Manuscripts and Audio Recordings |
Ames, Elijah. Letter, 18 January 1837, to Elisha Haley. ALS, 2 pages.
(Ms 74118)
Hopes that Congress will not take up the issue of the abolition of slavery but
let each state adopt its own mode and laws in attending to its internal affairs.
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Andrew, John Albion. Letter, 31 March 1851, to John M. Niles. LS, 1
page. (John Niles Papers)
Invites Niles to address a convention of people of Massachusetts opposed to the
Fugitive Slave Law. Andrew raised money for the defense of John Brown and
organized the First Colored Regiment, U.S. Army, in 1863. He was Governor of
Massachusetts between 1860 and 1866.
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Avery, John. Accounts of Preston, CT, clockmaker, silversmith and
jeweler. Two volumes. Volume A, 1762-1789; Volume B, 1766-1810. (Ms 72751)
Records accounts with several African-Americans, Jim (no surname) A:27, Toney
(no surname) B:75 and Tully Park, B:85. The latter was "warned out" by the
Selectmen of Preston and returned to Groton.
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Bailey, Orra B. Letter, 25 June 1864, to his wife. ALS, 2 pages. (Ms
Stacks, Bailey)
Is looking forward to his wife's visit to Washington, D.C. where he is stationed
and which he much prefers to his service in Florida, where he saw nothing but
soldiers and African-Americans. Orra Bailey was a private in Company F of the
Seventh Connecticut Infantry.
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Baker, Oliver. Account book of Montville, CT, coffin maker and
farmer. One volume. 1827-1845. (Account Books)
Records names of persons for whom he made a coffin and their relationship to the
person who paid for it. Includes coffin made for an unnamed African-American
girl on 16 May 1827 (page 2) and for Garrick, an African-American man on 20
October 1831 (inside back cover).
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Baldwin, Esther. Letter, 4 May [1833], to her sisters, Amy and H.
Baldwin in Canterbury, CT. ALS, 3 pages. (Ms 70048)
Discusses Prudence Crandall's school and her activities among African-Americans
in Norwich, CT, and New York.
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Baldwin, Esther. Letter, 29 June 1833, to her sister, Amy Baldwin in
Canterbury, CT. ALS, 1 page. (Ms 70048)
Inquires whether "Miss Crandall has been carried to jail and for why so."
Prudence Crandall was imprisoned under the act of the state legislature making
it illegal for any one to set up a school for colored people who were not
inhabitants of the town in which the school was located. When the case was
decided against her it was appealed to the supreme court of Connecticut which
reversed the decision. See 10 CT. 339.
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Baldwin, H.B. Letter, 28 July 1833, to Esther Baldwin. ALS, 2 pages.
(Ms 70048)
On Sunday Almira came to church in Canterbury with twelve African-Americans.
Those unable to sit in the seats for African-Americans sat in the front pew
opposite the minister. Mr. Payne and others have since bought the front pews and
will seat their children there next Sunday. Almira and the African-Americans in
the front pew acted improperly and laughed most of the time.
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Barlow, Joel. "Translation of part of De Warville's Travels." D, 1
volume. (Joel Barlow Papers)
Describes the situation of African-Americans and a plan to return them to
Africa. Shows the role of Quakers, especially of Warner Mifflin and Anthony
Benezet in speaking against slavery and in educating African-Americans.
Numbering of letters does not coincide with printed version, Of interest is a
deleted portion of Letter XXIV with Barlow's notation, "Why suppress this
letter? It is really destroying the original work."
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Bassett, Milton Humphrey. Papers, 1861-1866, of private in Thirteenth
Connecticut Regiment of Infantry and employee in U.S. telegraph service in
Louisiana. 2 linear inches. (Ms 88970)
Discusses social conditions of African-Americans and attitudes toward suffrage
for them.
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Beddoe, Warren. Letter, 1 April 1862, to his mother. ALS, 4 pages.
(Ms 74274, Andrews Folder)
The white inhabitants of the town of Hampton, VA, have fled and their slaves are
living in their houses, including the one in which President Tyler once lived.
Beddoe and a soldier from another regiment had dinner together at a shanty owned
by a former slave who is very happy about recent events.
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Beman, Mary Ann Prime. Bible record, 1767-1859. AD, 5 pages. (Ms
Stacks, Bible Records)
Records the birth of her mother, Judith Williams, in Middletown on 3 May 1794
and the births of her mother's seven brothers and sisters, the deaths of her
mother's parents, and her own marriage to Leverett Caster Beman and the births
of their children. The Bemans were African-Americans.
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Bickford, Christopher P. "The Amistad Blacks in Farmington—A New
View." D, 26 pages. (Ms 79429)
Surveys the history of the Amistad case, examines the origins of the abolition
movement in Farmington and describes the eight months spent by the Amistad
blacks in Farmington.
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Black Women of Connecticut. 3 boxes (15 linear inches). (Ms 84342)
Working files of photocopies of newspaper clippings, r?sum?s, letters and
photographs used in selecting 81 African-American women of Connecticut for The
Connecticut Historical Society's exhibit on "Achievement Against the Odds."
This covered a 250 year period and included fifteen categories in which African-
American women have made outstanding contributions to the quality of life in
Connecticut.
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Blakeslee, Henry E. Letter, 15 December 1862 to Charles J. Barbour.
ALS, 8 pages. (Ms 70100)
Writes from Camp Stevens in Thibodaux, LA, that their quartermasters, both white
and African-American, went to nearby plantations and helped themselves to
poultry, hogs, mules, horses and carts. Henry Blakeslee was a corporal in
Company C of the Twelfth Connecticut Infantry. He and Charles Barbour were both
from Hartford, CT.
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Blakeslee, Henry E. Letter, 6 February 1863, to Charles J. Barbour.
ALS, 4 pages. (Ms 70100)
Describes several cases in which union soldiers shot at their own men, including
an African-American who had "run guard." Henry Blakeslee was a corporal in
Company C of the Twelfth Connecticut Infantry stationed at Camp Stevens in
Thibodaux, LA.
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Bloomfield, Joseph. Memorial to the General Assembly of the State of
Connecticut, 1 January 1794. DS, 2 pages. (M. B. Brainard Mss, Folder 9)
States the evils of considering African-Americans as property to be carried away
from their dearest connections by force and hopes that Connecticut with its
liberal constitution and humane laws will promote the abolition of slavery.
Bloomfield was Attorney-General of New Jersey, 1783-1788 and became the Governor
of New Jersey in 1801.
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Boardman, Jennet. Records of births in Hartford, CT, Volume 1, 1815-
1837; Volume 2, 1838-1849. (Ms 79112)
Gives names of father, sex of child, street on which born and occasionally
indicates whether the child is of Irish or African-American heritage. Records
birth of a son to Holdridge Primus in 1842. This was African-American religious
and portrait painter, Nelson Primus.
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Boyle, Charles A. Letter, 29 April 1864, of sergeant in Fifteenth
Connecticut Regiment of Infantry, to his family. (Civil War Papers, Box I)
Over two thousand contrabands have come to their fort at Hills Point, NC, on all
kinds of boats seeking refuge. At the camp set up for these African-Americans,
there were seventeen births in one day, many of them premature because of the
anxiety caused by their sudden departure from their homes. A sketch of this camp
is included. Within six months Boyle and seventy of his regiment were dead of
yellow fever.
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Boyle, Charles A. Letter, 21 May 1864, of sergeant in Fifteenth
Connecticut Regiment of Infantry to his family. (Civil War Papers, Box I)
He had a letter from Lieutenant Marshall of the Twenty-Ninth Connecticut
(Colored) Regiment of Infantry stationed at Beaufort, SC, where they are doing
provost and picket duty. This was Rev. Henry G. Marshall, who wrote the history
of this regiment.
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Brewster, Elisha. Bill of sale, 23 August 1787, to Jeremiah
Wadsworth. ADS, 1 page. (Jeremiah Wadsworth Papers, Box 138)
Sells African-American family consisting of Peleg, his wife Lucy, his son Peter
and his daughter Peggy for a total of ?120. Elisha Brewster was a resident of
Worthington, MA, and Jeremiah Wadsworth of Hartford, CT.
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Brown, Addie. Letters, 1859-1868, to Rebecca Primus. 3 linear inches.
(Micro 79652)
Describes her employment as seamstress and housekeeper, social activities of
Hartford's African-American population and the great welcome given Connecticut's
African-American Twenty-Ninth Regiment when it returned to Hartford at the end
of the Civil War.
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Brown, Henry Harrison. Letter, 27 July 1863, to his parents in
Windham, CT. ALS, 4 pages. (Henry H. Brown Papers)
Writes that Southern African-Americans are organized into companies to build
fortifications and that officers' waiters are sometimes given a gun during
battle but that they are not otherwise armed.
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Brown, Henry Harrison. Letters, 1864-1865, of first lieutenant in
Company I of the Twenty-Ninth Colored Connecticut Regiment of Infantry. 2 linear
inches. (Henry H. Brown Papers)
Describes activities of the African-American Regiment at Conscript Camp at Fair
Haven, where its colors were presented by the African-American ladies of New
Haven, and at various camps in Maryland and South Carolina.
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Brown, Matthew. "Grave of Simon Manus Lies alone in Hillside
Cemetery." Farmington News clipping, 2 August 1990, 1 page. (Jean Fisher
African-American Collection)
African-American Simon Manus (1820-1904) of the Twenty-Ninth Colored Connecticut
Regiment of Infantry was with the Union Army when it marched on Richmond in
October 1864. He later settled in Farmington, CT, living in the former West
District Schoolhouse. The American Legion places a flag by his grave each year.
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Buckingham, William Alfred. Letter, 26 December 1863, to Major C. W.
Foster. LS, 1 page. (William A. Buckingham Papers)
Requests that Jacob Eaton be considered for a position as field officer in the
colored regiment being formed in Connecticut (i.e., the Twenty-Ninth Colored
Connecticut Regiment of Infantry). Records show that Rev. Jacob Eaton of Meriden
died in the service in March 1865 while chaplain of the Seventh Connecticut
Regiment of Infantry.
