Greenwich Honors Legacy Of Those Who Were Enslaved

GREENWICH, CT — It was an emotional day on Thursday at the Greenwich Historical Society, as the community came together to honor the legacy of those who were enslaved in Greenwich in the 18th and 19th centuries.

According to research from the Historical Society, approximately 300 enslaved people resided in Greenwich. Thursday's ceremony honored four individuals — Cull Bush and his partner Patience, and Candice Bush and her daughter Hester Mead — who all lived and worked for David Bush and family at the Bush-Holley House. Altogether, about 15 enslaved people worked at the house.

"Witness Stones Memorials" made from cement and bronze with engravings of each person's name, known birth and death dates and primary occupations, were placed in a garden believed to be below an attic where most of the enslaved people lived.

The Historical Society collaborated with The Witness Stone Project on this initiative that seeks to teach school-age children about enslaved persons in their hometowns using primary sources like deeds, wills, and letters. The Witness Stones Project was co-founded by Dennis Culliton.

Students and teachers from Sacred Heart Greenwich and Greenwich Academy worked in conjunction with the Historical Society in researching the daily lives of the enslaved. The ceremony was the culmination of their work over the past year-and-a-half. The remaining 11 enslaved people from Greenwich will be honored in future years as the initiative expands to other schools in town.

Debra Mecky, Executive Director of the Historical Society, told the roughly 150 people in attendance that the initiative served as a way to "bear witness to the past and to shine a light on our past."

Rev. Thomas Nins from the First Baptist Church spoke about accepting the hard truth of what happened to so many during slavery.

"How we want our truth to look and how we want our reality to look is not always aligned with truth and reality. This truth that there were slaves in the Town of Greenwich is not something everyone embraces, that everyone wants to accept, that some people would rather not deal with," he said. "Today we stand and sit on this beautiful sunny day to acknowledge there's a part of history that many of us did not know about, and some of us do not want to talk about."

Nins commended those who took part in the research and Memorial Stones initiative for "taking the necessary step to say that there is another truth, there is another reality out there that exists and has existed and we're going to share it."

Several students from Greenwich Academy and Sacred Heart Greenwich spoke about their experiences during their research. They each spoke about one of the four enslaved people who were being honored.

Claire Junius, a seventh-grader, said the project allowed her to gain a deeper understanding of what people went through.

"One thing I'm going to take away from this project is no matter how different stories of the enslaved may seem, they're all connected in this dark twisted web of slavery," she said. "Another thing I'm going to take away from this project is how much we need to keep telling and spreading these stories. When we do, it brings an understanding of our history."

Eighth-grader Lillie Foster spoke about Cull Bush, who was enslaved from the late 1700's to the early 1800's. She noted that many of the enslaved weren't even recognized as being human, and some didn't even have names, but talking about the history and raising awareness can give a voice to the voiceless, and a name to the nameless.

Lily Broughton, who is in seventh grade, shed some light on Patience Bush, who was born no later than 1775, and had six children, believed to be with Cull. She mentioned learning about one of the themes of slavery — dehumanization — and how when slaveowner David Bush died, he listed Patience and others as possessions in his will.

Candice Bush was born around 1780, and research implies that she began working in the house around 10 years old. Being so young, she likely was tasked with doing household chores. Hazel Carrion, an eighth grader at GA, said that Candice was not freed by Connecticut's Gradual Emancipation Act of 1784.

However, according to census data form 1850, Candice was listed as the head of her own household.

"Through so much suffering, Candice took control of her life. Candice is a woman whose name I say with extreme pride. Her determination and example of not allowing the past to influence her future is truly inspiring," Carrion said, noting that Candice is buried in Greenwich.

Hester Mead, Candice's daughter, was born into slavery in 1807, and likely performed household and kitchen tasks during her early life at the Bush-Holley House.

Ana Gonzalez, a 10th grader from Greenwich Academy, said not much is known about Hester, as there are several gaps about her whereabouts in later years. But without the Historical Society, Gonzalez said, Mead's name would still be unknown.

"Without the remarkable work of the Greenwich Historical Society, it is very likely that Hester's story and many others like her would have been forgotten," Gonzalez said. "It's important to discover stories like these to gain a better understanding of our nation's history."

First Selectman Fred Camillo was in attendance and issued a proclamation, declaring May 27, 2021 as a day of remembrance for the enslaved people of Greenwich.

Camillo, a lifelong Greenwich resident and former history teacher in town, said remembering the past and the experiences of generations gone by is vital.

"I just hope that this day, the remembrance of enslaved peoples in Greenwich, is not something we just do and forget about," he said. "It's something that should stay on our mind whenever we talk about the history of Greenwich, and that this is a part of it."