Searching for Tamar: Finding Ourselves

Ubuntu symbol by Nadia G. ‘21

Remembering and Honoring Tamar Enslaved in Madison, Connecticut Emancipated in 1791

A collaboration between The Country School and the Witness Stones Project

SEARCHING FOR TAMAR FINDING OURSELVES

This Witness Stones memorial is permanently installed in front of the First Congregational Church of Madison, near where Tamar lived and worked when she was enslaved. Her marker is placed next to one installed in 2020 in honor of her daughter, Lettuce.

About the Witness Stones Project at The Country School Bearing Witness: Restoring forgotten history in Madison, Connecticut Growing up in New England, the stories we hear about slavery in our region tend to focus on abolitionists and the Underground Railroad. At the start of the 2019-2020 school year, Country School 8th Graders and their teachers set out to tell a more complete and accurate narrative, one that would restore the history and honor the humanity and contributions of enslaved individuals who lived in and helped build our local community.

Working with Dennis Culliton co-founder and executive director of the Witness Stones Project (witnessstonesproject.org), they researched the history of enslavement in Madison, scouring 200-plus-year-old primary and secondary source documents found in local archives to learn about Lettuce, a woman who was enslaved and later emancipated by the minister of the First Congregational Church of East Guilford (now Madison).

Through their e orts to restore Lettuce’s history and honor her humanity, students sought to tell a much larger, and largely unknown, story on a human scale. Inspired by the Stolpersteine Project in Germany, which has installed tens of thousands of brass plaques to honor Jews and others who lost their lives during the Holocaust, The Country School’s 2020 Witness Stones Project culminated with the installation of a brass Witness Stones marker to commemorate Lettuce’s life. Learn more in Searching for Lettuce.

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During the 2020-21 school year, a new group of 8th Graders set out to tell the story of another individual who was enslaved in Madison and whose story had been forgotten by history. This second group focused on Tamar, Lettuce’s mother, whose journey began in or around 1744 in western Africa and ended in Madison, Connecticut. Their e orts to tell Tamar’s story are recounted in these pages. In addition to original poetry and artwork inspired by their research, this book includes a biographical sketch, a list of resources used for their research, student re lections on their Witness Stones work, and excerpts from speeches delivered at the Witness Stones Installation Ceremony. Together, these elements show what an examination of our unexplored history can mean for us as individuals, for our local and broader community, and for our collective understanding of who we are, what we know, and what we have yet to learn.

During the irst year of Witness Stones at The Country School, students were guided by the spirit of Sankofa, the Asante Adinkra symbol used by the Witness Stones Project for its logo. Typically depicting a bird with its head turned backwards and feet facing forward as it carries an egg in its mouth, Sankofa is associated with the proverb, “Se wo were i na wosankofa a yenkyi.” Roughly translated, those words mean: “It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten.” In other words, the past serves as a guide for the future, and we must explore it and learn from it as we move forward.

While the spirit of Sankofa continued to inform students’ work during the second year of Witness Stones, members of the Class of 2021 were also guided by another African principle: Ubuntu. Commonly translated as “I am because you are,” the fuller de inition of Ubuntu, the one that guided the content of this year’s project, is “A person is a person through other people.” The writing of these students, their attentiveness to the life of Tamar and their understanding of how that life has informed both the landscape that they are a part of and a legacy that they are inheriting, is a powerful reminder that the lives and stories of the those who have historically and institutionally been pushed to the margins yield insight into our own lives as well. As students use their own words here to shape and reshape a fragmented history, we hope that this insight into Tamar’s life moves all of us to consider the not-yet spoken histories that are echoing around us.

Elliott B. ‘20

“It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten.”

(Sankofa)

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“A person is a person through other people.”

(Ubuntu)

Nadia G. ‘21 f

Moving from Sankofa to Ubuntu

TAMAR, A BRIEF HISTORY Editor’s Note: After spending weeks researching wills, deeds, birth and death records, and other documents found in local archives, students worked individually to piece together a biographical sketch re lecting Tamar’s history. The assignment called on them to also consider the themes they had discussed as a class and to relate them to Tamar’s story. As identi ied by the Witness Stones curriculum, the ive themes are: dehumanization, paternalism, the economics of slavery, treatment of the enslaved, and agency and resistance. What follows is a composite of student-produced biographies based on their exploration of primary and secondary source materials.

Tamar was born sometime in the mid-18th century in a region of Africa called Guinea.1 Di erent from the current country of Guinea, the area referred to as Guinea in 18th century maps extended eastward from the Atlantic coast of sub-Saharan west Africa across to and including parts of present-day central Africa. We believe that Tamar was born in 1744, given that she was 72 years old when she died in 1816 in East Guilford (current-day Madison), Connecticut.2 We do not know what name Tamar was given by her parents when she was born. The name “Tamar” was given to her by the man who enslaved her once she arrived in Connecticut.3 There is no record of a surname in any of the archives.

Based on our research, we believe that sometime during her young adulthood Tamar was taken from her family and her home in Guinea and forced onto a ship. We believe she endured the Middle Passage before arriving on the Connecticut shoreline somewhere near East Guilford, where she was enslaved by Reverend Jonathan Todd, second pastor of the First Congregational Church of East Guilford, and his wife, Elizabeth.4 On the opening page of his 1876 book of family history, John Todd: The Story of His Life Told Mainly by Himself, author John Todd writes about how his great-uncle, Reverend Jonathan Todd, became an enslaver. “It so happened that there was a vessel cast ashore near his house, and from the wreck, several Africans, directly from Guinea, emerged,” John Todd writes. “I never knew all the circumstances, but they came into his hands.” He then goes on to describe how Reverend Todd gave these people “Scripture names—Cush, Tamar, and the like.”5 We know little about Tamar’s life in the years immediately following

1 John Todd, John Todd the Story of His Life Told Mainly by Himself. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1876, p. 2.