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Buffum, Arnold. Letter, 1 November 1832 to Simeon S. Jocelyn.
Typescript copy, 1 page. (Ms 73551)
Discusses plans for a "college" or "seminary on the manual labor system" for
African-American youth. William L. Garrison is to go to England to solicit
donations for this purpose.
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Bulkley, Oliver. Letter, 5 August 1761 to Samuel Jones. ALS, 1 page.
(Waterman Collection, Court Records, Colchester, CT.)
Requests him to sell his African-American boy Nero for him for at least ?40.
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Burleigh, William Henry. Poem, 31 August 1849. ADS, 1 page.
(Autographs, A. L. Butler, Vol. 2, No. 88)
The truly free loathe those who keep silent and do not rebuke those who hold
slaves. William Burleigh of Hartford, CT, was a lecturer for the American Anti-
Slavery Society between 1836 and 1843 and editor of their newspaper the
Christian Freeman between 1843 and 1849.
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Burritt, Elihu. Letter, 17 November 1856, to a friend in Springfield,
Mass. (Ms Stacks, Burritt)
Suggests giving a lecture on his Emancipation Scheme in Springfield, MA,
charging a small admission fee. Comments that this subject had been well
received in past presentations. Burritt urged the utilization of the public
domain for compensated emancipation and organized a convention to stimulate
interest in his plan.
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Butler, Thomas Belden. Letter, 2 March 1850, to Gideon Tomlinson.
ALS, 1 page. (Gideon Tomlinson Papers)
Decries the influence of Mr. Buchanan and General Lewis Cass in the passage of
territorial bills without any restriction of slavery. Daniel Webster's aid has
been sought but he has been entrapped by the South.
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Camp, John D. Letter, 21 August 1835, to Austin F. Williams. ALS, 1
page. (Austin F. Williams Papers)
Urges Williams to avoid unnecessary conversation on the subject of abolition
while with E. Cowles, because the latter said that he would not buy goods of any
abolitionist; yet, Camp is eager to induce him to open an account with their
company.
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Canterbury, CT. Selectmen. Account book. One volume. 1815-1819.
(Canterbury Town Records and Papers)
Records payment for coffin and funeral of Prince, an African-American. His age
and the nature of his terminal illness are not indicated.
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Carrington, George. Account books of Hadlyme, CT, Congregational
minister. Three volumes. 1837-1843. (Ms 74169)
Personal accounts include record of payments for washing done by African-
American woman Mary Ann Brown. She also worked for him to earn credit toward a
second hand cooking stove.
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Chapin, Leander. Letter, 18 March 1863 to his mother, Mrs. Amelia
Chapin. ALS (photocopy), 20 pages. (Ms 82945)
There are many African-Americans in the Union Camp at Suffolk, VA, selling
things and getting clothes to wash. He enjoys seeing African-American children.
They remind him of the little iron statue he gave Louisa. Chapin was in the 16th
Connecticut Regiment of Infantry. He died at Andersonville, GA.
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Chatham, CT. Selectmen. Census, January 1, 1774. DS, 1 page. (Chatham
Town Records and Papers)
Indicates that of the total of 2397 inhabitants, 26 are African-Americans.
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Colchester, CT. Selectmen. Health Certificate, 18 February 1805. DS,
1 page. (Ms 79497)
Statement signed by Colchester selectmen Henry Champion and William Morgan that
African-Americans Candace Apy, aged 28, Robin Freeman, 27, and Jane Johnson, 26,
are in good health. Followed by statement of emancipation signed by their owner
Joseph Taylor. Colchester required that slaves considered for emancipation be in
good health and between the ages of twenty-five and forty-five so that they
would not become a burden on the town.
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Concklin, Benjamin. Bill of sale, 11 August 1788, to Freeman Kilborn.
ADS, 2 pages. (Jeremiah Wadsworth Papers, Box 138)
Sells African-American boy Mark, aged 13 years, for ?33. Both buyer and seller
were residents of Hartford, CT. At the bottom of the first page a second bill of
sale transfers Mark from Kilborn to Jeremiah Wadsworth, also of Hartford, for
the same amount on 18 February 1789.
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Connecticut. Board of Commissioners. Record book, 1798-1799. 1
volume. (Ms Stacks, Connecticut)
Lists Connecticut's 67 assessment districts and the number of slaves owned or
superintended in each on the first day of October 1798. A total of 884 slaves
are listed, 653 of which were between the ages of 12 and 50 and "subject to
taxation" and 231 of which were exempted from taxation by the laws of the state
or in consequence of disability.
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Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences. Replies to survey, 1798-
1806. 2 linear inches. (Ms Stacks, Connecticut)
Gives a description, statistics and brief historical sketch of 27 Connecticut
towns, including information on the number of African-Americans and their
economic, social and religious status.
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Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities. Minutes of
meetings, 1943-1970. 5 volumes. (Ms 75083)
Records complaints presented and action taken in regard to racial discrimination
in employment and housing and imbalance in public schools.
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Connecticut General Assembly. "A List of the Number of Inhabitants
in Each Town in the Colony of Connecticut Taken in the Year 1762." AD, 2 pages.
(Ms Stacks, Connecticut)
Gives the number of whites, African-Americans and Indians in each of the sixty-
eight towns in the Colony of Connecticut.
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Crandall, Prudence. Letter, 26 February 1833, to Simeon Smith
Jocelyn. Typescript copy, 1 page. (Ms 73551)
Asks his advice on what she should do in view of the threat of the townspeople
of Canterbury to destroy her undertaking of a school for African-American girls.
Mr. Tappan offered to accompany her students when they entered school.
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Crandall, Prudence. Letter, 9 April 1833, to Simeon Smith Jocelyn.
Typescript copy, 1 page. (Ms 73551)
Reports that all inhabitants of Canterbury, except Stephen Coit, resolved at a
meeting not to assist or sell anything to her family. The stage driver did not
pick up William L. Garrison after a lecture in Brooklyn, CT. He had planned to
address a meeting of African-Americans in Hartford that evening.
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Crandall, Prudence. Letter, 17 April 1833, to Rev. Simeon S. Jocelyn.
Typescript copy, 2 pages. (Ms 73551)
She is to be fined for harboring Miss Hammond, an African-American girl in her
school. Rev. Samuel May has advised her to stand trial rather than pay the fine.
He has offered bonds as security against damage by her pupils. The people of
Reading, MA, are willing to accept transfer of her school to their town. She
refuses to now teach in a school for white students.
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Cross, Joseph O. Letters, 1864-1865 to his wife, Abby. 10 ALsS. (Ms
74274)
On 10 December 1864, he writes from Chapin's Farm, VA, how difficult it was to
break the news to a fellow soldier of the death of two of his brothers. He adds
that five soldiers from the Forty-First Pennsylvania Black Regiment were shot
that morning. Joseph Cross was an African-American sergeant in Company H of the
Twenty-Ninth Connecticut Black Regiment of Infantry. He owned land in Griswold,
CT.
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Denison, Peleg. Account books of Stonington, CT, general store.
Twenty-six volumes, 1812-1842. (Ms 72933)
Ledger 9, covering the period 1822-1828, includes accounts with African-American
women Rhoda Orchard (page 7), Juno Hallam (page 38) and Susan Hallam (page 42),
and African-American men Bill Williams (page 20), Elias Lymus (page 27) and Adam
Hallam (page 35). The corresponding daybooks list details on items purchased.
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Douglas, William. Bill of sale, 26 January 1771, to John Peirce
[sic]. ADS, 1 page. (M. B. Brainard Letters, Folder 6)
Sells African-American man Caesar for ?60. His age is not indicated. William
Douglas was a resident of New Haven and John Peirce of Plainfield, CT.
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Douglass, Frederick. Letter, 13 July 1863, to Edwin M. Stanton. ALS,
1 page. (Tracy Collection)
Recommends George T. Downing for Brigade Quarter Master of Colored Troops.
Thinks that such an appointment would tend to facilitate African-American
enlistments. Douglass, an escaped slave, assisted in recruiting African-American
regiments during the Civil War. He was appointed U.S. Minister to Haiti in 1889.
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Doyle, William. Letter, 10 February 1818, to Messrs. Williamson &
DeVillers. (Ms 48374)
Seeks advice on procedure to follow to buy African-American slave Major for the
estate of Francis Doyle in Georgia. Major would like to be purchased in this way
because he has a wife and children on the place.
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Durand, Sarah M. Arithmetic workbook of student at Stamford Academy.
1 volume, 1855. (Ms 74850)
Poses problem of ship's captain whose vessel is running out of provisions. His
sailors agree to his proposal to cast lots so that every ninth man be thrown
overboard until only half remain. Of an original crew of thirty, half of whom
are African-American, only whites remain after half the crew are tossed
overboard. Includes illustration of how he placed them.
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Dyer, Eliphalet. Letter, 7 April 1786 to John Lawrence. ALS, 2 pages.
(Hoadly Collection, Box 3, Men of Note)
Gave Juba Noles, his slave since birth, to his son. The latter offered him his
freedom providing he serve in the army for three years and sign over his wages
to him. Swindlers persuaded Juba to relinquish his notes for trinkets. Eliphalet
Dyer was Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court between 1789 and 1793.
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Eddy, Hiram. Diary of Winchester, CT, chaplain in the Second
Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. One volume (typescript). 1861-1862. (Ms 78637)
After being separated from his regiment, he made his way to a small house to ask
for food. It was occupied by free African-Americans who sold him a hoecake but
said they could not give him shelter because the rebel cavalry was nearby. The
kindness of the occupant's comment "The Lord bless you and prosper you in your
cause" deeply moved him.
