Items

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  “If He Had Been A Man, You Know?”: Jo, Town Founder

  Jamie Eves examines the local legend of Joe Ginne, an enslaved man traditionally credited alongside Jonathan Cates with founding Windham, CT.
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  “Let Him Get An Eagle On His Button”: Caesar Hall (1828-1896), African American Civil War Soldier From Hampton And Willimantic; Julia Hall, Farm Wife And Laundress

  Jamie Eves tells the story of Caesar Hall, an African American Civil War soldier from Hampton and Willimantic, and his wife Julia Hall.
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  “Faithfully To Serve”: Jesse & Job Leason, African American Soldiers In The Revolutionary War

  The story of brothers Jesse and Job Leason, free Black men from Windham, CT, who served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
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  “A Respectable, Quiet Colored Citizen”: Lyman Jackson (1796-1858), African American Cabinet Maker, And Clarissa Buck Jackson (1799-C. 1875), African American Wife And Barber

  Jamie Eves traces the life of Lyman and Clarissa Jackson, the African American couple for whom Willimantic's Jackson Street is named.
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  Resources For Researching Local African American History In Northeastern Connecticut
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  Here All Along: People Of Color In Connecticut’S Mill Towns
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  John Brown

  An inquiry into whether the Underground Railroad passed through Willimantic, prompted by the story of abolitionists Orrin and Jerusha Robinson.
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  John Ashbel Conant: Mill Worker, Abolitionist, Prohibitionist, & Conductor On The Underground Railroad

  The story of John Ashbel Conant, a Willimantic-area mill worker who served as an Underground Railroad conductor and abolitionist activist.
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  Orrin & Jerusha Robinson And The Methodist Melee On Main Street

  The story of Orrin and Jerusha Robinson, Willimantic Methodists who in 1837 faced down a proslavery mob.
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  Abolitionists

  An overview of Willimantic-area residents who actively opposed slavery before the Civil War, including Underground Railroad conductors.