Witness Stones Project Inc.

Restore History, Educate, and Honor Humanity

Witness Stones Installation Ceremony

Historical Society to Celebrate the Humanity of Greenwich’s Enslaved Individuals at Ceremony on May 27

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By Laura McCormick on HamletHub.com on May 11, 2021

Greenwich Historical Society will host a ceremony on May 27th at 1 pm to honor the legacy of enslaved persons who resided in Greenwich.

Open to the public, the event will take place on the Historical Society campus in Cos Cob to include town officials, civic leaders, clergy as well as teachers and students from Greenwich Academy and Sacred Heart Greenwich who were instrumental in researching the lives of the enslaved individuals. Enslaved persons will be honored with a “Witness Stones Memorial” engraved with their name, known birth and death dates and primary occupations, and placed on the grounds near Bush-Holley House where they resided. A reception with light snacks will follow. Continue reading.

Witness Stones Placement Ceremony

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Hester Mead (1807–1864) The Jabez Mead House, ca. 1840. Watercolor on paper. 21.5 x 25.5 inches.
Greenwich Historical Society, Museum Purchase, 2006.02
This unsigned watercolor painting of the Jabez Mead House is believed to have been painted by Hester Mead, the daughter of Candice Bush, two of fifteen black individuals enslaved by the Bush family.

From the Greenwich Historical Society on May 10, 2021

This spring marks the culmination of our first collaboration with the Witness Stones Project, in conjunction with local schools and the local community.

Through research, education, and civic engagement, the Witness Stones Project, Inc., seeks to restore the history and to honor the humanity and contributions of the enslaved individuals who helped build our communities. Continue reading

Paying Tribute to the Life of James Mars at a Witness Stone Ceremony in Norfolk

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The ceremony honoring James Mars on Saturday, May 1, ended with drumming led by Angaza Mwando, at right. Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan.

By Patrick L. Sullivan in the TriCornerNews on May 5, 2021

NORFOLK — The life of James Mars was celebrated at the Norfolk Congregational Church on Sunday, May 2, with a ceremony marking the unveiling of a witness stone honoring Mars, the last slave bought or sold in Norfolk. Continue reading.

Commemorating History: James Mars Witness Stone Ceremony in Norfolk

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Witness Stone for James Mars, which was installed in Norfolk. A ceremony commemorating the stone’s installation was held on Saturday, May 1. Photo by Chris Rabago.

By Shaw Israel Izikson in the Winsted Phoenix on May 1, 2021.

NORFOLK — A ceremony was held for the unveiling of a Witness Stone for James Mars on Saturday, May 1. According to the Witness Stone project’s website at witnessstonesproject.org, a Witness Stone is a marker that recalls an enslaved individual at a site of significance. Continue reading.

Witness Stones Project Completion Allows Town to Honor Local Enslaved Woman

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By Jesse Williams on ZIP06.COM on August 19, 2020.

GUILFORD MADISON —Though the pandemic prevented a large community ceremony, Madison saw the installation of its first Witness Stone in front of the First Congregational Church earlier this month, with students from The Country School (TCS) completing the year-long research project into the life of Lettuce (pronounced leh-TOOS) Bailey, a woman who was enslaved in Madison in the late 18th- and early 19th century. Continue reading.

 

In the Wake of George Floyd’s Death, a Connecticut Town Marks Juneteenth and Recalls Its Own Legacy of Enslaving Men, Women and Children

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Witness stones, to commemorate the lives of slaves who lived in West Hartford, rest next to a headstone in the Old Center Cemetery in West Hartford. (Kassi Jackson/The Hartford Courant)
By Susan Dunne in the Hartford Courant on June 19, 2020

WEST HARTFORD — On Aug. 20, 1740, John Hosmer of West Hartford settled a debt with his neighbor. He didn’t settle the debt with money, but by handing over Ned, a 9-year-old Black child valued at 115 pounds. Continue Reading.

 

Students Lay Stones To Address Town’s History Of Slavery

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By Michael Walsh in the Hartford Courant on October 4, 2018

Retired West Hartford high school history teachers Tracey Wilson and Liz Devine worked with Conard High School students and the Noah Webster House and West Hartford Historical Society to lay the first in a series of witness stones that address the town’s connection to slavery. Continue reading.

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