Connecticut and Slavery in History
Slavery and Wethersfield
Slavery
and Wethersfield
by Martha Smart
Sugar
and Slavery
(excerpt)
The popular book, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, written
by Elizabeth George Speare in 1957, tells the story of Kit Tyler, orphaned on
Barbados, traveling to relatives in Wethersfield in 1687, and of her life
there. The story opens with her trip on a sailing vessel out of Saybrook,
the Dolphin, traveling from Barbados on its final leg up the
Connecticut River As the vessel starts upriver, Kit angers Nat Eaton, the young
first mate and son of the captain, telling him that the vessel is filthy with
the stench of horses. Nat’s angry reaction leads to the subject of slavery, he
asking Kit if she prefers the smell of dead bodies stinking in the holds of
ships. When she shows confusion over his response, he throws up the subject of
slavery in Barbados. She admits to it but asks if there are not also
slaves in America. He replies, yes, mostly “down Virginia way”, but fine
New England folk “like you” pay good prices for slaves. “We Eatons are almighty
proud that our ship has the good honest stink of horses…” rather than that of
Africans dying on slave ships, for Nat proudly states that his father refuses
to carry cargoes of slaves….
Available
online from the Wethersfield Historical Society
https://www.wethersfieldhistory.org/articles/slavery-and-wethersfield/
Event
Wood Memorial Library & Museum
Complicated Colonial Narratives:
Slavery in South Windsor
In 2023-2024
the Friends of Wood Memorial Library & Museum embarked on its largest
research project to date, culminating in an extensive exhibit on local evidence
of slavery. There was a lot to digest and you may not have been able
to visit.
We therefore
welcome you to one of two presentation sessions to explore the context of
slavery in Connecticut and specific local evidence in South Windsor.
Learn about the arduous research process and the many named and unnamed
enslaved people that we uncovered. What we found, both
personally and professionally, is that slavery in the North seems to have been
largely missing from the local historical narratives that we grew up
with.
More
information and registration is at this link.
The Underground Railroad in Connecticut
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The Museum of Connecticut History offers this summary of Connecticut sites that were part of
the Underground Railroad.
Underground Railroad Sites on the
Connecticut Freedom Trail
Resources for studying African-American Heritage at the CT State Library
The
Connecticut State Library has many resources available online and within the
library.
Here is a
link to some of the information useful for Genealogy while displaying additional
information on related topics. Shown is a selection of the page; there are many
resources available from the site.
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