Emancipation of Slaves in Greenwich

by Jeffrey Bingham Mead
Greenwich Time: Looking Back: May 8, 1994

For more about slavery and emancipation in Greenwich see the online edition of Mead's 1995 book, Chains Unbound: Slave Emancipations in Greenwich, Connecticut.

One of the least known facets of early Greenwich history was the existence of the "peculiar" establishment of slavery. The rocky, hilly soil and long winters the New England region is known for did not lend itself to the plantation system found in the South.

Here in Greenwich, slaves worked on farms, in important local industries and as household help, often alongside their masters. A number of the established Yankee families -including my own – utilized the labor of slaves.

The shift towards emancipation began in 1774 when the Connecticut General Assembly passed a law forbidding the importation of slaves by land or sea; nor could they be sold or abandoned in Connecticut. No black or mulatto child born in Connecticut after March 1, 1784 could be held a slave after reaching age 25 years; in 1797, this manumission age was reduced to 21 years.

The state constitution of 1818 granted citizenship to blacks and mulattoes but the right to vote did not come until 1870, when the 15th Amendment went into effect.

Many Greenwich residents granted their slaves emancipation, and evidence of this can be found in the land records of the Town Clerk's office, which make interesting reading.

A slave named Cull was emancipated by Sarah, wife of David Bush, on February 3, 1803. Another slave, named Milla, was emancipated by William Knapp, son-in-law of David Bush.

Amos Mead possessed for slaves as recorded in the 1790 census. Among them, Sib, was freed in 1798, and Chloe was released in September, 1796. A slave named George Moore, formerly called Torkey, was emancipated in 1796.

Members of the Reynolds family in Greenwich inherited a slave named Willis from a Heusted Reynolds in 1838 was from North Carolina. Willis was emancipated immediately.

Attitudes toward slavery had definitely shifted here in New England. With the Revolution and the fervor of the Second Great Awakening in the early 1800s, the cause of emancipation would eventually spread across the land, and, as history has shown, much blood will be shed in the Civil War over this issue.

Jeffrey Bingham Mead, a former Greenwich resident, is a member of The Historical Society of the Town of Greenwich.