Lives Of Enslaved Couple Honored on Juneteenth At Pardee-Morris House

NEW HAVEN, CT —Stepna Primus, a "husband and farmer," was enslaved by Amos Morris, Issac Forbes, and Enos Heminway, at the Morris house in New Haven.

In 1796, Primus was emancipated.

Also enslaved at the Morris House was his wife, Pink, "mother, wife and landowner," who was emancipated in 1800.

The lives of these two enslaved peoples have been memorialized with Witness Stones at what is now called the Pardee-Morris House.

Located at 325 Lighthouse Road, in New Haven, the Pardee-Morris House dates from about 1780, and is listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places. Built by Amos Morris around 1750, the house was burned by the British during their raid on New Haven in 1779 and rebuilt and expanded by the Morris family. In 1918, William Pardee, a descendant of the Morris family, willed the property to the New Haven Colony Historical Society, today the New Haven Museum.

As the New Haven Museum celebrates Juneteenth 2022, Dennis Culliton, the founder and executive director of the Witness Stones Project, will visit the site Sunday June 19. He'll then share more about the lives of Pink and Stepna, from 12 – 2:30 p.m. The historic site will remain open for free tours until 4 p.m.

Witness Stones Memorials are cement and bronze markers which note the names of enslaved individuals, their trades, and whether they were emancipated or died enslaved, along with corresponding dates.

In 2021, students from Cold Spring School and The Foote School researched Pink and Stepna. Read more about the research and presentation here.

For more information on the Witness Stones Project, click here.