Farmington, Connecticut Helped to Fight Slavery in the United States

The town of Farmington had an important role in the Underground Railroad and helping to end the enslavement of African-Americans. Many of its early residents were active in the abolition movement. Many of the houses and churches where the escaped slaves stayed on the Underground Railroad still stand today.

There were many prominent abolitionists from Farmington that were active in trying to ban slavery: Rufus Hawley, Reverend Allen Olcott, Thomas Seymour, and Aaron Austin were some prominent names. Other town residents; Elijah Lewis, Horace Cowles, Austin Williams, John Treadwell Norton, and Samuel and Catherine Deming were active in the Underground Railroad by sheltering and transporting escaped slaves many times in their own homes. The Farmington Historical Society website, lists a passage from the book "Speaking for Ourselves: African American Life in Farmington, Connecticut" written by author Barbara Donahue.

"In 1790, there were were almost four million people in the United States. Of these, about 750,000, or almost 20%, were black. Of these blacks, 60,000, or only 8%, were free. ... In Connecticut a little over half of the state's 5,500 blacks were free."

Due to the work of abolitionists, slavery started to diminish in Connecticut. In 1800 a census counted 951 slaves in Connecticut. Thirty years later that number was reduced 25. Despite the large presence of abolitionists and freed African-Americans, Connecticut was the last New England state to officially abolish slavery - but only for individuals under the age of 63.

John Wolff is an associate professor of History at Central Connecticut State University. One of his areas of specialty is the history of slavery in the Americas.

"It's difficult to say that Farmington played the largest role in the Underground Railroad, although it certainly played a prominent one," Wolff stated. "Still, it's worth remembering that escaping slaves received a great deal of support from African American communities in Connecticut, especially those in New Haven and Hartford. Farmington abolitionists were certainly very important, but others were as well."

Another important footnote in the history of Farmington is that the surviving Africans from the Amistad slave ship lived in town from March to November of 1841. The former captives had rebelled and caused a mutiny on board killing several crew members in 1839. However, the United States Navy seized the schooner in Long Island Sound and put the Africans on trial in Connecticut. The Africans eventually won their freedom before the United States Supreme Court in 1841 and were sent back to Africa in what is now known as Freetown, Sierra Leonne.

"A sizeable number of abolitionists resided in Farmington, and one Austin Williams, offered the necessary space for such a large group

The numbers of enslaved African-Americans in the Northern States were small in comparison to the southern states. But according to Professor Wolff, this doesn't mean that slavery was not a problem for people in the north.

"Despite the relatively small numbers of enslaved African Americans in Connecticut during the nineteenth century, slavery was never benign, Wolff reiterated. "In old age, some of Connecticut's slaves found themselves cast out by owners who did not wish to pay for their care. The brutality of slavery was by no means confined to the South."

For more information about the Farmington's history in the Underground Railroad and abolition of slavery please visit the Farmington Historical Society's website at: http://www.farmingtonhistoricalsociety-ct.org/