2 First Congregational Church of Madison, List of Madison Deaths. 1791 - 1930. Historical Collection. Church archives.

Also available at ancestry.com

3 Todd, John, p. 2.

4 Ibid.

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5 Ibid.

her arrival in Connecticut, but the Todd book gives us some clues. According to a particularly dehumanizing passage in his book, John Todd writes that Reverend Todd “made pets of them all,” setting out to educate them with “divers [sic] schemes for their elevation.” The author goes on to say that at some point Reverend Todd appeared to abandon the plan, describing Tamar, Cush, and the others as “full-grown people” who “could not speak a word of English, were immensely stupid, and having never been brought up to work, were anything but industrious.”6 In contrast to that description, the next paragraph in the book describes a growing bond between Reverend Todd’s extended family and his “servants and slaves.” “As the old minister had no children,” John Todd writes, his “servants and slaves,” grew attached to the children of his brother, Timothy, who lived nearby, “and many are the stories of their a ection and idelity.”7 This notion of “a ection and idelity” resurfaces in a second anecdote about Tamar later in the book.

Although not mentioned by name, Tamar was presumably among the six enslaved people listed as part of Reverend Todd’s household in the 1790 census, the irst-ever federal census in the United States.8 A year later, she is mentioned by name in Reverend Todd’s will as one of eight enslaved people in his household. At this point she is identi ied as the mother of a woman named Lettuce (we do not know when or where Lettuce was born) and grandmother of Lettuce’s three children, Sukey, Emma, and Peleg. We do not know where or when they were born either. The will was written shortly before Reverend Todd died on February 24, 1791. Tamar, Lettuce, and Lettuce’s children are all listed without surnames.9 Despite the fact that he enslaved as many as eight people at one time (a large number for a Connecticut resident), Reverend Todd writes in his will that he had “long been convinced” that slavery was a sin and that he was therefore granting them their freedom.

“I do Declare my Will in respect to my servants & slaves: I have long been convinced in my own mind, that the Enslaving of the A ricans [sic] brought from A rica [sic], or those Born in this Country is unjust; is one the sins of the Land, and would Endeavor to free my Estate from the Cry of such a Sin against it," the will reads.10 In addition to granting Tamar, Lettuce, and the others their liberty (with the proviso that they take care of themselves and their children without burdening his estate), Reverend Todd also seems to have granted Tamar and Lettuce items that could assist them in their newfound freedom. To both Tamar and Lettuce, he left land “near the Thompson lot,” a

6 Ibid.

7 Ibid.

8 U.S. Census for East Guilford “household of Rev. Jonathan Todd,” United States Federal Census, Web January 2020, www.ancestry.com/interactive.

9 Probate Court, Guilford and Madison, CT, Last Will and Testament of Rev. Jonathan Todd. March 28, 1791.

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10 Ibid.

cow, household items, and bedding. Unfortunately, no records have been found to indicate that Tamar and Lettuce ever received the land. Reverend Todd also speci ically left Tamar a loom with weaving equipment and a brass kettle, leading us to surmise that Tamar was both a weaver and a chef.11 An anecdote in chapter two of the John Todd book sheds light on Tamar’s cooking skills and also speaks to that notion of “a ection and idelity” mentioned in chapter one. A few pages into chapter two, John Todd recounts a story about a reunion with a woman named Tamar. At this point ─ we assume about ten years after Jonathan Todd’s death and the emancipation of his “servants and slaves” ─ Tamar is living in Branford with a man named Prim, identi ied in the story as her husband. According to the anecdote, Timothy Todd (Reverend Jonathan Todd’s nephew), now a doctor living in Vermont, was contemplating a move back to Connecticut. He had been injured in a horse and cart accident and was on his journey to East Guilford when, driving through Branford, he found himself near the house where Tamar was now living. He apparently remembered her fondly from his childhood, when she had “carried the doctor around in her arms.”12 The book describes a joyful reunion. “The moment that Tamar heard the name she came rushing out, and, climbing into the carriage, took up the doctor, crutches and all, and carried him into the house as if he had been a child as of old, and she a strong young nurse, instead of an old woman of more than seventy years,” John Todd writes. “Having placed him on a chair, she began to dance and caper about him, weeping and laughing at the same time and making the most extravagant demonstrations of joy.”13 Tamar then prepared a meal, described as “royal,” with her guest declaring he “had never sat down to a better.”14 A few paragraphs later, John Todd describes Tamar weeping “bitter tears” as she learns of Timothy Todd’s death.”15 Tamar does not make another appearance in the Todd book, but if we can believe the anecdote about her a ection and idelity toward Timothy Todd, we learn a great deal about the kind of person she was. As one student wrote, “I can’t imagine being kind to someone whose family enslaved me.”

