring. It’s not just the story of Seely’s family, but includes her own account of resurrecting the family history. The threads of these stories are well balanced. Seely’s narrative voice is elegant, and her book is well paced and full of vibrant energy. Each character is crafted with empathy and clear-eyed honesty.”
Talk will be followed by Q & A and reception. Talk is FREE but registration is required. Co-sponsored by the American Women of African Heritage and the Friends of the African American Cemetery.