Hester Mead was one of the sixteen known enslaved people held at the Bush-Holley House. She was the last of eight enslaved children born there. Her mother, Candice, had been bound by the Bushes since she was a small child.
Thanks to the Gradual Emancipation Act, Hester became free upon her 21st birthday and lived the rest of her life in freedom. She had two sons, William and Charles, and by 1850 was living in a house of her own with her son, William, and her mother, Candice, in the free Black community of Hangroot.
Hester built a legacy. In her will, we can see that she possessed not only money, but also fine dresses, silver, and books, showing that she could read. She divided this wealth between her granddaughters. She also sets aside money for headstones to be placed for both her and her mother. This makes Hester and Candice the only formally enslaved people in Greenwich with headstones. They stand to this day, as a testament to Hester’s ability to succeed in a world that was stacked against her.