The next archival record we have is from 1813, when the death of Tamar’s husband, Prim, is reported in Branford church records.16 After Prim’s death, we assume Tamar moved back to East Guilford, where her daughter and grandchildren were still living, because her death records appear in the East Guilford Congregational Church archives. These records

11 Ibid.

12 Todd, John, p. 25.

13 Ibid.

14 Ibid.

15 Ibid.

16 Connecticut, Church Records Abstract, 1630 to 1920.” Vol. 46. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2013. Thurs. 22. April. First

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Church Society, Branford, CT

As we were inishing up our research, we learned that 1816, the year Tamar died, was known as “the year without summer” or “the poverty year” in New England. According to records from the time, volcanic ash from an eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia resulted in a precipitous drop in temperatures in the Northeast over the late spring, through the summer, and into the fall. On the evening of July 9, 2016, overnight temperatures in Connecticut plummeted below freezing, reportedly even dipping into the 20s in some parts of the state. Heavy frost killed the few crops that had managed to survive earlier frosts, making it di icult for Connecticut residents to feed themselves and their families. We can only imagine how this winter-in-summer felt for an elderly woman whose life began in sub-Saharan Africa.18 If Tamar did experience that night of below-freezing temperatures (we don’t know for sure because we don’t know the speci ic date she died), it was just one more challenge in a life illed with challenges. During her seven decades, Tamar endured separation from her family and all she knew. She survived the Middle Passage and years of enslavement. And yet, through all her hardships, Tamar appears to have remained resilient. She was a caregiver in all senses of the word, making a di erence to those who knew her and managing to build a life for herself as a free woman.

Although there are many missing pieces, we believe there is much to admire in Tamar’s story and that she deserves to be honored and remembered. Her descendants ─ and the stories about her kindness, hospitality, and joy in the face of unimaginable challenges ─ are all part of her legacy. We are proud to help the town of Madison honor Tamar and the contributions she made to our shared history, and we hope others will join us in remembering her in the months and years ahead.

Postscript: Last year, when students concluded Searching for Lettuce, we left o with the stories of Lettuce’s sons (Tamar’s grandsons), Eli and Frederick Bailey, who must have been born after the death of Jonathan Todd, when Lettuce had gained her freedom. This year, as we researched Tamar, we continued to seek documents about these two young men. Shortly before the end of the school year, we came across archival records pertaining to their lives in their 30s, and we hope these insights might lead us to another generation of Tamar’s descendants. We will continue to “look over our shoulders” as we seek to restore this history and discover how we are all connected to it.

17 First Congregational Church of Madison, List of Madison Deaths. 1791-1930. Historical Collection. Church archives.

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18“July 9: ‘The Year Without a Summer,’” todayincthistory.com. May 18, 2021.

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tell us that in July of 1816 (no date speci ied), Tamar died at age 72. The listing, from the “No Surname” category of the Connecticut, Church Records Abstract, says simply: “Tamar, a black woman, d. July, 1816, age 72.”17

INSPIRED BY TAMAR: CREATIVE WRITING AND ARTWORK Like the students who researched Lettuce, the 8th Graders researching Tamar found that while a straightforward non iction account could restore Tamar’s history, at least partially, it was not fully capable of honoring her humanity. They had seen the possibilities inherent in a more creative treatment of archival material last year, thanks to Jumoke McDu ieThurmond, the poet and teacher whose collection, Recipe for Resurrection, was inspired by his own research into his enslaved ancestors. During a visit to campus, Mr. Jumoke read a selection of his poems and then led a writing workshop, showing students how he was able to “conjure a creative space of reckoning, listening, remembering, and longing” while bearing “witness to the humanity of enslaved ancestors held within the documents of a dehumanizing archive,” as he described it in his introduction to Recipe for Resurrection.

As a visiting artist during the 2019-20 school year and one of two 8th Grade history teachers during the 2020-21 school year, Mr. Jumoke shared techniques for writing in ways that would allow students to stay true to the archived material and yet tell as complete and humanizing a story as possible. Students couldn’t speak on behalf of the person they were researching, but they could respond emotionally to what they had (or hadn’t) found in the archives. They could examine the questions that remained after completing their research and write about how the archival exploration made them feel.

Students have attempted to do so in these pages.

For this collection, 8th Graders have either contributed a poem or a piece of visual art, all of which are accompanied by personal statements explaining their work. Submissions were inspired by Tamar’s narrative, by notions of freedom, by the questions that remain after the archives have been explored, and by the idea of legacy ─ speci ically what exploring Tamar’s legacy (and the legacies of others like her) could mean for students of history, for residents of our town, and for American citizens at large.

RESTORING HISTORY/HONORING HUMANITY

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This irst set of writing re lects the main goal of the Witness Stones Project, which is to restore the history and honor the humanity of enslaved individuals who helped build our community. These poems and works of art re lect the chronological phases of and major events in Tamar’s life. Many also speak to the person students imagine Tamar was, given the accounts they discovered in the primary and secondary source documents they researched. In several cases, these submissions speak to the e ect doing this work has had on the students themselves.

A Woman to be Remembered

by Alexander P. Waves hitting the boat from every direction.

People bunched up from ceiling to loor, from wall to wall with no space to spare.

The Middle Passage was a trip of despair.

Finally, it all stopped, The waves, the wind, the commotion.

For a moment it seemed that all was well.

She had survived the Middle Passage, But only to fall into the hands of Jonathan Todd.

And then she entered a new life, A life of being enslaved.

Where she was treated like an object bought from a store.

But she was much more than that, She was much more than an item you would see on a shopping list.

She was a cook, a caregiver, a mother, a wife, and a weaver.

She was a human being.

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Her name was Tamar.

Tamar isn’t just a name.

It represents a woman, A woman who cared for others, Who loved and cared for the nephew of her enslaver.

It represents a caregiver, A cook, a weaver, And most importantly, A survivor.

Alex’s Statement I wrote my poem about Tamar for a few reasons. I believe poetry has the ability to express things extremely well. It leaves a deeper impact on me compared to a short story. In poetry, you have a limited number of words on the page so the words you end up using in your poem are meaningful. Poetry is unique and beautiful in its own way, and no two poems are ever the same. I was motivated to write a poem because I have read amazing poems that have had a huge impact on me and I wanted to write a poem about Tamar to remember her legacy.

Her Story

by Marla L. Tamar: caring and strong.

She is one we should recognize.

