Slavery was legal in Connecticut until 1848, but except for two gravestones and a few Witness Stones there is little visual evidence of its history here.
Tracy Tomaselli, whose family has a long history in Guilford, has spent many years researching yellowed, hard to read wills and town records gathering information about the men, women and children who were enslaved. She has documented some 136 people who were. Her findings are the focus of an exhibit in the library’s conference room.
On the room’s front wall to the left on entry a visitor will be able read the names of all the enslaved people here Tracy has found as well as those of some 35 others for whom there is evidence they were enslaved in Guilford but whose names are not known. On the back wall there will be a time line that puts slavery into a historical perspective and there will be extracts from wills and other documents.
There will also be several short profiles about specific people who were enslaved here. The exhibit is open to the public and will be on display throughout November. The exhibit is a collaboration of the Guilford Preservation Alliance’s Witness to History: Slavery in Guilford initiative and the Guilford Free Library.