"Uncovering the Hidden History of Your Town"

This Musings from Main is based on the four-part workshop the staff just completed “Uncovering the Hidden History in Your Town.” It was offered by the Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society, and funded through an Access Grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. One of the goals of the workshop is to shift the narrative of a town’s colonial history to include slavery and freedom.

This Musing is intended to share some of the research ideas and resources we explored, and hopefully get others as excited as we are to uncover the hidden history of of our town,South Windsor.

Does this interest you?  We are looking for research volunteers who would like to explore these questions and more.  Please contact Friends' Archivist, Leith Johnson at [email protected].

Don't miss the grand opening of our "new" research and reference library on Saturday June 10, 2023, CT Open House Day.  At 1:00 pm, Leith will present some of our research findings. Using the Grant Family Papers from the archives, and the example of Dr. Primus Manumit as a case study, he will address some of the puzzles and challenges researchers of local history face.

We hope to see you!

A Learning Cohort Opportunity
“Uncovering the Hidden History of Your Town”

Five community groups were chosen to participate in this exciting, new professional development opportunity, the Museum of Connecticut History, Connecticut's Old State House, Wintonbury Historical Society, Farmington Public Schools, and the Friends of Wood Memorial Library & Museum.

The Presenters

The workshops were led by Tracey Wilson, Liz Devine, and Denise deMello, historians and teachers who have extensive experience researching the town of West Hartford’s history of slavery and freedom. They have developed teaching curriculum for both kids and adults which has included the stories of historically underrepresented local residents.

Primary Source Research: Online

At the workshops, we explored how to conduct research on colonial era history through primary source documents such as...

 - Church Records
 - Military Records
 - Account Books
 - Newspapers
 - Probate Records
 - Wills
 - Inventories
 - Land Records

Some of the primary source documents we used could be found online. We became acquainted, or in some cases better acquainted, with using these online database resources to research and learn more about underrepresented groups.

Three of the resources we explored were the online databases Ancestry, the Northeast Slavery Records Index (NESRI), and Historic Hartford Courant.  Anyone can used these databases, the links and basic directions are below. Please note you may need a current CT Library Card to assess them for FREE.

 - Ancestry.com - Set up a login to Ancestry  - FREE through https://researchitct.org/  - select Genealogy and then add your public library card - for FREE access
 
 - Northeast Slavery Records Index https://nesri.commons.gc.cuny.edu/

 - Historic Hartford Courant  - available through https://researchitct.org/
 
Other online resources, such as the Forgotten Patriots Project by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), and the National Liberty Mall Fund's map and list of servicemen are highlighted in the Musings from Main dated January 28, 2022 focusing on African American Servicemen in the Revolutionary War, and featuring serviceman Oliver Mitchell and his brother Moses from Windsor, CT.

Primary Source Research: In House

Each cohort member also received a half day of independent consulting at their own site.
For our research, we focused on Dr. Primus Manumit and the Grant Family Papers
(Both of which were the focus of previous Musings from Main.)

One particular item included in the Grant family papers, is an account book kept by Ebenezer Grant from about 1759 to 1779. This book supported some of the details we had learned about Dr. Primus Manumit, but it sparked more questions than it answered. Details about his life—and of persons of color in general—are scarce. We’re thrilled to have the these surviving records, which are available to the public for research.

Our New Friends and Cohorts

On the last day of the workshops, each team presented their findings.  We all realized that it will take many more hours of research just to begin to scratch the surface of the hidden histories of our towns.  We are all eager to continue this work, as we feel it is important to help shift the narrative of South Windsor’s colonial history to include slavery and freedom. We look forward to collaborating with our new Friends and cohorts from the Greater Hartford area, to restore the stories of these lost voices.

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Sources used for this Musing are listed below.

 - Online Exhibit, Musings from Main-History, Friends of Wood Memorial Library & Museum website, accessed May 12, 2023.
 - "Uncovering the Hidden History of Your Town" event page, Noah Webster House and West Hartford Historical Society website, accessed May 12, 2023.
 - "Uncovering the Hidden History of Your Town" workshop presentation materials.