Her story is one we should look back on and remember.

Her Character: A person Who was More than just a slave in this world.

A weaver, a caregiver, a mother, a grandmother.

Loyal, handy, sincere, and determined.

This is an attempt to restore her history, Honor her identity, Give her a piece of recognition.

Her Journey: On a boat to an unknown place, A place only certain people knew about, Not one she wanted or asked for.

Guinea: her safe place, her homeland.

Her Story: Tamar, Caregiver, weaver, mother, and grandmother.

We hope she would be proud to accept these titles.

Taken from Africa without a choice, No way out.

Enslaved East Guilford (Madison), Emancipated 1791.

Her descendants and her contributions to others, her legacy.

Her Character, Her Journey, Her Story.

Marla’s Statement

I decided to write my poem about Tamar’s story (“Her Story”). I chose to headline each little line with either “Her Character,” “Her Journey,” or “Her Story.” The little lines contain the topic the headliner states (for example, Her character - A weaver, a caregiver, a mother, a grandmother). I learned a lot using her timeline and writing “Her Story.”

Illustration

by Nadia G.

Nadia’s Statement

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I drew everything in the outline of Africa because that’s where Tamar’s life started. In the outline, I included the Guinea lag to represent where she was born. The Tapuat is the symbol for a child and their mother and the loom below illustrates something she liked to do. A picture of Madison, Connecticut, is also drawn to give an idea of where Tamar’s boat washed ashore and where she was enslaved. At the bottom, two hands are displayed to “hold her life all together.”

A Long Journey

by Will B. A long journey.

People stacked on top of each other, on a wooden boat, Over many seas with rough winds and lightning.

No one wanted to be there, Not even the captain.

With patience she survived the Middle Passage.

She was taken from her home Without her consent Only To be put into to a house of wealthy white people And worked all day Without her consent.

She didn't want to be there, She never did.

But she had a child and grandchildren, all enslaved (and emancipated) alongside her.

Toward the end of her life She settled in Branford with her husband, Prim.

After his death she returned to Madison, where she died, age 72.

Her name was Tamar, It wasn't just a name, It represented a strong woman Who was enslaved for most of her life,

She wasn't just an enslaved woman, She was a weaver, A caregiver, A great mother, A great wife,

Will’s Statement My work in this poem was inspired by the life of Tamar. Tamar went through a lot, so why not say her name and her story and tell the world about who she was? She wasn't just an enslaved woman, but a mother, a wife, a great person and much more. I wanted to write this to remember Tamar's legacy.

To Honor Tamar

by Cooper B. Taken from her Family Taken from her Village Taken from her Homeland Taken from Africa Tamar survived the Middle Passage — not only that,but She lived to tell the tale, to her daughter, and her grandkids Enslaved in Connecticut Emancipated in Connecticut Married in Connecticut Died in Connecticut Tamar survived the Middle Passage — not only that, but She lived to tell the tale, to her daughter, and her grandkids

To Connecticut through a ship But the ship wrecked Jonathan Todd then “Found” her He took her Enslaved her

A great person, And much more.

She was Tamar.

Emancipated in 1791 She was allowed to live her life Except She wasn’t Tamar survived the Middle Passage — not only that, but She lived to tell the tale, to her daughter, and her grandkids Married to Prim Then she moved to Branford Lived there until his death Finished life in Madison She was Taken Her life was Taken Cooper’s Statement

I felt so compelled to write “To Honor Tamar” because I felt so bad that people would take away her basic human rights and treat her like a piece of property. Also, I felt compelled to write it because I felt that this was my way of saying what happened to her was wrong. It was also my way of telling whoever will read it that Tamar was just as human as everybody else.

Tamar survived the Middle Passage — not only that, but She lived to tell the tale, to her daughter, and her grandkids

Needlework

by Serena S.

Serena’s Statement

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To honor Tamar, I decided to create a piece of artwork using needlepoint. In my artwork, I used symbols to represent important parts of Tamar’s life. These include a map of Africa to show that she grew up in Guinea, a ship to represent when she was stolen and sent on a ship to Connecticut, broken handcu s to show that she was enslaved and freed, and a loom to represent her interest in weaving. I chose to use needlepoint because the motion of stitching the string through the fabric is similar to weaving, and I also wanted to do something unique that other students have never done before.

Tamar

by Aaron A. Tamar, Tamar, Tamar, A powerful enslaved woman, Closed her eyes for the inal time in 1816.

Her life was di icult, But Tamar was also a lucky woman.

She was able to live as a free woman, something other enslaved people never got to experience.

Tamar was a caring woman, Caring for her family and even her slave owner.

Tamar was a good human.

She needs to get respect.

Tamar, Tamar, Tamar.

Aaron’s Statement

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I chose to use this form of writing to really sum up Tamar’s life in a short little poem. I also wanted to use the poem to show the value of Tamar’s life and to show something about who she was as a person. My poem asks us to respect Tamar, something she may not have gotten in her life. Telling her story highlights the truth: that she was enslaved here in Madison, even though most of us didn’t know that there was slavery here.

FREEDOM This collection of work speaks to the notion of freedom. What does “freedom” mean for Tamar and others like her, who experienced both liberty and enslavement? How did the freedom she gained after emancipation di er from the freedom she enjoyed as a child?

What does the fact that Tamar and so many others were denied their freedom mean today, more than 150 years after slavery was abolished in the United States?

free by rosie l. she was never free never ever did she have her freedom? it may have seemed like she did but when we think about it was she ever free? she shouldn’t have to earn her freedom she should have gotten it from the start but no. she didn’t. and she never did. she was freed but not free. she had possessions but she had no possession over her life she was harmed but she was not harmful

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so why, oh why, could she never be free?

