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Witness Stones Project Comes to Essex

The lives of two Black individuals who lived on the Connecticut shoreline will be honored as part of a community-wide event on Saturday, Oct. 29 at St. John’s Episcopal Church.

The event will include stories and songs to celebrate and memorialize the lives of music composer Sawney Freeman and a runaway slave by name of Violet.

The presentation is part of the Witness Stones Project, an education initiative across Connecticut with the mission to “restore the history and honor the humanity of the enslaved individuals who helped build our communities.” St. John’s and the Essex Historical Society (EHS) are spearheading the Project’s chapter in town.

Expected speakers include Dennis Culliton and Liz Lightfoot of the Witness Stones Project, Don Perreault, chair of the history department at Valley Regional High School (VRHS); Rev. Geoffery T. Smith, a former deacon at St. John’s; and current parishioners and clergy members of the church Jim Myslik, Stacie Padelli, and Rev. Kate E. Wesch.

Melissa Josefiak, director of the EHS, who will also be speaking as part of the event, said that the EHS’s involvement and collaboration with St. John’s and the Project is part of its long-term research on the history of slavery and its economic impact in the Lower River Valley, with connections from Essex to sugar plantations of the West Indies.

“There is a greater understanding and reconciliation through houses of worship, historic sites through historical societies to understand this relationship better and then really bring the stories of these former enslaved people to life,” said Josefiak.

According to Wesch, the presentation of Violet’s and Freeman’s stories will narrow in on the time period roughly between 1790 to 1810. The talk will begin with Perreault, who will bring historical context to a discussion on the West Indies - Valley trade connections in 18th century and its economic aspects.

According to Perreault, while VRHS’ history department is not directly involved in the Project, it will have a “contextual research” elective course next spring to further develop a greater understanding of the story of Violet against the backdrop of slavery’s institutional presence in the region during her known lifetime and make connections to other former enslaved individuals and local slave holders.

“What we’re trying to do as a local, historical research project for the class is to get a better understanding of the history of slavery in Saybrook [Colony], Essex, and [Lake] Pocotopaug, and just how big of a part of the economy that really was,” said Perreault.

The main part of the event will focus on the lives of Freeman and Violet. The latter, whose birth was determined by the Project to be in 1775, was enslaved by Captain Noah Scovell, who worked as a merchant and shipbuilder. Freeman, who was not a member of St. John’s, was emancipated from slavery sometime in the 1790s.

The 200-year old musical compositions by Freeman, which were transcribed by St. John’s musical director Anthony Pandolfe, will be performed by instrumentalists, illustrating his story and artistic contributions to the shoreline region.

“Playing these 200-year-old compositions is like taking a step back in time to the simpler harmonies and genres that were the vernacular of that era,” said Pandolfe. “Sawney’s music is something tangible and brings his story alive as we attempt to see a window into his heart as he penned these compositions.”

The event will conclude with presenters and attendants stepping out onto Main Street, where the first Witness Stone for former Essex residents will be placed on the ground’s of St. John’s in honor of Violet, according to Wesch.

“There will be many more Witness Stones, we hope, here in Essex.The reason why Violet’s stone is going is because she was baptized here. She was a member, in good standing, of this parish,” said Wesch. “We know she ran away in 1802 and don’t know what happened.”

Violet’s name and the recording of her baptism is in the parish registry of the congregation, along with at least two other formerly enslaved persons. The recent discovery of this fact found Wesch and the other clergy and parishioners of the church curious, and was the starting point to wanting to be part of the Project.

“I think what’s really for the community is to remember people who may otherwise have been forgotten. When we dig this far back into these primary documents we find that it just leaves us with so many more questions than answers,” said Wesch. “We don’t know if Violet wanted to be baptized here. We know she wanted freedom, as she ran away. You look at these records and you can only piece together so much, and then we can wonder.”

A Q&A session with the speakers will follow the placement of Violet’s stone, after which members of EHS will lead a walking tour from St. John’s to Riverview Cemetery, where they will bring guests to the gravestones of Freeman, his wife Clarissa, and their son James.

Wesch said that Riverview graves such as Freeman’s and his family have unfortunately been lost in time, even in an historically rich area like the Valley.

“The history there, that somebody today in 2022 can be buried besides somebody who was buried 200 years ago. The layers of history in that cemetery and this community are amazing,” said Wesch.

When it comes to the layers of history in Essex and in the region, the mantra for Josefiak is, “everybody’s story deserves to be told.”

“We know the most about people from the past from the paper trail and the physical documents, objects, or structures that they leave. We know very little about enslaved people because they hardly leave a paper trail or physical object,” said Josefiak. “Some of those stories need more encouragement, research, and collaboration, and that’s what we’re seeing with Violet and Sawney Freeman. Sometimes they’re just mentioned in a line in one singular document. The more the team really delves into it, you find a very layered story which helps our understanding of a complex society in that 18th and early 19th century world”

The event will begin at St. John’s at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29. For more information, visit stjohnsessex.org.