Unforgotten: Connecticut’s Hidden History of Slavery

Experts, historians and volunteers have been uncovering Connecticut’s ties to slavery. It’s one thing to unearth this forgotten history, but how do we not forget it?  Meet some of the people working with students to make sure that the stories of enslaved Connecticut residents endure. The Witness Stones Project helps schools and local communities “restore the history and honor the humanity” of ensl...

The Pleasures of Solitude, Music by Sawney Freeman, Edited and arranged by Anthony Pandolfe Jr., Recorded and mixed by Glenn Goettler. Performed on Saturday February 10, 2024 in New Canaan Conn., by violinists Ilmar Gavilan, Jonathan Frelix, Briana Almonte, flautist Jessica Valiente and cellist Paul Vanderwal. Sawney Freeman's music was discovered in a copy book dated1817 within the Watkinson Libr...

The New Death March, Music by Sawney Freeman. Edited and arranged by Anthony Pandolfe Jr., Recorded and mixed by Glenn Goettler. Performed on Saturday February 10, 2024 in New Canaan Conn., by violinists Ilmar Gavilan, Jonathan Frelix, Briana Almonte, flautist Jessica Valiente and cellist Paul Vanderwal. Sawney Freeman's music was discovered in a copy book dated1817 within the Watkinson Library, T...

The Musician, Music by Sawney Freeman. Edited and arranged by Anthony Pandolfe Jr., Recorded and mixed by Glenn Goettler. Performed on Saturday February 10, 2024 in New Canaan Conn., by violinists Ilmar Gavilan, Jonathan Frelix, Briana Almonte, flautist Jessica Valiente and cellist Paul Vanderwal. Sawney Freeman's music was discovered in a copy book dated1817 within the Watkinson Library, Trinity...

St. Alban's, Music by Sawney Freeman. Edited and arranged by Anthony Pandolfe Jr., Recorded and mixed by Glenn Goettler. Performed on Saturday February 10, 2024 in New Canaan Conn., by violinists Ilmar Gavilan, Jonathan Frelix, Briana Almonte, flautist Jessica Valiente and cellist Paul Vanderwal. Sawney Freeman's music was discovered in a copy book dated1817 within the Watkinson Library, Trinity C...

Adam's March, Music by Sawney Freeman. Edited and arranged by Anthony Pandolfe Jr., Recorded and mixed by Glenn Goettler. Performed on Saturday February 10, 2024 in New Canaan Conn., by violinists Ilmar Gavilan, Jonathan Frelix, Briana Almonte, flautist Jessica Valiente and cellist Paul Vanderwal. Sawney Freeman's music was discovered in a copy book dated1817 within the Watkinson Library, Trinity...

Liberty March, Music by Sawney Freeman. Edited and arranged by Anthony Pandolfe Jr., Recorded and mixed by Glenn Goettler. Performed on Saturday February 10, 2024 in New Canaan Conn., by violinists Ilmar Gavilan, Jonathan Frelix, Briana Almonte, flautist Jessica Valiente and cellist Paul Vanderwal. Sawney Freeman's music was discovered in a copy book dated1817 within the Watkinson Library, Trinity...

Jefferson's March, Music by Sawney Freeman. Edited and arranged by Anthony Pandolfe Jr., Recorded and mixed by Glenn Goettler. Performed on Saturday February 10, 2024 in New Canaan Conn., by violinists Ilmar Gavilan, Jonathan Frelix, Briana Almonte, flautist Jessica Valiente and cellist Paul Vanderwal. Sawney Freeman's music was discovered in a copy book dated1817 within the Watkinson Library, Tri...

Solemnity, Music by Sawney Freeman. Edited and arranged by Anthony Pandolfe Jr., Recorded and mixed by Glenn Goettler. Performed on Saturday February 10, 2024 in New Canaan Conn., by violinists Ilmar Gavilan, Jonathan Frelix, Briana Almonte, flautist Jessica Valiente and cellist Paul Vanderwal. Sawney Freeman's music was discovered in a copy book dated1817 within the Watkinson Library, Trinity Col...

Rays of Liberty, Music by Sawney Freeman. Edited and arranged by Anthony Pandolfe Jr., Recorded and mixed by Glenn Goettler. Performed on Saturday February 10, 2024 in New Canaan Conn., by violinists Ilmar Gavilan, Jonathan Frelix, Briana Almonte, flautist Jessica Valiente and cellist Paul Vanderwal. Sawney Freeman's music was discovered in a copy book dated1817 within the Watkinson Library, Trini...

