News 12 Reports on the Witness Stones Project & the Bush-Holley House
#HesterMeadCT56
Greenwich’s “Forgotten” Enslaved Population: Witness Stones Project Seeks to Tell Their Stories
by Robert Marchant on February 12, 2022 in the Greenwich Time
GREENWICH — Few markers of slavery exist in southern Connecticut, reminders of a time when men and women were bought and sold like property or livestock.
Two of them stand at Union Cemetery in Greenwich — the headstones of Hester Mead and her mother Candice Bush, both born into slavery at the Bush homestead in Cos Cob, now the site of the Greenwich Historical Society. Continue reading.
Bringing to Life the Hidden Lives of Four Greenwich Slaves with Honor and Witness Stones
By Anne W. Semmes in the Greenwich Sentinel on June 12, 2021
Forces have joined in the town of Greenwich to tell its hidden history, “To return the colors to the historical fabrics of our community,” so said Dennis Culliton, co-founder of the Connecticut-based Witness Stones Project that “seeks to restore the history and to honor the humanity and contributions of the enslaved individuals who helped build our communities.” Continue reading.
Greenwich Historical Society Hosts Witness Stones Project
On May 27, 2021, the Greenwich Historical Society welcomed students from Greenwich Academy and Sacred Heart Greenwich. The students shared their work uncovering the lives of Cull Bush, Patience, Candice , and Hester Mead and laid Witness Stones in their memory.
Courtesy of Greenwich Historical Society.
Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo. Courtesy of Greenwich Historical Society.
The Reverend Thomas Nins of the First Baptist Church. Courtesy of the Greenwich Historical Society.
Historian & Genealogist Teresa Vega. Courtesy Greenwich Historical Society.
Student Work. Courtesy of Greenwich Historical Society.
Lillie Foster Sharing Life of Cull Foster. Courtesy of Greenwich Historical Society.
Courtesy of the Greenwich Historical Society.
Laying Stone. Courtesy of Greenwich Historical Society.
Heather Lodge Laying Stone. Courtesy of Greenwich Historical Society
Memorial Stones Laid Beneath Bush-Holley House. Courtesy of Greenwich Historical Society.
Greenwich Honors Legacy of Those Who Were Enslaved
By Richard Kaufman on Patch.com on May 27, 2021
GREENWICH, CT — It was an emotional day on Thursday at the Greenwich Historical Society, as the community came together to honor the legacy of those who were enslaved in Greenwich in the 18th and 19th centuries.
According to research from the Historical Society, approximately 300 enslaved people resided in Greenwich. Thursday’s ceremony honored four individuals — Cull Bush and his partner Patience, and Candice Bush and her daughter Hester Mead — who all lived and worked for David Bush and family at the Bush-Holley House. Altogether, about 15 enslaved people worked at the house. Continue reading.
Witness Stones Placement Ceremony
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
Historical Society to Honor the Humanity of Greenwich’s Enslaved Individuals through Collaboration with Witness Stones Project
By Greenwich Free Press on March 9, 2021.
To shine a light on the history, humanity and contributions of enslaved individuals who resided in Greenwich as early as the 1600s, Greenwich Historical Society is partnering with the Witness Stones Project. Continue reading.
