Genealogy Club of Newtown, Connecticut

25 Main Street
Newtown, CT 06470
203 426 4533 (information)

Harlan R. Jessup

For preservation and ease of access the early land records of Newtown, Connecticut, have been photocopied, and a compiled index has been prepared for the years 1707 to 1948. But these modern indexes omit the references to race shown in the original indexes and are too voluminous to search for slave emancipations. Further, the photocopied deed books exclude all but the deeds themselves, omitting the original indexes, cautions against the recording of certain conveyances, some vital records, and other items of interest. And access to the dusty original volumes, now on high shelves, requires an improvised ladder.

A survey of these volumes 9 through 30, about 1766 to 1813, reveals emancipations and other matters relating to slaves and free negroes (the term usually applied). As required by state law, each emancipation is accompanied by an application and certificate stating that the slave desired freedom, was in good health, and was between 25 and 45 years of age. Freed slaves sometimes used Freeman or Freedom as a surname and sometimes used the surname of a current or former owner. Thus they are perhaps best recognized initially by their given names.

Much more detail on the lives of most of these slaves and free blacks may be found in a short book by Daniel Cruson, Newtown's Slaves: A Case Study in Early Connecticut Rural Black History, Newtown Historical Society, 1994, 92 pp.

Vol:Pg	Date	Name(s)	Actions
13:295	18 Aug 1784	Cato Freedom	Deed from Marcy Tousey of Woodbury for £1/10/0, 1/2 acre near Ditchlot in the Farm called Zoar, reserving the watercourse through said land.
15:234	11 Jun 1778	Thomas Freeman	Deed from Abel Morehouse of New Ashford, Berkshire Co., MA, to Thomas Freeman, negro, formerly belonging to Stephen Morehouse, late of Redding, dec'd, for £43, 2 1/2 acres in Redding where Thomas's house now stands and 5 acres in Newtown.
16:160	9 May 1791	Tobias	about 30 yrs. of age, emancipated by Nehemiah Curtis. Application and certificate on 11 Apr 1791 [16:299].
16:300	25 Mar 1791	Sampson	Negro man Sampson purchased for £30 by Josiah Curtis from Abraham Baldwin, "to serve in all respects as a faithful and obedient servant and is to make up all lost time for four years from Date except six Days every year to be allowed for recreation … in consideration of which at the end of four years he is to discharge and emancipate said servant."
17:302	6 Jan 1794	Eleck or Alexander	aged 26 on 3 Feb 1793, emancipated by Capt. Solomon Glover.
17:317	14 Jan 1794	Candace	negro girl about 21, emancipated by Stephen Crofut.
17:424	11 Apr 1794	Ned or Ned Booth	about 39 yrs. of age, emancipated by Abraham Booth.
18:fwd	9 May 1796	Zephaniah and Peggy (Booth)	both aged 25 to 45, emancipation by Mr. Daniel Booth.
18:fwd	30 Jul 1796	Cesar or Julius Cesar	aged 25 to 45, emancipation by Mr. Ebenezer Beers.
18:343	17 Feb 1796	Ellick or Alexander Brisco	Deed /s/ Ellxeandrea Brisco (not by mark) for £16 to Allexander Deforest for 14 rods at Deep Brook.
18:697	12 Nov 1795	Lem or Lem Peters	age 30 on 5 Nov. instant, emancipation by Ezra Booth.
18:707	27 Nov 1795	Rose	negro girl who was 26 on 24 June last, emancipation by Peter Nichols.
18:722	4 Jan 1796	Sampson	Certificate by Daniel Clark of Southbury who this day purchased Sampson of Elijah Nichols, engaging to free sd. Sampson after he has served "an adequate number of years to sufficiently compensate me for what I gave for him."
19:113	23 Mar 1797	Harry Hill	age 27 on 17 May 1797, by John Beach, power of atty. for his mother, Mrs. Phebe Beach.
19:235	9 Oct 1797	Ned Booth	Deed from Judson Fairman to Ned Booth, a free Black-man or Negro, for $167, 2 acres at Sluts Hill.
19:312	24 Feb 1798	Zephaniah Booth	Negro emancipated by David Booth. Deed from David Oakley for £27/10/0, 1/2 of a tenement and adjoining land at northern end of the Town Street.
19:393	30 Apr 1798	Philip or Philip Brisco	age 27 on 25 October last past, emancipation by Caleb Baldwin.
19:409	18 Jun 1798	Nancy or Nancy Bush	age 33 on 14 Aug last past, emancipation by Solomon Sanford