Winter Piece, Music by Sawney Freeman. Edited and arranged by Anthony Pandolfe Jr., Recorded and mixed by Glenn Goettler. Performed on Saturday February 10, 2024 in New Canaan Conn., by violinists Ilmar Gavilan, Jonathan Frelix, Briana Almonte, flautist Jessica Valiente and cellist Paul Vanderwal. Sawney Freeman's music was discovered in a copy book dated1817 within the Watkinson Library, Trinity...

Washington's Farewell, Music by Sawney Freeman. Edited and arranged by Anthony Pandolfe Jr., Recorded and mixed by Glenn Goettler. Performed on Saturday February 10, 2024 in New Canaan Conn., by violinists Ilmar Gavilan, Jonathan Frelix, Briana Almonte, flautist Jessica Valiente and cellist Paul Vanderwal. Sawney Freeman's music was discovered in a copy book dated1817 within the Watkinson Library,...

The Union of all Parties, Music by Sawney Freeman. Edited and arranged by Anthony Pandolfe Jr., Recorded and mixed by Glenn Goettler. Performed on Saturday February 10, 2024 in New Canaan Conn., by violinists Ilmar Gavilan, Jonathan Frelix, Briana Almonte, flautist Jessica Valiente and cellist Paul Vanderwal. Sawney Freeman's music was discovered in a copy book dated1817 within the Watkinson Libra...

The Pleasures of Solitude, Music by Sawney Freeman. Edited and arranged by Anthony Pandolfe Jr., Recorded and mixed by Glenn Goettler. Performed on Saturday February 10, 2024 in New Canaan Conn., by violinists Ilmar Gavilan, Jonathan Frelix, Briana Almonte, flautist Jessica Valiente and cellist Paul Vanderwal. Sawney Freeman's music was discovered in a copy book dated1817 within the Watkinson Libr...

St. Alban's, Music by Sawney Freeman. Edited and arranged by Anthony Pandolfe Jr., Recorded and mixed by Glenn Goettler. Performed on Saturday February 10, 2024 in New Canaan Conn., by violinists Ilmar Gavilan, Jonathan Frelix, Briana Almonte, flautist Jessica Valiente and cellist Paul Vanderwal. Sawney Freeman's music was discovered in a copy book dated1817 within the Watkinson Library, Trinity C...

The Pleasures of Solitude, Music by Sawney Freeman. Edited and arranged by Anthony Pandolfe Jr., Recorded and mixed by Glenn Goettler. Performed on Saturday February 10, 2024 in New Canaan Conn., by violinists Ilmar Gavilan, Jonathan Frelix, Briana Almonte, flautist Jessica Valiente and cellist Paul Vanderwal. Sawney Freeman's music was discovered in a copy book dated1817 within the Watkinson Libr...

It's a story of mystery and music. Connecticut church volunteers searching to learn more about their community’s history learn that a once-enslaved fiddler named Sawney Freeman lived in their town. They go on a meticulous search to learn about this musician and discover he was also a composer. In fact, handwritten manuscripts of music attributed to Sawney Freeman were stored in a library across th...

Venture Smith's story is the first published narrative by an enslaved person in the U.S. It was issued in 1798. It’s also one of the few published narratives of slavery in New England. He describes his capture in Africa and life in Connecticut. He bought his own freedom and then built a home near where his wife and children remained enslaved. He spent years working to save money to buy their freed...

It started with a phone call from a stranger. A teacher told Pat Wilson Pheanious that her ancestors were enslaved – in Connecticut. They included Candace, who in the late 1700s worked in what is now the Hyland House Museum in Guilford. The discovery “gave me a family I didn’t know that I had,” Wilson Pheanious said. She describes it as “the best gift of my life.” In our second episode, reporter/p...

When we think of slavery in the United States, we don’t usually think of the North. But enslaving people was legal in Connecticut for more than 200 years and did not officially end until 1848. In our first episode, Reporter/Producer Diane Orson and Editorial Consultant and Curator Frank Mitchell dive into complicated questions: Who owns this history? Who should present it?  In what ways was this h...

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