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I felt that
Solomon Northup was my sibling... Solomon was always in our household, so to speak. I remember going to courthouses with her , tagging along where she would get documentation, interviewing people, descendants of the characters mentioned in the original narrative and all that. Solomon was
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She began her career as a history professor at the
Louisiana State University of Alexandria in 1965. She received the LSU Foundation Distinguished Faculty Award. Eakin was a professor for LSU for 25 years. During that time, she had a number of research projects.
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She died at her home in Bunkie, Louisiana, on
September 17, 2009. Funeral services were held at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Cheneyville. She was interred at the church cemetery.
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and received a master's degree in history from LSU in 1964. Her thesis was about
Solomon Northup. The next year, she was awarded a degree in journalism. She received a
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Eakin worked to save the Edwin Epps House that belonged to
Northup's enslaver. The house is now at LSU-Alexandria. The musical play that she wrote about
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Myrtle Sue Lyles was born on
December 7, 1918, to Mary Myrtle Guy and Samuel Pickels Lyles. She was born just north of
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the she wrote with her sister, Manie
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After she retired, she continued to write about history. In 2007 she published her definitive version of
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for accuracy in the 1960s. As part of the research, she found the house that
Northup built, the
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Fellowship. In 1985 she researched outstanding Blacks of
Louisiana and was made a Fellow of
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331:—and school textbooks. She was particularly interested in history of plantation life.
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to read while her father visited with the owner. She was fascinated by the story.
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Eakin was a freelance journalist, columnist, and photojournalist. She wrote for
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and published a version of the book that corrected historical inaccuracies.
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from 1957 to 1959. During that time, she had a weekly column at the paper.
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in 1955, edited by Ruth
Fontenot. Eakin and her husband published the
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She co-founded La Commission des Avoyelles and authored and edited
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493:"Avoyelles historian Dr. Sue Lyles Eakin dies in Bunkie at age 90"
380:. Her husband provided the photographs for the book. She authored
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399:. Over her career, she received a number of honors and awards.
255:. They had five children, Russell, Paul, Sara, Sam, and Frank.
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Eakin authored history books—particularly about events in the
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Eakin's son, Frank, who was 7 when the book was published.
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The Black Struggle for Education in Louisiana, 1877–1930s
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She began commuting to LSU at the age of 42 to earn her
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A team including Sue Eakins researched Northup's book
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Fellows of the National Endowment for the Humanities
602:"The Historian Who Unearthed "Twelve Years a Slave""
369:has been performed in the Bunkie area for years.
188:(1918–2009) was an American history professor at
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956:Louisiana State University of Alexandria alumni
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243:In 1941, she married Paul Mechlin Eakin from
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382:An Illustrated History of Rapides Parish
376:. With Normand Ferachi, she co-authored
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278:. Eakin was awarded a fellowship by the
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288:University of Southwestern Louisiana
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112:University of Southwestern Louisiana
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600:Schulman, Michael (March 7, 2014).
528:"The Woman Behind 12 Years a Slave"
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386:Louisiana: The Land and Its People
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625:University of Kentucky Libraries
436:"Heart of Louisiana: Epps House"
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200:. Eakin researched the story of
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593:Church Divinity of the Pacific
589:"Aunt Sue and Solomon Northup"
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587:White, Don (March 25, 2014).
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905:Reverse Underground Railroad
350:that was published in 1968.
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286:in history in 1980 from the
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228:Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana
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312:. She contributed to the
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391:In 1972, she received a
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251:, and they settled in
221:Cheneyville, Louisiana
718:Judge James M. Marvin
559:"Dr. Sue Lyles Eakin"
403:Later years and death
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310:Opelousas Daily World
263:Eakin graduated from
847:Twelve Years a Slave
840:Twelve Years a Slave
409:Twelve Years a Slave
374:Avoyelles Crossroads
367:Twelve Years a Slave
336:Twelve Years A Slave
265:Lecompte High School
233:Twelve Years a Slave
207:Twelve Years a Slave
786:William Prince Ford
714:(NY kidnapping law)
532:Deep South Magazine
378:Vanishing Louisiana
82:Academic background
16:Louisiana historian
621:"Sue Eakin papers"
63:September 17, 2009
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253:Bunkie, Louisiana
192:. She received a
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723:Pierre Soulé
686:Anne Northup
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567:. Retrieved
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170:Institutions
138: (1980)
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65:(2009-09-17)
931:2009 deaths
926:1918 births
753:David Fiske
739:Authors and
731:of New York
707:Samuel Bass
236:written by
48:Cheneyville
920:Categories
791:Edwin Epps
741:historians
679:and family
606:New Yorker
569:2021-06-25
537:2021-06-25
503:2021-06-25
445:2021-06-25
418:References
245:Pittsburgh
225:antebellum
148:Discipline
88:Alma mater
39:1918-12-07
832:and films
804:Locations
772:Enslavers
748:Sue Eakin
727:Governor
284:doctorate
259:Education
186:Sue Eakin
151:Historian
52:Louisiana
23:Sue Eakin
358:—
874:(score)
857:- 1969)
855:Logsdon
677:Friends
346:of the
271:(LSU).
898:Topics
866:(2013)
864:(film)
700:Rescue
691:Patsey
670:People
302:, the
294:Career
129:Thesis
54:, U.S.
851:Eakin
830:Books
46:near
440:WVUE
60:Died
29:Born
117:PhD
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