Remembering Jack & Betty: A Commemoration Ceremony Honoring New Paltz's First African Residents

Name: Remembering Jack & Betty: A Commemoration Ceremony Honoring New Paltz's First African Residents
Start: 2026-02-07T13:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-02-07T14:00:00-05:00
Location: 74 Huguenot St, New Paltz, NY 12561-1412, United States

Schedule

Sat Feb 07 2026 at 01:00 pm to 02:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

74 Huguenot St, New Paltz, NY 12561-1412, United States | New Paltz, NY

In July 1680, New Paltz Patentee Christian Deyo purchased an enslaved African man named Jack from a New York City physician named Hartman Wessels. Nine years later, Christian's son, New Paltz Patentee Pierre Deyo, purchased an enslaved African woman named Betty from a trafficker of enslaved people in New York City named James Barré. These are the first recorded purchases of enslaved people by the European founders of New Paltz following the community's establishment in 1677, making Jack and Betty the earliest recorded African residents of the town.

In June of 2025, HHS, the Dr. Margaret Wade-Lewis Center, and the Ulster County Historian commemorated Jack and Betty’s lives, sacrifices, and bravery by installing permanent memorial markers on Historic Huguenot Street.
On Saturday, February 7th, 2026, with us, the Dr. Margaret Wade-Lewis Center will honor and remember the lives of Jack and Betty at the site of their commemorative Dr. Margaret Wade-Lewis Center markers, on the property where they once lived on Historic Huguenot Street.

In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be postponed to the following day: Sunday, February 8th, 2026.
The program will include African drumming, libation, presentations, a prayer of remembrance, and offerings to the ancestors.

This is a free community event. Please let us know you’re coming by RSVP’ing at the ticket link.

Jack & Betty’s Witness Stones research, development, and installation were sponsored by Devine Insurance and partially funded by the Deyo Family Association.
HHS’s public programming is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.