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Edwards, Jonathan, and Daggett, David. Letter, 4 March 1793, to
Samuel Huntington. ALS, 1 page. (Ms 73093)
Inquire, on behalf of the Connecticut Society for the Promotion of Freedom,
whether he has received a reply from the Governors of North or South Carolina in
regard to African-American Aaron, now called Bristol, who was decoyed or
kidnapped from New Hartford, CT. As Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme
Court of Errors, Daggett in 1833 in the Prudence Crandall case upheld the right
of state legislatures to deprive free African-Americans of school instruction
except by permission of town selectmen under rule that they were not U.S.
citizens.
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Ellsworth, John. Register of deaths in the first school society in
the town of Hartford. 1 volume, 1810-1846. (Ms Stacks, Ellsworth)
Lists date and age at death. Between 1810 and 1818 African-Americans are listed
in a separate section at the end of the volume, starting in December 1818 there
is a single list which specifies "black" or the deceased's relationship to the
head of the household. The latter list was kept by Stephen Page.
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Ellsworth, Oliver. Letter, 7 March 1790 to his wife, Abigail. ALS, 2
pages. (Ms 74109, Ellsworth Folder)
Gives terms of agreement for African-American slave girl who is to be held only
until she is twenty-five years of age. If she comes to want after her term of
service has expired, he is responsible for her support. This reflects
Connecticut's 1784 bill for gradual emancipation of slaves. Ellsworth was
commissioned Chief Justice of the U.S. in 1796.
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Faxon, William. Letter, 22 February 1866, to Mark Howard. ALS, 8
pages. (Mark Howard Papers)
Discusses President Johnson's chameleonic views, including his apparent approval
of the Freedman's Bureau Bill while consulting with Senator Lyman Trumbull. It
was Lyman Trumbull who in 1864 had introduced the resolution which became the
basis of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
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Fenn, Stephen. Letter, 4 July 1864, to his brother. ALS, 4 pages. (Ms
71429)
Complains that wages are being raised for African-Americans and Irishmen but his
salary as minister remains the same.
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Fisher, Jean. African-American Collection. 5 linear inches. (Ms
Stacks)
Clippings, mainly from the Hartford Courant and the Hartford Advocate since
1986, and added to weekly, about activities of African-Americans in all walks of
life, including politics, medicine, history, religion, community affairs, sports
and theater and on topics such as the Randolph Linsley Simpson Collection at the
Wadsworth Atheneum, the African-American Cultural Center in New Haven and the
"I Have A Dream" program at Hartford's Wish School.
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Fleming, Walter. "Deportation and Colonization: An Attempted
Solution of the Race Problem." D, 28 pages. (Eaton-Miller Manuscripts)
Discusses various plans proposed to segregate African-Americans in areas abroad
or in this country with provision of land, housing, food and employment. They
were unsuccessful, partly because few were interested in leaving for areas they
did not know and partly because those in charge of colonization proved to be
swindlers who mistreated them.
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Foote, Joel. Account book of Colchester, CT, dyeing and fulling mill.
One volume. 1791-1810. (Account Books)
Records dyeing and dressing cloth for African-American man Jeremiah (no surname)
in exchange for spinning yarn and breaking wool between 1792 and 1796 (page 71).
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Forbes, Ann R. Letter, 11 July 1854, to Nancy Swift. ALS, 3 pages.
(National Popular Education Board Records, Box II)
Has been teaching several slaves among her twenty-three scholars in a school in
Avon, MO, and finds them eager to learn. Ann Forbes was one of the teachers
sponsored by the National Popular Education Board to teach on the western
frontier.
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French, Christopher. Diary of British major while imprisoned in
Hartford, CT, in 1776. AD, 74 pages. (American Revolution, Box III)
On 9 May 1776, the day after re-elected Governor Trumbull had marched in state
to the meeting house, Connecticut's African-Americans according to annual custom
elected a Governor for themselves. They chose John Anderson, African-American
servant of captured loyalist Governor Skene who was under "honorable
confinement." Anderson gave a supper and ball to a number of his electors. They
had a merry time dancing until about three o'clock in the morning.
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French, John. Letter, 17 January 1837, to Elisha Haley. ALS, 3 pages.
(Ms 74118)
Regrets that petition was sent from New London respecting the abolition of
slavery. This question is creating much difficulty in his party's ranks.
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Frisbie, Noah. Notes. AD, 1 page. (Waterman Collection, Land Records)
Three drafts of inquiry as to health of Cate, an African-American woman who
washed for his wife and worked hard and was sold by Daniel Olds to Joshua
Porter. Notes appear on verso of 5 March 1753 deed for land in Branford, CT,
from Noah Frisbie to Naomi Rose.
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Fuller, Sue Elizabeth. "The Jocelyn Sisters of New Haven."
Typescript, 29 pages. (Ms 81671)
Describes the lives of the daughters of abolitionist Nathaniel Jocelyn, and
quotes from their diaries about Cinque and the prisoners of the Amistad, about
their teaching at the African church school and attending an Anti-Slavery
Society meeting in New York City to hear Frederick Douglass speak.
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Gaines, Edythe J. Speech, 1984, "A Heritage of Black Excellence."
Audiocassette, 1 reel. (Ms 83907)
Discusses the role of the church and the school in shaping African-American
leaders and contributions of African-Americans to the improvement of American
life.
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Garrison, William Lloyd. Letter, 30 May 1831, to Simeon S. Jocelyn.
Typescript copy, 1 page. (Ms 73551)
Discusses establishment of a college for African-Americans and Mr. Tappan's
generosity. Most subscribers to the Liberator are African-Americans. The
colonization influence is harming his newspaper.
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Garrison, William Lloyd. Letter, 1 May 1833, to Simeon S. Jocelyn.
Typescript copy, 1 page. (Ms 73551)
Suggests he write to Samuel E. Sewall, corresponding secretary of the New
England Anti-Slavery Society concerning his acting as agent for the Society.
Their funds are almost exhausted.
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Gates, Oliver W. Diary of First Sergeant in Company F of the
Sixteenth Connecticut Regiment of Infantry. One volume. 1864. (Ms 78606)
Describes their surrender in April 1864 at Plymouth, NC, and how the Rebels
raised the "black flag" against African-Americans found in uniform and
mercilessly shot them down. It was this regiment who, seeing that surrender was
inevitable, tore its flag into strips and distributed it among its members for
concealment during imprisonment, rather than risk having it desecrated by the
Southern forces.
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Gillette, Francis. Papers of Abolitionist, 1838-1863. 19 items. (Ms
76853)
Includes drafts and newspaper clippings of speeches against the Canterbury Law,
the Fugitive Slave Acts and other antislavery items.
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Gloucester, Jeremiah. "Address Delivered to the African Association
of New Brunswick [New Jersey] on their Fourth Anniversary, 1st of January
1820." AD, 6 pages. (Ms Stacks, Gloucester)
Feels that better times lie ahead for African-Americans; eulogizes Samuel John
Mills, who organized a school for training African-American preachers.
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Goodwin, Lizzie. Letter, June 11, 1854, to her aunt. ALS, 4 pages.
(Emma Whipple Correspondence)
Would feel more amicably disposed toward her stepfather if he were not an
abolitionist. Glad that the fugitive slave in Boston was carried off in triumph,
a reference to Anthony Burns. The buildings along his route to the wharf were
draped in black and the bells tolled as he embarked on the vessel to be shipped
back to the South.
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Greenleaf, Charles Henry. Letters, 1861-1864, to his parents in
Hartford, CT. 30 ALS. (Civil War Papers, Box II)
Writes about the kind reception he and his fellow Union soldiers received at a
home in Hagerstown, MD, in July 1862. During dinner a African-American slave
fanned away the flies with peacock feathers. He was transferred from Company A
of the First Connecticut Regiment of Infantry to the New York Fifth Regiment of
Cavalry and died in August 1864 of wounds received in action near Harper's
Ferry, VA. Photograph of him in full uniform with sword with collection.
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Greenwich, CT. Selectmen. Document, 8 February 8 1813. DS, 1 page.
(Ms 84482)
They have examined African-American woman Jone [sic] and find that she meets
both health and age requirements for emancipation and therefore give Jotham
Merritt permission to give her her freedom.
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Gwillim, Reese B. Diary of West Hartford, CT, corporal in Company E
of the Twenty-Second Connecticut Infantry. 3 volumes, 1862-1863. (Ms Stacks,
Gwillim)
On 22 February 1863, he recounts a long conversation with the Chaplain's
African-American assistant Tom, whose mother was a slave and the daughter of her
owner. His father had come from Africa in a cargo of slaves. His parents fled to
Massachusetts when he was three months old. He lived in Hartford, CT, in his
twenties, where Deacon Mars of the Morgan Street Church persuaded him to sign a
temperance pledge, which he kept.
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H., I. Letter, 11 November 1754, to Benjamin Farar. ALS, 1 page. (Ms
Stacks, H)
Writes from Goshen, CT, about the exchange of slaves with a Dr. Gale. The letter
is partially in code but the key to the code is given at the end of the letter.
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Hale, Timothy. Bill of sale, 3 February 1769, to Isaac Hale. ADS
(photocopy), 1 page. (Ms 77964)
Sells five-year-old African-American girl Flora for ?15. Buyer and seller were
both residents of Glastonbury, CT.
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Hale, Timothy. Bill of sale, 14 April 1778, to Daniel Hale and Frary
Hale. DS (photocopy), 1 page. (Ms 77964)
Sells thirty-six year old African-American man Peter for ?60. Buyers and seller
were both residents of Glastonbury, CT.
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Harris, Steven. Interview for Vietnam War Veterans oral history
project, 1981. Typescript, photocopy, 137 pages. (Ms 82141)
Tells of his youth as an African-American in Stowe Village, his enlistment for
military service, his experiences with racism while in basic training, events in
Vietnam and his return to Hartford and work with young people in Stowe Village.