Rosie’s Statement I thought of the idea for this poem when I realized that yes, Tamar has been freed, but she wasn’t really free. She had been granted freedom, but being a Black woman in the 17-1800s, how free could she really be? Even when she had been given freedom, she lived a life of fear and constant danger, and no one should ever have to endure what she went through, even when she was freed. You can’t call yourself free and always live in constant fear.

Bird

by Hayden G. Born free as a bird, Africa, her home, her culture, her family.

Middle passage Survived the sea, the sand, and the stars.

Reverend Jonathan Todd, East Guilford is his home, his people, his church.

Believes people should be free, Yet dehumanizes and enslaves her family.

A weaver, a cook, a mother, Responding to the demands of her captors — A human used as an object.

At his death, Jonathan Todd emancipates those he’s enslaved — A cow, a loom, a piece of land to live on, And Tamar is set free, Free as a bird again.

Hayden’s Statement

For my project to honor Tamar I wrote a poem. I chose to write a poem because people seem to love poetry and encouraging words. I told her story in order, which I found challenging to do in poetic form. I start the poem with “Born free as a bird” and I end the poem with “free as a bird” to tie the poem together. Yet it is very likely that Tamar had a hard time after she was freed because, after so many years being enslaved, she would face many challenges, including having little or no money.

QUESTIONS This collection of work speaks to the questions we still have after doing this project.

Through our exploration of primary and secondary source documents, we have been able to learn so much about Tamar, her contributions, and her life. But many questions remain.

What do we do with those unanswered questions? Where do we go from here?

Did she?

by Katelin H. Did she know how to read?

Tamar.

Did she know how to look at a book?

Could she speak English?

Was she taught to read?

Could she sit and enjoy a book, could she understand the low of the story or process the words written across the page?

Jonathan Todd, her captor, thought about teaching her.

At least he said he did, but we are fed so many lies, eagerly searching for answers to the questions that may not have answers.

We hold onto the lies hoping that they are true, that the world isn’t as messed up as it seems.

It is though. It truly is.

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But did she know how to read?

But could she speak English?

Could she?

Was the promise kept, or lost in a jumble throughout the years?

Or maybe it never was.

Maybe it was just an idea, a thought that rolled through his head like a tumbleweed.

Did he ever even think about it, teaching her the basic fundamentals that we take for granted every day?

Another unsolved question.

Another question to keep us up late at night.

Another question that drives the curious in us mad.

We don’t know.

There are so many things we are unaware of.

Did she know how to read?

Tamar.

Katelin’s Statement I wrote this poem because I thought it was so interesting and awful how slaves got punished for knowing how to read. It made me wonder if Tamar knew how to read. There is so much that we don't know about her. We have to look to legal documents to learn about a human being. Nowhere in those documents does it say anything about who she was and how she felt. We know so little about her and many others. We are taught to read when we are little and we use that skill every day. Even one of the simplest things to us could have been huge to her. There are so many unanswered questions that we don't know how to answer. In a book written about John Todd we learn about how his greatuncle, Jonathan Todd, claimed he was thinking about teaching the people he enslaved to read, and I wondered if he ever came to do it. It just all made me think, did she know how

to read?

Can you imagine?

by Luke P. Can you imagine Being taken from your home, Coming to an unfamiliar place where you don’t know anyone and you can't speak their language?

Can you imagine Having your freedom taken away from you Just so some man that you don’t know can have an easier life?

Can you imagine Being a slave, Having to ight for your freedom Which everyone has taken for granted these days?

Can you imagine Being called “pets” of someone else?

We are all human beings here, No one should own anyone.

This is America The land of the free and the home of the brave.

Can you imagine Having to start your life with a cow, a loom, and some land?

You know who did it?

Tamar.

A woman who was taken from her home Lost her freedom And was made a “pet.”

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And somehow, when the dust settled, She lived a long peaceful life after her enslavement.

Can you imagine?

Luke’s Statement The reason I wrote this poem the way I did is because I wanted people to realize how lucky we are. I can’t imagine going through what Tamar went through. Doing this research made me realize this, and now I need to let others know.

All We Know

by Joshua R. Tamar.

Five letters.

Almost all we have to remember who she was.

We have documents; wills and records and sales.

But this is not who she was.

Tamar.

T.a.m.a.r She was more than just a word with ive letters on a list among barrels of alcohol, pots and pans, bedding and blankets.

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She was her own person that even we can’t bring back.

We can try.

We can try.

We can try to honor her and what she did.

We can try to call her “caring” and “strong” but even we, after spending months researching her, trying to bring her back to life, can't know who she truly was.

She was not just a slave.

She was a human.

She deserves this.

She got nothing her whole life, so maybe after her life we can try to give her something.

Tamar.

Joshua’s Statement

When I was learning about Tamar's life and what happened to her, I felt angry that a human could be treated like that. I wanted to help to make her story known to more people. While we were discussing what to put on her Witness Stones marker we came across words like “survivor” and “strong.” While we can infer that Tamar was both of these things, we can never truly know who she was. Even after spending weeks dissecting her entire life from historical accounts and documents, we can't know who Tamar truly was.

We know she was more than just a name on a list. We know she was a person who deserves to be remembered.

A Small Gold Stone

by Molly P. A small gold stone on the ground in front of the Madison Congregational Church just a couple of lines: caregiver, weaver, mother, and grandmother taken from Africa enslaved here emancipated 1791 circa 1744-1816.

Her story, a very complicated, hard story to tell that should not be hard.

So many missing documents and so much lost humanity due to carelessness and disrespect.

Spending days, weeks, months, years looking for information you’re never going to ind and yet still having to infer and make educated guesses based on information we were given.

