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Restore History, Educate, and Honor Humanity

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#ShemCT21

Shem’s Story

WSP · Jun 9, 2021 ·

By Sofia Welch, Elisabeth C. Adams Middle School ’21

Shem was an African-American enslaved being who lived in Guilford, Connecticut. He was born in 1726 and was first enslaved under a man named John Scranton the 3rd. John Scranton had 10 children, including his daughter Submit Scranton. John owned two slaves, a Black man, 1Shem, and an Indian woman. In his will, John detailed that after his death, his slaves were to choose which of his children they wanted to serve.

After John had died, Shem went to serve Submit Scranton, the child of John’s that he had chosen. Eventually, Submit married a Deacon Simeon Chittenden, a very well respected man, and became Submit Chittenden. When Submit was married, all of her legal possessions were under the control of her husband, meaning Shem now belonged to the Deacon. Submit gave birth to seven children and Simeon detailed in his will a hierarchy of who would receive his properties, property including Shem. His belongings were to be given to his wife, Submit, first, then his children, then ultimately his grandchildren.

hem and Simeon clashed a lot, as Shem would often outright refuse the Deacon’s orders and was resistant towards the religion that Simeon forced upon him. For 40 years, Shem continued to resist and he was told by Simeon to pray to the lord to “raise the curse that was upon him.” Eventually, by his own choice, he did choose to pray and strengthened his spirituality and closeness to god in the process.

As the American Revolutionary began in New England, Shem actually fought in the war as an enslaved human being, not for his own freedom but the freedom of those enslaving him. Later, on April 12th 1789, Dean Simeon Chittenden passed away and now Submit once again owned him. She owned him all the way up to Shem’s death in 1794, and then eventually died herself in 1796. Shem was forced to serve the same lineage for his whole life and sadly never got to enjoy freedom.

Remembering the Enslaved in Guilford

WSP · Jun 1, 2021 ·

Adams Middle School 8th grade students researched and wrote essays to restore history and to honor the humanity and contributions of three enslaved individuals, Shem, Tombo, and Peter Gardner, who helped build our community. Witness Stones in their names were installed on Ledge Hill Road in North Guilford.

The students, members of the Witness Stones Project, state and local representatives, and the greater community in a ceremony on June 1st. Student essays were read by Beth Payne, descendent of the Scranton Family who held Peter Gardner in captivity, Pat Wilson, 5th great niece of Tombo, and Rockley Miller, descendent of the Chittenden Family who held Shem in captivity.

Following the remarks, Witness Stones bearing the names of each enslaved individual were installed in the cemetery in North Guilford.

North Guilford to Receive First Witness Stone, First Installation Since Pandemic

WSP · May 25, 2021 ·

By Jesse Williams in the Guilford Courier on May 25, 2021

It has been about two years since Guilford saw the installation of a Witness Stone. That’s about to change.

The project, founded by retired teacher Dennis Culliton and psychologist Doug Nygren has split, evolved, and greatly expanded since it was originally conceived as a way to teach middle school students about slavery through local history, something that gained even more momentum with the Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder a year ago. Continue reading.

Racial Trauma: Unchaining Ancestors’ Stories to Heal Cities

WSP · Feb 11, 2021 ·

Students listening to the talks their classmates are giving / Photo courtesy of Douglas Nygren

By Susana F. Molina in The Urban Activist on February 22, 2021

February is Afro-American History Month. It pays tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity. This year’s commemoration, eight months after the events in Minneapolis, has turned out in a different tone. The racial trauma of an unpayable moral debt lingers over American cities.

Since the Black Awakening of the 1960s Americans have felt more confident about the importance of black history and the contributions of Afro-Americans to history and culture. Across the Atlantic the Civil Rights movements of the sixties made young generations of Germans break with a period of silence imposed by their parents about national-socialism and the Holocaust. They started a long process to come to terms with their history. But have Americans done the same with slavery? Continue reading.

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