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Hart, Levi. "Some Thoughts on the Subject of Freeing the Negro
Slaves in the Colony of Connecticut Humbly Offered to the Consideration of All
Friends to Liberty and Justice." AD, 20 pages (with typed transcription). (Ms
Stacks, Hart)
Proposes plan to reimburse masters for freeing slaves by imposing a tax of three
pence on the pound. An alternate method would be to consider about twelve years
of service as compensation for the price paid for a slave or for food and
shelter given during his childhood or to be provided during his old age. Those
African-Americans guilty of serious crimes should be transported to Guinea.
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Hart, Samuel. Letter, 27 November 1798, to Andrew Kingsbury. ALS, 1
page. (Andrew Kingsbury Papers)
Inquires as to category in which African-American women slaves are to be
included on the 1798 direct tax.
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Hartford Freedmen's Aid Society, Records, 1865-1869. 45 items. (Ms
Stacks, Hartford)
Accounts kept by Jonathan Flynt Morris, treasurer, of subscriptions and
donations of clothing received and payments made to the Baltimore Association
for the Moral and Educational Improvement of the Colored People. One of the
teachers was Rebecca Primus, a Hartford African-American who founded Primus
Institute. Includes a brief history of the Hartford Freedmen's Aid Society, a
branch of the New York National Freedmen's Relief Association.
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Haseltine, Emily J. Letter, 16 June 1852, to Nancy Swift. ALS, 4
pages. (National Popular Education Board Records, Box II)
Has enjoyed teaching in Tennessee and would like to make it her home could she
do so without being connected with slavery. Emily Haseltine was sponsored by the
National Popular Education Board.
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Hatch, Patience. Bill of sale, 8 February 1760, to Silvanus Hatch.
DCy, 1 page. (Ms 87109)
Sells her half interest in African-American boy Salathiel for ?13, stipulating
that he is to be emancipated at the age of thirty. Buyer and seller were both
residents of Falmouth, MA.
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Hawley, Joseph Roswell. Letter, December 1861, to Charles Dudley
Warner. Typescript copy, 9 pages. (Ms 82194)
Is very fond of African-American contraband Siab, who told surgeon Francis Bacon
that he was born in SC but did not want to leave his bones there. He is working
for Quartermaster Terry.
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Hawley, Joseph Roswell. Letter, 27 February 1869, to Charles Dudley
Warner. Typescript copy, 6 pages. (Ms 82194)
David Locke is coming to Hartford to lecture. Has written a Petroleum Nasby
letter every week for seven years and his weekly has reached over 100,000
subscribers. His father used to get brickbatted when he lectured on antislavery.
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Hitchcock, Watson C. Letter, 29 August 1864, to his mother. ALS, 5
pages. (Ms 87113)
Gives reasons why he voted for Stephen Douglas in 1860. Feels African-Americans
should be free but resents Lincoln's doctrine of giving them equal rights.
Considers Lincoln the man most capable of ending the war and would therefore
vote for him in 1864. He was from Prospect, CT, and served in the Twentieth
Connecticut Regiment of Infantry.
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Hogan, Neil. "Ex-Slave Made Daring Escape, Joined Black Regiment In
State." New Haven Register, clipping, 1 page. (Jean Fisher Collection)
Alfred Somers, an African-American slave cook, was taken along to Pike's Peak in
Colorado by gold miners. He walked back East and joined fugitive slaves in
crossing the Mississippi River's Saye bridge. He enlisted in the Thirty-First
Colored Connecticut Regiment of Infantry. Later he settled in New Haven.
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Holwell, John C. Letters, 1861-1862, to his wife Rebecca. 17 ALsS.
(Civil War Papers, Box II)
Describes army life in New Bern, NC, and tells his wife how, in March 1862,
accompanied by an unnamed African-American captain, he searched for a missing
soldier. He was in Company H of the Eleventh Connecticut Regiment of Infantry
and was killed 17 September 1862 in action at Antietam, MD.
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Hooker, John. Letter, 10 October 1858, to Prudence Crandall Philleo.
ALS, 4 pages. (John Hooker Letters)
Feels that Calvin Philleo's position on slavery was not consistent and not
sufficiently marked to deserve mention on his tombstone. Calvin Philleo was
Prudence's husband.
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Hooker, Thomas Hart. Manumission, 9 May 1775. ADS, 1 page. (Ms 89816)
Frees his African-American slave Bristow upon receipt of ?60. Thomas Hooker was
a resident of Hartford.
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Hooker, William. Bill, March 1752, from Willis & Stocker. (Ms 69557)
Charge of ?470 for African-American man Pitchford. Willis & Stocker was located
in Middletown, CT.
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Hopkins, Samuel. Letter, 25 January 1775, to Levi Hart. ALS, 4 pages.
(Miscellaneous Letters)
Briefly analyzes Hart's paper on freeing African-American and West Indian slaves
in Connecticut. Feels that slaves must be freed even if their masters are not
compensated, just as Christian slaves in Algiers held in bondage by the
Mohammedans, as described by John Collins, have a right to freedom. Hopkins was
considered one of the greatest theologians of eighteenth-century New England. He
served a congregation in Newport, RI.
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Howell, Elinor. Petition, 5 May 1663, to Connecticut General
Assembly. ADS, 1 page. (Wyllys Papers, Vol. I, Item 11)
Her home, household goods and cornfield were destroyed six years ago in a fire
set by Indians and African-Americans. They were fined at the trial but most of
the sum was abated. Since she was the greatest loser she requests more
compensation.
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Hubbard, Leverett. Account book of New Haven, CT, physician. One
volume. 1775-1793. (Ms 90250)
In December 1783, he made five visits to Sue Martin, a African-American woman
living in the Noyes household. He lists treatment and medicines and his charge
for each.
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Hull, Latham. Letter, 29 December 1836, to Elisha Haley. ALS, 1 page.
(Ms 74118)
Reports that Charles Calistus Burleigh delivered an abolitionist lecture in
Middletown. Opponents blew a horn and "gave him a gun." He took his flight and
has not been seen since. He was the editor of Unionist, an abolitionist
newspaper.
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Huntington, Jedediah. Letters to his father, Jabez Huntington. 2
ALsS. (Jedediah Huntington Papers)
On 16 June 1763 he asks his father to let his African-American, Boston, come
down to be of service to him at commencement. Jedediah graduated from Harvard
that year. On 1 June 1772 he notifies his father of Boston's death.
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Huntington, Jedediah. Letters to his father, Jabez Huntington. 4
ALsS. (Jedediah Huntington Papers)
Between 1775 and 1776 sends news about African-American Sam's activities in
Roxbury, MA, and as a sailor. Considers selling him in Albany because he cannot
get him into the Army without transgressing a rule of Congress that forbids the
enlisting of African-Americans unless they have certificates of their freedom
from their masters.
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Huntington, William H. Diary of Lebanon, CT, sergeant in Company D of
the Eighth Regiment of Connecticut Infantry. AD, 4 volumes, 1863-1866. (Ms
74023)
Attended African-American Sunday School classes, exhibits and Christmas
programs. Visited African-Americans and discussed slavery with them, taught at
their evening school and helped one girl get started for Springfield. Went to a
lecture about the Freedmen at Norfolk given by a Mr. Higgins.
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Jarvis, William. Letters to his nephew William Jarvis. ALsS, 10
linear inches. (Ms 70425)
Strong comments against abolitionists. Fears a slave insurrection with a
massacre of Southern whites. Feels that slaves if emancipated would not be able
to support themselves. Reports that men eligible for the draft have headed for
England and Ireland. See especially letters dated 26 December 1859, 7 and 14
July 1861, and 12 August 1862.
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Jenks, Edward M. Account book of Canterbury, CT, store owner. One
volume. 1832-1868. (Ms 80217)
This daybook shows many transactions with Prudence, Almira and Hezekiah Crandall
and Calvin Philleo during the period when she enrolled African-American girls in
her school. This disproves the legend that all Canterbury merchants refused to
do business with her.
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Jewett, Levi. Letter, 21 September 1862, to his wife, Mary. ALS, 4
pages. (Levi Jewett Papers)
Writes that they have a "contraband" African-American woman, Nelly, who does
all the washing for the sick and the hospital attendants. Jewett was assistant
surgeon in the Fourteenth Regiment of Connecticut Infantry.
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Jocelyn, Elizabeth Hannah. Diary, one volume, 1839. (Ms Stacks,
Jocelyn)
On 23 September 1839, notes that the evening paper stated that the Africans who
had lately been transferred from the New Haven jail to the one in Hartford had
been tried and the judges decided to delay the sentence until November. This is
a reference to the Amistad case. Her father and uncle, Nathaniel and Simeon
Jocelyn, had made arrangements for the legal defense of Cinque and his group.
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Jocelyn, Elizabeth Hannah. Diary, one volume, 1850. (Ms Stacks,
Jocelyn)
On 7 May 1850, she attended an antislavery meeting at the Tabernacle in New York
City. Speakers included Mr. Garrison, Frederick Douglass, Samuel Ward, William
Henry Furness, Mr. Lewis, Dr. Grant and Henry Ward Beecher. Capt. Rindus made
great disturbances but the Hutchinsons sang during the commotion. Her group ate
at the fair for African-Americans at noon.
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Jocelyn, Frances Maria. Diary, one volume, 1852-1853. (Ms Stacks,
Jocelyn)
Between 20 April and 22 June 1852, she records periodically that she and members
of her family are reading to each other from Uncle Tom, or Life Among the Lowly
by Mrs. H. B. Stowe. Upon completing the book she notes that it is not fiction
and comments on how she pitied him. Frances was the daughter of Nathaniel
Jocelyn, abolitionist.
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Johnson, Jean. Elementary school lesson plan on slavery in
Farmington, CT. Typescript (photocopy), 80 pages. (Ms 84645)
Using manuscripts, contemporary newspapers, town histories and biographies,
describes slavery and the activities of African-Americans and abolitionists in
the Farmington area in language intelligible to the average ten year old.