She cared about people.

When Timothy Todd got hurt, she helped him and cared for him.

We assume that she liked to weave because in documents it says she was given a loom.

She was a mother to Lettuce Bailey and a grandmother to Lettuce’s children.

Getting told lies daily, luckily inding out the real truth 13 years after we were born and 205 years after she passed away.

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Her name is Tamar.

Is this the name she was born with?

We may never ind out!

Molly’s Statement

Editor’s Note: Molly created her statement in the shape of the Sankofa bird, metaphorically calling on us to peer into our past so we can move forward with knowledge and intention.

In her statement, Molly uses pieces of Look Over Your Shoulder, a poem she was inspired to write for history class earlier in the school year after hearing Amanda Gorman recite The

Hill We Climb at President Biden’s Inauguration.

A Girl and a Legacy

by Meghan B. How does a girl taken from her home in Africa, A girl who lost her freedom and her family, A girl who survived the middle passage, A girl who was wrongfully enslaved, How did she still care for others, help every person she knew, respect all?

How did she still love?

She seems to have loved everyone.

She loved and cared for Timothy Todd even though his uncle enslaved her.

There was nothing they could do to stop her from loving.

She loved everyone no matter their name, their gender, their title, the money they had, The color of their skin. No matter where they were born.

And her name was Tamar.

Tamar saw the beauty in the world, She knew the cruelty and unfairness in the world, Yet she knew how to balance it all.

Tamar was a mother, a grandmother, a caregiver, a cook, a wife, a survivor, and most importantly of all, Tamar was a kind and loving human being.

Tamar was born free, She died free, She lived looking for the beauty in the world While not forgetting the cruelty, laws, and inequality of the world.

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Tamar was a girl and she had a legacy.

Meghan’s Statement The reason I chose to write this poem is because I wanted to express that Tamar was not just an enslaved person, but she was a kind, loving human being with a legacy and a family to protect. I thought that the title of this poem was perfect because of these reasons. I chose to express this through a poem because I ind that poetry expresses thoughts and feelings with more power than prose can.

One of Many

by Sophie H. People, taken from their homes.

Brought to an unknown place, with unknown people, and an unknown environment.

Ripped from the comforting arms of their families, and thrown into the cold and scary world alone.

And everyone says there is nothing to worry about.

Then you hear of all the people who were enslaved in the very place you live.

You hear of the horrible living conditions and treatment, but you only get to hear it if you're lucky.

Most schools only dip a toe into the pool of challenging topics.

Slavery is one of those topics, people tend to shy away and not share the importance of honoring everyone who was enslaved.

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Tamar was among the people who should be honored.

From what we can tell she was kind, caring for people when they needed it.

She was a mother, wife, and grandmother.

Tamar is one story — There are so many people yet to be recognized and honored, Looking past the pool of challenges to ind a beautiful ocean full of stories.

Sophie’s Statement

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I decided to write this poem to talk a little about all the people who were enslaved. I talked about a “pool of challenges” because the school systems don’t really talk a lot about slavery or the people who were enslaved. We are very lucky our school gets to learn about slavery and all that history, but for most schools that is very rare.

Who She Is

by Joey S. Cold, Wet. Alone, Afraid.

Stolen.

Shackles bite into not just the skin but the soul as well.

People stacked on people like shipping containers on a cargo ship.

A new home Longing, hoping, waiting.

If only my words could have been the sword that protected her.

Instead, I hope to protect her legacy.

I strive to force people to remember her, to see her not as an enslaved woman but as a cook, a weaver, a mother just like yours.

Now imagine your mother, bound, forced to work until her body grew too old and frail to continue.

Imagine the sorrow, the pain, But also imagine the bonds she formed, the people she held dear until the light left her eyes.

She fought for her freedom and won.

Remember her for who she is not what she was.

Joey’s Statement

I wrote this poem to tell the story of Tamar. I end my poem with the line “Remember her for who she is not what she was.” I wrote this line so that my point is really driven home. I want people to remember her as a mother, a friend, and a daughter, not as an enslaved woman. I want the story of Tamar and all the other enslaved people to be told to everyone, because their stories are ones worth listening to.

De initions

by Michaela T. The de inition of property is: “A thing or things belonging to someone; possessions collectively.”

The de inition of a slave is: “A person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them.”

Does this really sum up the lives of so many before us?

People who went through more than we could ever imagine, Don’t deserve 15 words to describe what they went through.

Tamar A caregiver, Weaver, Grandmother, Mother, Cook.

Those 15 words don’t explain who she was.

Born in 1744, Guinea, Africa.

Experienced the Middle Passage.

Crammed into a small boat with a few others, No room to move around.

Not knowing what the future will hold.

Taken together, Tortured together.

“A thing or things belonging to someone; possession collectively.”

“A person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them.”

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Strong, Forgiving,

Caring, Ambitious, Dedicated, Sincere, Wholehearted, Genuine, Strong-willed, Determined, Attentive, Thoughtful, Considerate, Compassionate, Empathetic.

These are the words, That describe who she really was.

We believe this is the 15 word de inition Tamar deserves.

Michaela’s Statement

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The reason I decided to write about de initions is because Tamar was more than just the de inition of an enslaved person. When we irst started our research, we didn’t know anything about her personality or her family; we just knew a ton of disparate facts. So in this poem I wanted to show that Tamar is just like everyone else. My main goal was to honor her interiority and her humanity. I especially felt the need to do that because when I was writing my Tamar biography I focused on the facts but didn’t touch very much on who she was as a person. Hopefully my poem showed a greater meaning of her and that she has emotions and feelings just like the rest of us do.