19:474	7 Jan 1799	Temp	female negro servant. Emancipation by James Glover.
20:7	28 Feb 1799	Cato Freeman	Deed from Moses Platt of Huntington for $15, 1 acre at Zoar.
20:8	19 Feb 1799	Cesar Freeman or Cesar Bellamy	Deed from William Hill Fairchild for $50, 1 acre at Pearse lot.
20:10	19 Feb 1799	Cesar Freeman or Cesar Bellamy	Mortgage deed to William Hill Fairchild for $50, 1 acre at Pearse lot.
20:198	17 Sep 1799	Lynde	age about 37, emancipation by Reuben and David Booth, executors of est. of Jonathan Booth, dec'd.
20:217	11 Nov 1799	Dorcas	age about 29, emancipation by John Lott and David Beers.
20:259	6 Jan 1800	Jacob	age 25 on 6 Sep 1799, emancipation by Philo Tousey.
21:225	6 Oct 1801	Boston	age 32 in June last, emancipation by Elijah Nichols.
21:495	19 Nov 1802	Rose	age about 32, emancipation by Wid. Phebe Beach.
22:200	22 Oct 1803	Dinar, wife to Boston Jennings Freeman	Deed from Samuel Beers and Samuel Beers, Jr., for $63, 30 rods with dwelling house on Reading Rd. about 1/2 mile southwest of the church.
22:442	16 May 1803	Cato Freeman	Quitclaim by Thomas Hays for $104 to Cato Freeman of Huntington rights to dwelling house erected by Elijah Jordan on land belonging to Henry Tomlinson in S.E. part of Zoar.
22:444	8 Apr 1803	Dinah	age about 30, emancipation by Elijah Nichols.
22:467	12 Dec 1803	Prince or Prince Booth	age 26 last October, emancipation by Widow Mary Booth.
22:467	5 Dec 1805	Cato Freeman	Quitclaim by Cato Freeman for 25 shillings to Town of Newtown, rights to 20 rods of land for road leading from Elijah Sherman to Good Hill.
23:34	20 Feb 1804	Alexander Brisco	a free negro. Quitclaim by Philo Booth for $1, rights to 1/4 acre with dwelling house near the plains.
23:35	1 Mar 1804	Time	negro girl about 31 yrs. Sale by Sarah Nichols for $50 to Titus, a free Negro of the Town of Fairfield.
23:98	10 Oct 1804	Gilbert or Gilbert Platt	age 29, emancipation by Jarvis Platt.
23:165	7 Jan 1805	Tobias Freedom	a free Negro. Judgment in favor of Caleb Baldwin, exec. of estate of Caleb Baldwin, dec'd, for $100.26 plus costs. Execution by seizure of 15 rods with dwelling at Walnut Tree Hill, appraised at $19.
23:404	5 Sep 1805	Primus Hill	Quitclaim by Moss K. Botsford for $70, 1/4 acre with dwelling house near north end of Newtown Street.
23:680	30 Mar 1806	Amos	Bill of freedom from Shelton Beach, executor of est. of Hezekiah Beach, agreeing to free Amos on condition he pay $40 on 1 Sept next and 1 Sept in following year. Receipt of $40 by note of Birdsey Glover on 26 Sep 1806, and receipt of $40 by Joseph Nichols on 38 Nov 1807.
23:683	29 Oct 1806	Ned Hill	age about 37, emancipation by John Botsford and Moss K. Botsford.
25:524	12 Jan 1809	Zephaniah Booth Freeman	Mortgage deed for $50 to Samuel Beers, Jr., the westerly half of a house where I now live near head of main Town Street which I purchased of David Oakley.
25:535	7 Mar 1809	Primus Hill	Quitclaim by Primus Hill for $75, house and 1/2 acre near head of Town Street .
26:128	15 Jan 1810	Pegge Hall, wife to Levi Hall	Deed from Philip Nichols of Huntington for $40, 1/2 acre at pine swamp hill.
26:374	5 Nov 1811	Amos Beach	of New Haven (Negro in index). Mortgage deed for $100 to Samuel Beers, Jr., 1/2 acre with dwelling house a little west of head of Town Street.
27:123	26 Sep 1812	Harry Hill or Harry Beach	free negro of Newtown. Mortgage deed for $80 to Joseph Nichols, Samuel Beers, Jr., and Marcus Botsford, 2/3 acre with house which is my homestead about 2 mi. east of the church.
27:344	3 Aug 1812	Cesar Freeman	age 25 to 45, emancipation by Cyrenius Hard.
27:422	27 Nov 1813	Cesar Freeman	Deed from Thomas H. Green for $180, 2 parcels at Zoar.

For slaves in Fairfield see: Chatfield, Priscilla A., "Emancipation and Sale of Slaves in Fairfield, Connecticut: From the Index of Fairfield, CT, Land Records." Connecticut Ancestry 42 (May 2000). For Greenwich see: Mead, Jeffrey B., Chains Unbound: Slave Emancipations in the Town of Greenwich, CT, 1995, paperback (available from the Historical Society of the Town of Greenwich).

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Last updated: 02/12/2012