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Johnson, John B. Bill of sale, 3 July 1787, to John Marshall. ADS, 2
pages. (Welling Collection)
Sells African-American woman Dicey and her child for ?70. On verso, John
Marshall writes bill of sale for this mother and child to Jaqueline Ambler, for
the same amount. John Marshall of Virginia married Mary Ambler in 1783. The 1790
census shows Jaqueline Ambler, Esquire, as a resident of Virginia. John Marshall
was Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court between 1801 and 1835.
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Johnson, Samuel William. Letter, 11 April 1851, to his father,
William Samuel Johnson. ALS, 4 pages. (Ms 87799)
Public opinion supports the fugitive slave, whom abolitionists will probably
rescue even though U.S. troops, citizen volunteers and the police force are out
in full force. Ministers are preaching that conscience is a higher law than that
of the land. Orators at Free Soil meetings are eloquent and have immense talent.
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Johnson, Susan. Diary of Stratford, CT, woman during journey in
Virginia and North Carolina. AD, 1 volume, 1801-1802. (Ms Stack, Johnson)
Notes a great variation in living conditions for African-Americans. On 20
November 1801, she was shocked at seeing how some endured the cold in rags and
without shoes or stockings; yet, on 22 March 1802, she visited a plantation
where 180 of them had large cornfields they cultivated for themselves and all
the cloth they needed.
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Johnson, Susan Edwards. Letters, 11 and 18 May 1851, to her father,
William Samuel Johnson. 2 ALsS. (Ms 87799)
On May 11, she describes how the African-Americans on her host's plantation
entertained themselves by singing and playing on the banjo and flute late into
the warm moonlit night. On May 18, her host called in four of his little
African-Americans to dance for his guests. They were jolly little boys and
danced well. His guests commented that they were very different from the sad
little wretches portrayed by abolitionists.
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Kellogg, Robert Hale. Letter, 25 February 1864, to his father. ALS, 4
pages. (Ms 68013)
African-Americans are made to don the Yankee uniform almost as soon as they set
foot within Union lines. Kellogg was a sergeant in Company A of the Sixteenth
Regiment of Connecticut Infantry in the vicinity of Plymouth, NC, at that time.
He was from Wethersfield, CT.
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Kirtland, Elizabeth. Register of Deaths, Saybrook, CT, 1782-1862. 1
volume. (Ms 75834)
Lists date of death, name, relationship to head of household, age and cause.
Indicates African-Americans.
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Kitchel, Harvey D. Letter, 29 December 1839, to Stephen S. Sheldon.
ALS, 1 page. (Amy Kitchell Papers)
Reports that the night before a county antislavery meeting was to convene in
Wolcott, the meeting house was blown up and burned to ashes. The meeting was
held over the still smoldering ruins.
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Lanphear, George F. Letter, 20 June 1863, to his sister, Eliza
Shattuck. ALS, 6 pages. (Civil War Papers, Box II)
The Confederates are uncomfortably close to their camp near Triune, TN, and one
shell fell into a pot of soup being prepared by an African-American cook in the
Second Indiana Cavalry, knocking it all over the ground and leaving the men
without supper.
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Lawson Family Papers, 1859-1976. 11 linear inches. (Ms 83827)
Correspondence, clippings and music programs of African-American musicians
Raymond Augustus Lawson and his son Warner Lawson. Correspondents include Harry
T. Burleigh and Roland Hayes, African-American singers of spirituals and Robert
A. Moody, African-American minister of Shiloh Baptist Church in Hartford, CT.
Documents include 1859 manumission papers for Jane Napier (grandmother), James
Carroll Napier (uncle), and Elias Watkins Napier, father of Ida Napier Lawson,
wife of Augustus.
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Lebanon, CT. Inferior Court. Proceedings (draft), 17 June 1758. AD, 1
page. (Jonathan Trumbull, Sr., Papers)
Jonathan Trumbull, His Majesty's Assistant for the Colony of Connecticut, rules
that African-Americans Cato, Newport and Adam are to be publicly whipped on the
naked body for nightwalking after nine in the evening without an order from
their masters. Their owners are each fined 7s and costs.
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Lebanon (CT) Selectmen. Census, 1 January 1774. DS, 1 page. (Lebanon
Town Records)
Shows the number of whites, African-Americans and Indians by sex and in
specified age groups. There were 3841 whites and 121 African-Americans in town
at that time.
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Lenko, George. Interview for Vietnam War veterans oral history
project, 1981. Typescript, photocopy, 113 pages. (Ms 82141)
Interviewer John Puzzo describes a confrontation with four African-Americans
when his motorcycle ran out of gas while riding through the ghetto of Newburgh,
NY, in June 1967 (page 1). Lenko describes his experiences with reverse
discrimination while working in East Hartford in the 1970's (pages 95 and 96).
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Littell, Eliakim. Letter, 28 June 1848, to John M. Niles. ALS, 2
pages. (John Niles Papers)
Was greatly encouraged by Niles' speech against slavery. Discusses John Caldwell
Calhoun's waning power as speaker—his logic is of no use because his
premises are wrong. Calhoun was the leading senatorial champion of slavery and
the Southern cause of states' rights.
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Locke, David Ross. Letter, [13 March 1869], to Joseph R. Hawley. ALS,
1 page. (Joseph Hawley Papers)
Encloses five page speech purportedly given by Petroleum V. Nasby (Locke's
pseudonym) in favor of James Dixon, exclaiming "Ameriky for white men!" Locke
was a powerful political satirist. He presented the Democratic pro-slavery side
as inept and ridiculous. Abraham Lincoln enjoyed reading Nasby letters to his
visitors. Thomas Nast created a pictorial embodiment of Nasby.
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Lyon, Mary E. Letter, 17 June 1854, to Nancy Swift. ALS, 3 pages.
(National Popular Education Board Records, Box II)
Reports that she teaches every Sunday at the African Sabbath School in
Louisville, KY, and that they seem grateful for her instruction. Mary Lyon was
one of the teachers sponsored by the National Popular Education Board to teach
on the western frontier.
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M. C. Letter, undated, to Amy Baldwin. AL, 2 pages. (Ms 70048)
Remembers the many pleasant hours they spent together under the chestnut tree
studying definitions in preparation for Miss Crandall's classes. Wishes she
could go to school there again.
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Main, Samuel M. "History of the Anti-Slavery Society of Fairfield
County." ADS, 24 pages. (Ms 70891)
States their goals and the opposition they met. Reports destruction of the
Baptist meeting house by gunpowder explosion during the night of 29 November
1838, and explosion during their meeting in David Chichester's home in Wilton on
18 December 1838. Lists names of persons involved in the Underground Railroad
and of pioneers in the antislavery movement. Describes the Atherton Gag Law.
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Mallett, Thomas, et al. Award, 15 August 1685, in controversy between
Samuel Willis and Richard Lord, owners and John Lucas, lessee. (Wyllys Papers,
Vol. VIII, Item 595)
Arbitrators rule that John Lucas is to deliver to Willis and Lord the four
African-American children—Combo, Mingo, Dick, and Jack—now on the
Cabbage Tree Plantation in St. Paul's Parish in Antigua.
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Mansfield, Elisha H. Letter, 20 September 1839, to Elisha Haley. ALS,
1 page. (Ms 74118)
Encloses two petitions (not with collection) expressing confidence in Haley's
empathy with suffering humanity and conviction that petitioners should be heard
even though slaves. At this time Haley was a member of the U. S. House of
Representatives from Connecticut.
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Mattoon, Virgil W. Letter, 22 April 1862 to his brother. Typescript
copy, 2 pages. (Ms 71834)
Hundreds of contrabands cross the Rappahannock River daily to the Union
encampment near Fredricksburg, VA, where they feel safe, even though
Secessionists had spread rumors that the Union soldiers would sell African-
Americans to Cuba to pay the expenses of the war. Mattoon was in the First
Brigade of the Army of the Potomac.
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McCarron, Anna T. "Brief History of Miss Crandall's School."
Typescript, 15 pages. (Eaton-Miller Manuscripts)
Describes the reactions to Prudence Crandall's school for African-American girls
by the citizens of Canterbury, CT, her imprisonment in a cell just vacated by
the executed murderer Oliver Watkins and the trial in which Connecticut's
"Black Law" was rationalized, because "Southerners might free all their
slaves and send them to Connecticut instead of Liberia." There is a discrepancy
of fact here in that Oliver Watkins was hanged in 1831, quite some time before
Prudence Crandall's school for African-American girls was opened.
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Morris, Amos. Letter, 26 December 1825, to the Selectmen of Guilford,
CT. ALS, 1 page. (Ms Stacks, Morris)
The terms of the indenture binding African-American boy, Eli Bailey, to Amos
Morris of East Haven, now deceased, do not provide for his continuing with the
heirs. His son by the same name notifies the Selectmen that Bailey did not keep
his promise to return after a week's visit with his friends in September.
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Murphy, Janet T. "A Study of the Connecticut Colonization Society,
1827-1844." One volume (typescript), 1986. (Ms 87117)
Discusses motives and beliefs behind the movement to colonize free African-
Americans in Liberia.
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Norton, John Treadwell. Letter, 7 September 1840, to Rev. Noah
Porter. ALS, 3 pages. (Miscellaneous Letters)
Objects to Rev. Mr. Porter's sermon apologizing for slavery and states that
since slavery is wrong, slave holding should not be tolerated. It would be
better to correct the errors of abolitionists than to break down their society.
In actual practice, Noah Porter took one of the three youngest Amistad captives
into his home and some years later exchanged pulpits with Rev. James Pennington,
pastor at the African-American Talcott Street Congregational Church.
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Norwich, CT. Selectmen. Notice, 4 June 1781. ADS, 1 page. (Norwich
Town Records and Papers)
Orders Natt, an African-American, to stop constructing the building on the
highway near the sawmill and to depart from Norwich with his family.
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Norwich, CT. Selectmen. Account with State of Connecticut, 1810. ADS,
2 pages. (Norwich Town Records and Papers)
Request for reimbursement for expenses for caring for poor transient persons at
the almshouse during illness. Includes board and doctor's bill for Hannah
Crosby, an African-American.