WITNESS STONES INSTALLATION CEREMONY On June 8, 2021, members of the Country School class of 2021 gathered in front of the First Congregational Church of Madison for a public ceremony to honor Tamar and unveil her Witness Stones memorial, which is now installed alongside her daughter’s. Students read Tamar’s biography and shared poetry and artwork inspired by their research. Pat Wilson Pheanious, a former state legislator now serving as Witness Stones co-chair, delivered the keynote address, describing how discovering her family history, thanks to research done by students doing the Witness Stones Project, changed her life. Other adult speakers included Rev. Todd Vetter, senior minister of the First Congregational Church of Madison, Witness Stones founder and executive director Dennis Culliton, Head of School John Fixx, and Jumoke McDu ie-Thurmond, poet and history teacher. Below are excerpts from some of those speeches. To watch the full ceremony, go to https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks6cHqs3-lc.

Reverend Todd Vetter from his opening remarks: Some of you will be familiar with the biblical character Tamar, who appears in the Book of Genesis. Her time on the biblical stage is brief, but powerful. She is noteworthy for having been wrongly accused by people of some immoral behavior severe enough for her fatherin-law Judah to call for her death. Just as she was brought forward to face punishment, she raises her voice in defense, to reframe the story that was being told about her, to hold up a mirror of sorts to the presumed righteousness of the leadership and people of her community. In doing so, she took her place in that great prophetic tradition, which rises to speak truth to power, whose voice resonates beyond the boundaries of her own life.

We can assume, I think, that in her own time in Madison, the Tamar whose life we commemorate with this stone today found ample ways to reframe the story told about her, to claim the dignity and humanity that enslavement sought … to rob from her. And like her namesake, she has become with her daughter, Lettuce, something of a prophet for us as well.

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So we are grateful to the students, faculty, sta and administration of The Country School for your work in raising up Tamar’s voice, for allowing her story to breathe in our time, to invite re lection and confession to our whole community, and to the community of First Congregational Church, in particular, complicit as we have been not only in her enslavement, but in failing to acknowledge her existence, to resign the story of her life to the shadowed margins of our history.

Pat Wilson Pheanious from her keynote address: In the Witness Stones Program, we look back to uncover, remember, and bring into current vision things that happened hundreds of years ago. We look back at history so that we might understand who we really are – where we have been, where we are heading, and who we want to be. We seek to remember so that we might never forget how far we have come and whose shoulders we stand on. We recover so that we can acknowledge history – take what we will and resolve to repair and do di erently that which we do not like. We use original sources because facts speak for themselves. The knowledge that lows from fact doesn’t demand that one feel bad or mad or guilty or sad. Knowledge only asks us to know, to acknowledge, to feel, and to grow.

Like so many Black children, my family’s history was lost, was hidden, or somehow strayed from everyone’s memory. … The gift of my history changed me. Knowing my history expanded my horizon. It increased my commitment to this country. It anchored me. Of course, some facts made me mad and some of it made me sad, but ultimately I was reoriented and invigorated by the knowledge. The new knowledge changed the way I looked at myself and what I saw as my purpose. It made me appreciate my place in the history of this country. I am the ninth of eleven generations of an American family. Knowing that gives me a sense of belonging, ownership, and entitlement not just to a family legacy but to this nation. … Learning my history made me proud of all that my forefathers had borne and had built. It made me curious about all else that I do not know. It made me want to uncover, discover, and share. It made me want to grow what I do not know and learn more about where others are coming from.

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Let me close by directing myself to the children of Madison who have done all this hard work. Thank you for that hard work. Thank you for your empathy for the people whose lives in their own time were so sorely diminished. … Your work recovered the lives of people who were used up, brushed under history’s rug, and nearly forgotten. Tamar, whom you honor with your words, got no recognition in her lifetime. We know so precious little about her because her life was not thought to matter much. Her past wasn’t deemed important enough to record. Her future was uncertain. Her connection to Connecticut history was almost erased. Memorializing her struggles makes her count. … With all my heart, I thank you for respecting those lost lives and giving back to Tamar and Lettuce the simple recognition that every human being deserves.

Jumoke McDu ie-Thurmond from his closing speech: As I’ve been re lecting on this work shared today, and the work that these students have done on this project over the course of the year, I’m reminded that attending to histories that have been forgotten or hidden or distorted requires all of us. This is a collective practice of recovery, a collective attempt of restoration of dignity. And there’s something so beautiful about that. In a way it harkens back to that concept of Ubuntu, the notion that our personhood is predicated on the personhood of others, that if I am a full being, then how could you be anything less than that? How could Tamar be anything less than that?

And she wasn’t. She isn’t. Despite these legacies of chattel slavery, anti-Blackness, and dehumanization, we are all here today to reiterate something that Tamar already knew: that her life matters. It is hard to talk truthfully about slavery in this country. There is a lot of shame that hovers over the conversation, and rightfully so. There is reason to be ashamed of what was done to, and taken from, millions of people, their children, and their descendants. But like the principle of Sankofa says, it is not shameful to go back and recover histories. It is not shameful to name what has been lost, or name what has been done, or account for the sanctity of these lives.

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This process of accounting, of honest reckoning with our histories, and understanding how those histories inform the present and shape our futures, is how we move from shame to grace. Let us live with the grace that comes with honoring, cherishing, and protecting each other. May Tamar rest in that grace.

Resources Used in Our Research Balen, Ruth, "Slave Ownership by Yale-Educated Clergy in Eighteenth Century Guilford, Connecticut" (unpublished manuscript, 2001), Guilford Public Library.

