Cusick continues HSARI lecture series

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL (02/18/2014)(readMedia)-- James G. Cusick, curator of the P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History at the University of Florida, will speak on Feb. 25 as part of the Historic St. Augustine Research Institute speaker series.

Cusick's speech, "The Irish Presence in Colonial Florida," will continue HSARI's series on the forgotten people of St. Augustine.

Cusick, who is also the author of "The Other War of 1812: The Patriot War and the American Invasion of Spanish East Florida," has worked closely with the Florida Humanities Council to bring knowledge of Florida's colonial history to primary, middle school, and high school teachers around the state since 2004.

Cusick also serves on the boards of the Florida Historical Society and the Gulf South History and Humanities Conference; he is a research associate of the St. Augustine Historical Society and the Historical St. Augustine Research Institute; a former board member and officer of the Seminole Wars Historic Foundation and the St. Augustine Archaeological Association; and a judge for the Florida Book Awards administered through the State of Florida.

The Historic St. Augustine Research Institute is a collaborative project of Flagler College and the University of Florida, supported by the St. Augustine Foundation, Inc. Its purpose is to encourage, coordinate and disseminate active academic research related to the history, archaeology and historical architecture of St. Augustine, Florida, and to apply this research in support of historic preservation in the city.

This year's HSARI series is entitled "St. Augustine's Forgotten People." Lectures are free and open to the public and are held at 7 p.m. in the Flagler Room of Ponce de Leon Hall, 74 King St., St. Augustine.