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Olcott, Simeon. Opinion of Freedom of African-Americans in New
Hampshire Written in Charlestown, New Hampshire, 28 January 1788. ADS, 2 pages.
(Ms 90336)
States that African-Americans are not liberated by the Constitution or laws of
New Hampshire. Cites the case in which an unnamed runaway slave sued his captor
after the latter tried to return him to his owner in New York state. The New
Hampshire Supreme Court ruled in favor of the defendant.
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Paddock, George B. Diary of Meriden, CT, private in Company C of the
Seventh CT Infantry. 1 volume, 1863. (Ms Stacks, Paddock)
Writes of the arrival of steamers full of African-American soldiers, some of
whom were sent on an expedition to burn St. Mary's, GA; other African-Americans
were drafted to go to Hilton Head, SC. He was assigned to guard five rebel
prisoners captured by African-Americans. On a Friday and Saturday evening in May
he went to a large hotel where the African-Americans were having a ball and on
Sunday attended a African-American people's meeting and a African-American
children's Sunday school.
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Palmer, Frederick C. Letters, 1860-1868, to his family. ALsS, 3
linear inches. (Ms 81420)
On 30 May 1862, he writes from New Orleans that he hopes that the curse of
slavery will soon be removed and pities the poor contrabands. On 20 June 1862,
he describes a little African-American boy wearing a leg iron to keep him from
running away.
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Palmer, William. Bill of sale, 30 September 1690, to John Carder.
ADS, 1 page. (Ms 88961)
Sells fifteen year old African-American boy Samson for ?27. The seller was from
Kingston and the buyer from Warwick, RI.
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Parker, Timothy. Letter, 1 March 1864, to his sister Sarah. ALS, 7
pages. (Ms Stack, Parker)
Some of the men in the Eighteenth Connecticut Regiment of Infantry are applying
for commissions in the African-American regiments. Albert Latham got a Second
Lieutenancy in the Thirtieth Connecticut Colored Regiment now forming in New
Haven.
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Parnham, James H. Interview for Vietnam War veterans oral history
project, 1981. Typescript, photocopy, 80 pages. (Ms 82141)
Talks about his youth as an African-American in New Britain, CT, his enlistment
in the Marine Corps and his experiences in Vietnam. He did not experience
racism.
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Perkins, Arozina. Diary of New Haven, CT, schoolteacher. 1 volume,
1848-1849. (Ms Stacks, Perkins)
Visits family of Deacon Luca of an African church and admires his sons' skills
in music. Reads to a blind African-American woman and derives strength from her
calm religious conversation. Attends a baptism by immersion officiated by
African-American minister, Rev. William Thompson.
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Petition to the General Assembly, undated. D, 2 pages. (Ms 70046)
Manuscript comments in margin of printed petition disapproving law restricting
school attendance in Connecticut to residents of this state unless allowed by
the selectmen of the town. States that delegation after delegation tried to
dissuade Prudence Crandall from allowing African-Americans to attend her school
because it disturbed their peace and diminished the value of their property.
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Philleo, Calvin Wheeler. Letter, 8 April 1852, to James Timothy
Pratt. ALS (draft), 3 pages. (Calvin W. Philleo, Correspondence)
Solicits Pratt's influence for election to the clerkship of the Senate. States
why he is opposed to the Fugitive Slave law. He was the stepson of Prudence
Crandall Philleo and wrote against slavery in his columns for the New York
Tribune.
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Philleo, Prudence Crandall. Letter, 2 July 1869, to unnamed woman
recipient. ALS, 2 pages. (Hoadly Collection, Box 3, Men of Note)
Her African-American students made as good if not better progress than her white
students. This can be confirmed by William Henry Burleigh, who taught in her
school for African-American girls in Canterbury. The minister of the Canterbury
church refused to step into her house to perform the marriage ceremony uniting
her and Calvin Philleo, telling her this just at the hour it was to have taken
place.
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Preston, Caroline. " The Christian Home as Focus and Theme in the
Life and Writing of Harriet Beecher Stowe." Typescript (photocopy), 22 pages.
(Ms 77723)
Analyzes Stowe's writings, showing how she differentiates between the various
kinds of slave owning families, how the selling of spouses and children of
slaves deprived African-Americans of the security of a home environment and how
family structure was the source for the potential moral regeneration of the
South.
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Primus, Nelson A. Letters to his family, 1865-1868. 23 ALsS. (Micro
79652)
An African-American religious and portrait painter, he writes home that he is
supplementing his income by painting signs, houses and carriages.
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Primus, Rebecca. Letters to her family, 1854-1869. ALsS, 1 linear
inch. (Micro 79652)
Sponsored by the Hartford Freedmen's Aid Society, Rebecca Primus, an African-
American, left her Hartford, CT, home for Royal Oak, MD, in 1865 to provide
newly-liberated slaves with the basic education and skills they would need to
succeed as free individuals. While there, she married Charles H. Thomas, an
African-American who in 1885 was doorkeeper of the Connecticut State Senate.
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Putnam, Israel. Bill of sale, 8 April 1745. ADS, 1 page. (Autographs,
A. L. Butler, Vol. 2, No. 17)
Acknowledges receipt of ?150 from John Payson of Pomfret, CT, for a sixteen year
old African-American girl named Phillis.
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Rice, Foster Wild. "The Jocelyn Engravers. " Typescript, 388 pages.
(Ms Stacks, Rice)
Includes brief biography of Simeon Smith Jocelyn, whose first parish was the
African-American Temple Street Congregational Church in New Haven in 1824. He
was the founder of the African Ecclesiastical Society in 1824 and one of the
founders of the African Improvement Society in 1826. His house was stoned in
1831 because he tried to raise funds to establish a college for the education of
African-American youths in New Haven. He was instrumental in obtaining legal
defense for Cinque and his companions.
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Richards, Johnetta. Speech, 1984, "Roadblocks and Bridges."
Audiocassette, 1 reel. (Ms 83906)
Many white male academicians have presented a distorted racist view of history.
It is important that students learn that African-Americans and women are not
inferior and that African-Americans develop a pride in their history and have
leaders and heroes with whom to identify. Describes the disproportionate burden
borne by African-American women.
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Richards, Samuel. Letter, 30 December 1835, to John Richards. TCy, 2
pages. (Ms 84658)
While Amos Phelps, an antislavery lecturer was speaking at the Farmington
Academy, twenty or thirty persons rushed in and he was escorted out. Excitement
was very high. Police issued warrants on a charge of riot. He adds on 22
February 1836, that the rioters were not called for because some technical
points were contested.
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Robbins, H. B. Letter, 28 March 1834, to Hannah Pearl. ALS, 2 pages.
(Ms Stacks, H. Robbins)
Comments that times have changed since they both attended school in Canterbury
and that she had heard that Miss Crandall is "to be married to a white man," a
Methodist minister. Prudence Crandall, a Quaker, taught a school for African-
American girls.
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Robbins, Thomas. Diary of minister and antiquarian. 12 volumes, 1796-
1854. (Thomas Robbins Papers)
On 30 June 1807, he was visited by slave trader James De Wolfe who was expecting
to be restrained in his traffic by the government. On 12 October 1809, he
married a African-American couple, Walter and Sylvia, who were servants in
Samuel Wolcott's home. In January and February of 1844 he wrote an article on
slavery for the Recorder in Boston.
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Robbins, Thomas. School Papers, 1844-1845. ADs, 12 items. (Thomas
Robbins Papers)
Reports on visits to Hartford area schools including the Talcott Street African
School taught by Augustus Washington, whom he describes as a competent, well-
educated teacher who earnestly taught anti-colonization. He was assisted by Miss
Emily M. Thompson. He also reports on the Elm Street Colored School taught by
Miss Ann Plato.
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Rogers, Martha M. Letter, 5 July 1850, to Nancy Swift. ALS, 6 pages.
(National Popular Education Board Records, Box II)
After arriving at Springfield, MO, where she had been sent by the National
Popular Education Board, she was told that a teacher had already been hired. She
soon found out that the real reason was that they suspected that she was an
abolitionist teacher who would "poison the minds of the young."
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Rouse, Charles W. Diary of Norwich, CT, corporal in Company H of the
Eleventh Connecticut Infantry. 3 volumes, 1861-1863. (Ms Stacks, Rouse)
On 27 August 1862, he reports that ninety-two contrabands were sent to
Washington by railroad and on August 28 that many more were crossing the
Rappahannock River into Fredericksburg, VA. On 5 May 1863, he reports that two
African-Americans who were cooks for the rebel forces deserted and are now cooks
for his officers.
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Russell, Sarah. Letter, 14 October 1822, from Charleston, SC, to her
brother, James Francis. ALS, 2 pages. (Stillman Collection XII)
Writes that they "have happily escaped from the infernal machinations of some
of the blacks." This is a reference to an aborted plan by Denmark Vesey, an
emancipated African-American of Charleston, SC, to seize the city on June 16.
Convicted in a trial, Vesey and thirty five others were executed, thirty four
African-Americans were expelled from South Carolina and four whites were jailed.
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Salisbury, CT. Selectmen. Record book, 1823-1878. ADS, 1 volume.
(Salisbury Town Records)
Includes agreements to provide food, clothing and shelter for town poor,
including African-American Tom.
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Seymour, Frederick W. "Connecticut's Black Patriots, 1641-1781."
Typescript, 3 pages. (Ms Stacks, Seymour)
Cites instances of the presence of African-Americans in the early history of
Connecticut and among soldiers of the American Revolution. Argues that the free
labor of slaves caused unemployment among poor whites, thereby increasing taxes
for supporting the poor.
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Shepard, Samuel Brace. Letter, 30 July 1862, to his friend Tom in
Madison, CT. ALS, 10 pages. (Ms Stacks, Shepard)
Complains about the conditions in the service and conduct of the war. The slaves
of Southern planters walk over the battlefields and knock in the heads of dying
Union soldiers. Shepard was a private in Company F of the Sixth Regiment of
Connecticut Volunteer Infantry stationed at Beaufort, SC.