Burgis, John, and Abraham Chittenden, comps, Bill of Mortality. Print. 1745-1840 for Guilford, CT. “Connecticut, Church Records Abstract, 1630 to 1920.” Vol. 46. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2013. Thurs. 22. April. First Church Society, Branford, CT. “Connecticut, Church Records Abstract, 1630 to 1920.” Vol. 46. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2013. Thurs. 23. April . First Church Society, Guilford, CT. Connecticut State Statutes, 1792. Addition and Alteration to an Act Concerning Indians, Mulattoes, Negro Servants, and Slaves.

Dutton, Henry, Oliver Henry Perry, John Dunham, Connecticut General Assembly, The Statutes of the state of Connecticut: to which are pre ixed the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Connecticut. New Haven, CT: T.J. Sta ord, 1854.

First Congregational Church of Madison, List of Madison Deaths. 1791-1930. Historical Collection. Church archives. Also available at ancestry.com.

July 9: ‘The Year Without a Summer,’” todayincthistory.com. May 18, 2021.

Guilford Town Clerk. Property Records, Guilford, CT. The Emancipation of Lettuce and Phyllis. 1793.

McDu ie-Thurmond, Jumoke Akil, "Recipe For Resurrection" (2019). Honors Theses - All. 2272. https://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/etd_hon_theses/2272.

Menschel, David, “Manumission Act of 1792 from Abolition Without Deliverance: The Law of Connecticut Slavery 1784-1848.” Yale Law Journal. (2001) pp 204-207.

Probate Court. Guilford and Madison, CT, Last Will and Testament of Rev. Jonathan Todd.

March 28, 1791.

Todd, John, John Todd: The Story of His Life Told Mainly by Himself, NY: Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1876.

Todd, John E., and George Iru Todd, The Todd Family in America: Or, The Descendants of Christopher Todd, 1637-1919… Northampton, MA: Press of Gazette Print., 1920 pp 4-6.

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U.S. Census for East Guilford, 1790, “household of Rev. Jonathan Todd,” United States Federal Census, Web January 2020, www.ancestry.com/interactive.

Acknowledgements Adding to the Witness Stones Project has been a privilege for everyone involved. Being able to research and restore forgotten history is something members of the class of 2021 and their teachers will likely carry with them forever; in a way the project is the embodiment of education that lasts a lifetime, a part of the Country School mission. And because Tamar’s Witness Stones memorial is now permanently installed alongside her daughter’s in front of the Congregational Church on the Madison Green for all to see, you could say the project embodies education that lasts a lifetime — and beyond.

We have many to thank for their assistance with this project. In no particular order, we share our deepest gratitude to:

• Members of the Class of 2021 for their diligence, passion, sensitivity, and leadership.

• Members of the Class of 2020 for paving the way.

• Dennis Culliton, co-founder and executive director of the Witness Stones Project

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and researcher/historian/teacher extraordinaire, for sharing his knowledge and passion.

Jumoke McDu ie-Thurmond, Liz Lightfoot, and Kristin Liu for leading the e ort this year; Heather Butler and Kristin Liu for getting us started last year.

Pat Wilson Pheanious, Witness Stones Board co-chair and our remarkable keynote speaker, for inspiring us with her eloquence, honesty, and commitment to telling our true and complete history.

Reverends Todd and Sarah Vetter and the First Congregational Church of Madison for embracing Witness Stones and enthusiastically welcoming the placement of memorial markers for Tamar and Lettuce in front of the Meetinghouse.

Jumoke McDu ie-Thurmond for once again inspiring students to engage emotionally through creative writing and visual art and for serving as our closing speaker at the installation ceremony.

Sibahle Sibiya for sharing her magni icent voice and leading us in the singing of “Amazing Grace” at the Witness Stones Installation ceremony.

Elmore Leadership Teaching Fellows Devan Cowles-Garcia ’11 and Ibrahim Mohamed for their invaluable assistance in the classroom throughout the project.

The community of teachers, administrators, and sta at The Country School who supported this project, giving it ─ and the forgotten history it seeks to restore ─ the time and space it so richly deserves..

Suzanne Sliker for so generously sharing her time and talents to design this book and our Witness Stones Ceremony program.

Liz Lightfoot for compiling this book of student work and Kristin Liu for editing assistance.

Alastair Clements ’08 for helping students with the Witness Stones website.

Dave Capece for preparing and installing Tamar’s stone.

Wally Stone for help preparing the installation site.

Charles Reese for recording the installation ceremony.

Technique Printers, Clinton, for their expertise and generous support.

—Having the opportunity to research an unknown person from our own community has given me a deeper understanding and appreciation for what historians do. Telling Tamar's story has also given me a di erent perspective on what I see as the American identity.

—We have always learned about huge slave plantations in Virginia, but we never learned that there were people enslaved right here in our hometown.

—Working on the Witness Stones Project has helped me realize that everyone has an interesting story that deserves to be told.

When Tamar was alive, she was probably seen as an ordinary person, but this does not make her life any less valuable. I wish that she was still alive so that I could thank her for what she has taught me.

—I always thought that the U.S. was the “Land of the Free.” and I thought it was that way for everybody. This year I learned that it wasn’t for everybody. It was only for certain people.

—It is so important to recognize Tamar as a human being and not as an enslaved person.

This year's events have brought more attention to these topics and have made connections with what we are studying.

—This project has taught me so much about the history of the United States. It has also taught me that history is always changing and there is so much that we don’t know yet, and so much that we probably never will.

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—There are thousands of other stories similar to hers. Some end in tragedy, some end the way Tamar’s did. I think many schools should do the Witness Stones Project so they can learn about these amazing stories.

On Doing the Witness Stones: Excerpts from Student Re lections

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Restore History, Educate, and Honor Humanity witnesstonesproject.org

The

Country School

education that lasts a lifetime

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