Enslavement in a Puritan Village: An Untold Story

Sumner Chilton Powell called Sudbury, Massachusetts, the quintessential Puritan village in his 1964 Pulitzer Prize winning history of the town. He charted the years after the town's 1638 founding as the second town settled west of Boston, calling it representative of most New England towns. And in its story of English Puritan colonial settlers, it was.

But, as author Jane Sciacca writes in her new book, Enslavement in the Puritan Village, "there was another story that was hidden and largely untold." That was the life of anyone who was not white and European.

In this fascinating presentation, Jane Sciacca uncovers the story of Sudbury and Wayland (the two towns that resulted from the original Sudbury) and its enslaved people - how they lived, who dominated their lives, and how they struggled for freedom. It is both a broad and an intimate story, encompassing not only the story of Massachusetts slavery, but the fate of the young boy Sampson, sold multiple times. Jane's meticulous research brings to life both the enslaved and enslavers of early Sudbury.

Never before published, these stories from preserved records highlight the lives of men, women and children held in bondage. The accounts of life in colonial Sudbury and their interactions with nearby towns, including bills of sale, marriages, medical and military records expand our knowledge of enslavement and its pervasive impact - and the unquestioned acceptance, in Sudbury and other pre-Revolutionary New England villages.

This presentation will be moderated by the Rev. Stephanie May, former Unitarian minister in Sudbury and today minister of First Church Boston. She is also an adviser to the Partnership of Historic Bostons.

TO PURCHASE A COPY OF ENSLAVEMENT IN THE PURITAN VILLAGE AT A DISCOUNT, CLICK , AND USE CODE Village25.

Jane Sciacca is a retired National Park ranger with a degree in history education from Simmons University. She has studied New England slavery and abolition for many years. Her work as an interpreter for the National Park Service in Concord, Boston, and Cambridge led to her interest in researching enslavement and abolition in her own community of Wayland, where she has lived with her family for more than 50 years. Jane has written a children’s book, Mr. Francis Saves the City, for Lowell National Historical Park, where it has been sold for two decades. She has authored articles for Cobblestone Magazine on the start of the American Revolution in Lexington and Concord, as well as guidebooks for Minute Man National Historical Park. She has researched and presented numerous programs, both online and in person, including on John Brown of Harpers Ferry fame, and Wayland’s own Lydia Maria Child, author and human rights advocate committed to the abolition of slavery and the elimination of discrimination against people of color in the 19thcentury.

Jane has been an active member of the Wayland Historical Society for many years, serving as president and curator. As chair of the Wayland Historical Commission, a Wayland town board, she oversaw the publication of the first town history, The Puritan Village Evolves. Her overriding passion lies in telling stories of persons overlooked in history books including the enslaved, 19th century abolitionists, and women.

PLEASE NOTE

This talk will be recorded and posted on historicbostons.org and our YouTube channel.

The opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the presenters and not necessarily those of the Partnership of Historic Bostons.

Image: During the years when slavery was legal and accepted in Massachusetts, this was the home of Israel Loring, Sudbury’s minister from 1706 until his death in 1772. He kept extensive journals that included accounts of his own enslaved persons and those of other townsmen. Today the Loring Parsonage is the home of the Sudbury Historical Society.

Host or Publisher Partnership of Historic Bostons