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Shiloh Baptist Church, Hartford, CT. Account book. One volume. 1925-
1927. (Ms 84746)
Account of receipts and expenses of African-American church located at 336
Albany Avenue in Hartford during the pastorate of Rev. Schuyler T. Eldridge.
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Sigourney, Lydia Howard Huntley. "Deaths in the First Society of
Norwich, CT, 1807-1892." AD, 1 volume. (Lydia Sigourney Papers)
Lists name, age and date of death and indicates if the deceased was African-
American. Kept in hand of Lydia Sigourney through December 1825; continued in
other hands until 1892. She was a well-known Connecticut author and contributed
regularly to popular magazines of the 1830's and 1840's.
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Silliman, Benjamin. Letter, 20 July 1848, to John M. Niles. ALS, 1
page. (John Niles Papers)
Thanks Niles for copy of speech on the slavery question. The South's power lies
in its unity of action. Hopes that the new states will themselves prohibit
slavery although Congress may not.
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Slavery Collection, 1743-1831. 32 ADsS. (Micro 79857)
Bills of sale of African-Americans indicating given name and age and names of
seller and purchaser; indentures state period and terms of servitude;
emancipations usually bear certification of the town's selectmen that the
manumitted person is able to support himself; includes one resignation of
freedom.
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Society for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents of the City of
New York. Indenture, 14 April 1836, to Sylvester Lusk. DS, 2 pages. (Ms 73384)
Binds eleven year old African-American girl Maria Peterson for six years as
apprentice to Sylvester Lusk of Enfield, CT, to learn the art of housewifery.
Upon completion of her service she is to receive a Bible and a new suit of
clothing.
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Somers, CT. Selectmen. Census, 1 January 1774. DS, 1 page. (Somers
Town Records)
Shows the number of whites, African-Americans, and Indians by sex and in
specified age groups. There were 1024 whites and three African-Americans in town
at that time.
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"The Sorrows of Yamba or The Negro Woman [sic] Lametation [sic],"
undated, author unknown. AD, 2 pages. (Ms 81304)
Nine verse poem describes how Yamba and her children were torn from her hut on
the Island of St. Lucia by white men and crammed into the hold of a slave ship.
Lying naked on the ship's platform at sea with her flesh mangled from whipping,
she pleads for the release of death.
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Spencer, Stephen. Letter, 31 December 1860, to S. B. Gilman. ALS, 4
pages. (Ms 70007)
Discusses the secession of South Carolina. If the slave states feel that it is
their right to extend slavery to all states and territories, their stand will
lead to civil war. Can they defend their seaports against a U.S. naval blockade?
No civilized nation will form an alliance with them.
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Spivey, Donald. Speech, 1984, "The Strategy of Protest."
Audiocassette, 1 reel. (Ms 83905)
Based on research in the Avery Brundage Collection at the University of Illinois
and the International Sports Collection at Notre Dame, Dr. Spivey examines the
nature of the African-American protest movement and the use of the boycott to
dramatize problems of racial discrimination and discusses the role of politics
in sports.
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Stanley, Roderick. Journal of Farmington farmer. 1 volume, 1837-1843.
(Ms 74260)
On 14 September 1839, he notes in a reference to the Amistad captives that "38
Afrecans passed here on their way to Hartford to be tryed on an Indightment for
Piracy and Murder, they were lately from Afreca—3 small girls, the rest
males."
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Starr, Pierre Sythoff. Reminiscences, written in 1912 of service in
the Medical Department of the Army, 1862-1865. 1 volume. (Ms 73371)
Describes how African-Americans followed the Union Army carrying household goods
and little children; many were impressed as servants to carry the soldiers'
baggage. In 1864 he was transferred from the Thirty-Ninth Ohio Regiment to the
Third Alabama Black Regiment, line officers of which were white. African-
American soldiers lived in mortal terror of rebel raiders. Almost his whole unit
was wiped out by Forrest's Cavalry.
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Stedman, John W. Scrapbooks on Hartford, CT, History. Four volumes.
1784-1894. (Ms 15763)
Includes account of a riot in the Pigville Community on the Hog River in
Hartford, CT, in 1834 in which several homes of African-Americans were torn
down. The Governor's Foot Guard was ordered out but found that someone had
locked them in the armory. (I:27)
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Steele, Henry Sherwood. Letter, 19 December 1847, to George S.
Gilman. ALS, 3 pages. (Ms 83828, Box 13, Folder Y)
Resents the fact that an African-American is attending lectures with his class
at Albany Medical College and especially that he joined the debating society.
The vote was 12 to 18 that he should not be requested to withdraw, so the dozen
against him formed their own society.
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Sterling, CT. Selectmen. Requisition, 29 March 1841, to Archabal
[sic] Douglass. ADS, 1 page. (Sterling Town Records and Papers)
Requests town treasurer to pay William A. Potter for providing food and shelter
for an unnamed African-American family.
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Stiles, Ezra and Samuel Hopkins. Letter, 31 August 1773, " addressed
to all who are desirous to promote the kingdom of Christ," LCy, 3 pages.
(Joseph Bellamy Papers)
This letter requests financial assistance for two African-American converts in
their congregation in Newport, RI, who have partially purchased their freedom
from slavery by winning three hundred dollars in the lottery but are short fifty
dollars. They would like to return to Guinea as missionaries but also need money
to be trained for this.
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Stillman, George B. Diary of New London, CT, private in Company I of
the Thirteenth Connecticut Regiment of Infantry. AD, 3 volumes, 1862-1864. (Ms
80504)
Refers to his interactions with African-Americans near Thibodaux, LA. Between 16
and 18 January 1864, they refused to work unless paid $10 a month. On January
25, wages were negotiated for between $2-$8, depending on the type of services
rendered. On February 6 they wanted a day to themselves to plant their gardens.
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Stocking, Joseph. Bill of sale, 2 September 1777, to George Wyllys.
DS, 1 page. (Wyllys Papers, Vol. 9, Item 753)
Sells twenty-three year old African-American woman Sylvia for ?30. Joseph
Stocking was a resident of Middletown and George Wyllys of Hartford, CT.
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Stratford, CT. Justice of the Peace. Writ, 25 March 1743. ADS, 2
pages. (Ms 67238)
Summons African-Americans Will, slave of Rev. Mr. Gold, and Stephen, slave of
Josiah Curtiss, for violation of curfew.
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Tappan, Lewis. Letter, 23 September 1864, to Mary Dwight Patrick.
ALS, 1 page. (Ms 71825)
He will try to find some "Uncle Tom" who can use the spectacles she
contributed. Thus she will be "eyes to the blind." Lewis Tappan founded
several antislavery societies and was a member of the committee which undertook
freeing the Amistad captives.
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Taylor, Mary. Diary of South Glasonbury, CT, woman. One volume, 1856-
1864. (Ms 65906)
A visitor brought news of the draft riots in New York City. The mob destroyed
much government property and vented its ill will on the poor African-Americans.
Federal troops had to be called in to restore order.
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Thomas, Rebecca Primus.
See Primus, Rebecca.
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Tomlinson, Gideon. Letter, 19 February 1850, to Roger Sherman
Baldwin. ALS (draft), 3 pages. (Gideon Tomlinson Papers)
Thanks for copy of Henry Clay's opening address introducing his propositions to
compromise on the slavery question and requests print of the complete speech,
including its eloquent, solemn and impressive close. Roger S. Baldwin and John
Quincy Adams represented the crew of the Amistad in the Supreme Court of the
U.S.
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Tomlinson, Jabez Huntington. Essay on slavery, 30 January 1834. AD
(draft), 4 pages. (Gideon Tomlinson Papers)
Schoolboy's attempt to deal with the question of whether slavery is
"unconstitutional, inhuman and unchristian" and how best to solve the problem.
Jabez was the only child of Gideon Tomlinson, then a member of the U. S. Senate
from Connecticut.
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Torrington, CT. Selectmen. Census, undated. AD, 25 pages. (Torrington
Town Records and Papers)
Lists Ruth Bissel and William Battle as slave owners and African-American Jude
Freeman and his family of five as residents of Torrington.
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Toucey, Isaac. Letter, 28 October 1854, to Horace Sabin. ALS, 2
pages. (Ms 74385)
Discusses the fugitive slave law, the Kansas-Nebraska bill, restoration of the
Missouri restriction line and the possibility of secession of the Southern
States. At this time Toucey was a member of the U.S. Senate from Connecticut. He
was accused of being a Southern sympathizer, but supported the Union cause in
the Civil War.
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Trumbull, Benjamin. A list of the divorces given in Connecticut from
1635 to 1788. AD, 1 volume. (Ms Stacks, B. Trumbull)
Records a divorce granted to John Rich of Fairfield in August 1742 because his
wife gave birth to an African-American child.
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United States Collector of Revenue of the District of New Haven.
Certificate of American Citizenship, 6 June 1810. DS, 1 page. (Ms 78188)
Certifies that Ham Primus, an African-American seaman aged twenty-three years,
was born in Branford, CT. These certificates were given to avoid impressment of
Americans as recruits for the Royal Navy by Great Britain. The British returned
native-born American seamen to the U.S. if their citizenship could be
established.
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Wadsworth, Jeremiah. Letter, 18 July 1779, to Col. Stewart. ALS, 2
pages. (Jeremiah Wadsworth Papers, Box 151, Letterbook E)
Asks Stewart to send down the African-American boy and he will buy him. He needs
a helper so badly that he will pay the price, even though high.
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Warner, Abraham Joseph. Journal of Chaplain in Twelfth Illinios
Cavalry, a native of Waterbury, CT. Typescript, 1 volume, 1838-1864. (Ms 75358)
On 26 July 1862, he talked to a little African-American boy who told him that
his master was in the Rebel Army. On that day he also wrote a half page
comparing aristocratic Southern slave holders with the thinking working class of
the North and their respective attitudes toward Stephen Douglas.
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Warren, William Lamson. "Lewis Lyron of Milford Connecticut, 1650-
1738." Typescript, one volume. (Ms 83316)
His will frees his African-American Bess and bequeathes her a half acre of land
with a dwelling house, a great iron still and a pewter apparatus for making
liquor, thereby giving her a means of making a living. He gave his four other
African-Americans—Grace, Jenny, Jimmy and Jeffrey—to relatives.
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Washington, Booker Taliaferro. Letter, 10 April 1912, to Hamilton
Holt. LS, 1 page. (Hoadly Collection, Box 4, College Presidents)
Sends announcement of the International Conference on the Negro, to be held at
the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama in mid-April of 1912. It
is to be the first meeting that brings together persons of African-American
heritage from all parts of the world. Requests that Holt call attention to the
meeting in his New York City newspaper, The Independent.
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Watrous, John Richard. Account books of Colchester, CT, physician.
Two volumes. Volume B, 1790-1808; Volume C, 1798-1809; Volume A not in
collection. (Account Books)
Shows work his patients did for him in exchange for advice or medical
procedures. Useful as a genealogical tool because when he delivered a child he
gave the name of the father and child, date of birth and indicated race if
persons involved were African-American or Indian.
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Welles, Gideon. Letter, [October 1848], to his brother. ALS, 4 pages.
(Gideon Welles Papers)
Discusses the Free Soil Party with particular reference to Glastonbury, CT, and
the coming presidential contest between Zachary Taylor and Lewis Cass. The Free
Soil Party opposed the extension of slavery into the western territories.
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Welles, Gideon. Letter, May 1854, to "My Dear Sir." ALS, 4 pages.
(Gideon Welles Papers)
Discusses the Nebraska bill and slavery and what action should be taken.
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Wethersfield, CT. Record of deaths, 1828-1839. AD, 1 volume.
(Wethersfield Town Records and Papers)
Lists name, cause and date of death, race, age and sex. Includes African-
Americans Alfred Williams, Phebe Talcott, Hazzard Ovit, Fagin, Marcus Simens,
Jonah Brooks, Eleanor Goomer, William Smith, Cloe Robinson and Thankful Bulkly.
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Wheatley, Phillis. Poems, 1772. DsCys, 2 items. (Ms Stacks, Wheatley)
Includes "To the Rev. Mr. Pitkin, on the Death of His Lady," dated Boston, 16
June 1772; and "On the Death of Dr. Samuel Marshall," undated.
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Wheatley, Susanna. Letter, 29 March 1773, to Samson Occom. ALS, 2
pages. (Samson Occom Mss.)
Quotes from Capt. Calef's letter from England about the Countess of Huntingdon's
pleasure at hearing Phillis Wheatley's poems and her request that Phillis'
picture be included as the frontispiece to her first volume, Poems on Various
Subjects, Religious and Moral.
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Whipple, Emma Philleo Goodwin. Letter, 5 January 1857, to her
brother, Calvin W. Philleo. ALS, 4 pages. (Emma Whipple Correspondence)
Her husband Charles will distribute antislavery tracts in Boston. Their object
is to create a sentiment favorable to disunion. Hopes her brother will attend
the Disunion Convention at Worcester and "be converted to the true faith."
Their father, Rev. Calvin Philleo, married Prudence Crandall in 1834.
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Whipple, Emma Philleo Goodwin. Letter, 16 February 1857, to her
brother, Calvin W. Philleo. ALS, 4 pages. (Emma Whipple Correspondence)
Her husband Charles edits The Liberator while William Lloyd Garrison is absent
in the West. Saw a notice of her brother's lecture quoting his witticism about
"Simm's hole." William Gilmore Simms was a Southern writer who in 1856 went on
a lecture tour to the explain the South to the North.
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Whipple, Emma Philleo Goodwin. Letter, 1 June 1862, to her sister-in-
law. ALS, 4 pages. (Emma Whipple Correspondence)
At a meeting of the Anti-Slavery Society in Boston, she met Sarah Harris
Fairweather, the first African-American scholar who attended Prudence Crandall's
school in Canterbury, CT. Emma, Prudence Crandall Philleo's stepdaughter,
invited Sarah to her home for an afternoon of reminiscing and Sarah recalled the
persecution Miss Crandall had endured. Sarah named her oldest daughter Prudence
Crandall Fairweather.
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White, David Oliver. "A Checklist of Correspondence Relating to
Prudence Crandall Philleo for 1841-1865." Typescript, 6 pages. (Ms 74017)
Indicates where Prudence Crandall Philleo lived after her school for African-
American girls in Canterbury, CT, was closed. Summarizes the contents of letters
she and her family wrote that are now in the holdings of the Connecticut College
Library and The Connecticut Historical Society.
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White, David Oliver. "The Primus Family: 100 years Against the
Odds." 1 cassette. (Ms 83908)
Recording of lecture broadcast over Connecticut Public Radio about Holdridge
Primus, a free African-American who worked in the Humphreys & Seyms Grocery in
Hartford; his wife, Mehitable Jacobs Primus, a seamstress; and their four
children—Rebecca, a schoolteacher; Nelson, a carriage painter; Henrietta, a
domestic servant; and teenager Bell. Holdridge's grandfather was a slave who had
won his freedom by serving in the army during the American Revolution.
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Whittelsey, Samuel. Letter, 30 May 1720, to Nathaniel Chauncey. ALS,
1 page. (Ms Stacks, Whittelsey)
Sends African-American man as messenger from Wallingford to Durham, CT, with
news of the death of their sister, Mrs. Borrough, and information on funeral
arrangements.
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Whittlesey, Mary R. Scrapbook, 1877-1882. One volume. (Ms Stacks, M.
Whittlesey)
Includes clipping of letter from William L. Garrison dated 10 March 1879,
stating that most slaves were brought by New England shipowners through Bristol
and Newport, RI, and sold in the South. The demand for them increased with the
invention of Whitney's cotton gin in 1793. In 1808 Congress prohibited the slave
trade and in 1820 made it piracy, but these laws were seldom enforced.
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Williams, Austin F. Account book of Farmington, CT, merchant. One
volume, 1845-1881. (Account Books)
Under memorandums on page 12 he notes an agreement with Lucien Batterson on 10
January 1846 to inscribe a monument for Foone, the Mendian from the Amistad, who
drowned in the Farmington River while swimming with three friends on 7 August
1841. (It has been established from correspondence between Williams and Lewis
Tappan that Foone was homesick and believed that in death he would be
immediately reunited with his family.)
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Williams, Austin F. Diary of Farmington, CT, merchant. Two volumes,
1824-1834. (Ms Stacks, A. Williams)
Records charitable contributions, including $6 for Anti Slavery in 1834, which
he increased to $38 in 1836. It was Williams who in May of 1841 made
arrangements for the construction of a building to house the Amistad group.
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Williams, Maria Sarah. Letter, 23 February 1836, to Augustus R.
Street. ALS, 4 pages. (Ms 87730)
Describes the wretched condition of slaves being taken to a schooner to be
shipped to Charleston, SC, to be sold. Comments that their situation does not
bear out the statement of James Henry Hammond of South Carolina that the
American slave population is the best treated laboring class in the universe.
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Williams, Maria S. Letter, 18 May 1837, to Sarah Maria Street. ALS, 4
pages. (Ms 87730)
Was deeply moved while listening to a congregation of about 500 African-
Americans singing a hymn in a little white church in the woods near a plantation
in Bryan County, GA, while visiting the Magills. The women were dressed in
calico or gingham gowns with checked aprons and colored turbans. Describes their
school and homes but concludes that slavery there is different from that in
Alabama and Louisiana.
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Williams, William. Account book of Lebanon, CT, merchant. 1 volume.
1767-1773. (Account Books)
Lists items purchased by African-Americans Cesar [sic], Cephas, Grace, Isaac,
Phillis and Sarah. This is the William Williams, who signed the Declaration of
Independence in 1776.
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Wolcott, Oliver. Letter, 1 June 1798, to the President of the
Convention of Delegates from the Abolition Societies in the United States. ADs,
4 pages. (Oliver Wolcott, Jr. Mss. vol. 34: 92)
Suggests a judicial decision as distinct from executive instructions in
interpreting the 22 March 1794 Act of Congress in regard to the exportation of
slaves from the U.S. for sale in a foreign port on board vessels not
specifically fitted out for that purpose. Points out that slave owners may
employ them in navigating their vessels within or without the jurisdiction of
the U.S..
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Wolcott, Oliver. Letter, 4 October 1799, to David L. Barnes. LS, 3
pages. (Oliver Wolcott, Jr. Papers)
Discusses the problems involved in enforcing the law against the slave trade but
suggests that a suit ought to be commenced against some individual of such
property and influence as would test the efficacy of the law. In 1799 Wolcott
was U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and Barnes was District Attorney for Rhode
Island.
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Woodbridge, Dudley. Indenture, 8 December 1783, to Jedediah
Huntington. DS, 1 page. (Jedediah Huntington Papers)
Binds seven year old African-American girl Jude, daughter of Philis, slave of
Dudley Woodbridge of Norwich, to Jedediah Huntington, also of Norwich, for
eleven years.
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Woodbury, Eri Davidson. Diary of soldier in First Vermont Cavalry.
Typescript. 1863-1865. (Eri Woodbury Papers)
One of the more understanding, humane and introspective of our Civil War
diarists, he describes his feelings on seeing an exhausted elderly African-
American no longer able to keep up with Union troops and how he later wondered
at himself for not having given this African-American man a ride on his own
horse.
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Woodford, Milton M. Letter, 30 October 1861, to his wife Lena.
ALS, 16 pages. (Ms 78279)
His regiment went ashore after the battle of Hilton Head, SC, to find the town
deserted, except for the slaves who rejoiced at the Yankee arrival as though
"the year of jubilee had come." He felt from their conversation that they
"had experienced the dark side of Uncle Tom's Cabin."
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