Cuff married Katherine Hill, they had four children, and all were enslaved by the Whites and, later, the survivors by descendants of the Whites. The Whites married in 1712. Cuff and Katherine were both baptized as adults on March 3, 1738. This could indicate that they were recently enslaved by the Whites and/or that it was done in preparation for their marriage. Cuff died February 6, 1762 and is buried in the Walnut Street Cemetery, probably in the area known as "Potter's Field".

References

Katherine married Cuff, they had four children, and all were enslaved by the Whites and, later, the survivors, by descendants of the Whites. It is not currently known how the surname "Hill" was acquired. The Whites married in 1712. Cuff and Katherine were both baptized as adults on March 3, 1738. This could indicate that they were recently enslaved by the Whites and/or that it was done in preparation for their marriage. Katherine died February 8, 1792 at the age of seventy-eight and is buried in the Walnut Street Cemetery.

The Whites headed one of the two branches of immigrant John White descendants that spawned multiple generations of enslavers in Brookline. The Whites lived on a large area of land incorporating the intersection of today's Boylston Street and Chestnut Hill Ave. Their house was located just southwest of the corner of today's Boylston Street and Heath Street.

At the death of Anne White, her daughter and husband (Henry Sewall) had already died. Their son, Samuel, was the one male descendant who had been named after Samuel White so, following a byzantine path of inheritance logic, it was he who inherited the White's house. Samuel Sewall, however, was a strident Tory supporter who was essentially exiled to England and the property was confiscated. In 1782, it was purchased by the family of the White's granddaughter, Susannah Craft, who had married John Heath. Her sister, Elizabeth (Craft) White, previously widowed in 1771 at the age of twenty-three, joined the Heaths there. It appears that the now-widowed Katharine Hill remained in the house with the granddaughters. Her death listing refers to her as a "Black woman at Mr. Heath's [servant of Samuel White...]". Does this atypical wording indicate that her freedom had been granted at some point? It is not known if Primus and others previously enslaved by the Whites also remained in the house.

References

Jeremiah, son of Cuffy and Katherine Hill, was baptized April 23, 1738. It is reasonably likely that this is near his date of birth and that he was born while his parents were enslaved by the Whites. He died of fever on July 29, 1761 at the age of 23.

References

Lemon, daughter of Cuffy and Katherine Hill, was baptized February 24, 1740, presumably at the time of her birth, indicating that she was born while her parents were enslaved by the Whites.

References

Jethro, son of Cuffy and Katherine Hill, was baptized December 5, 1742 indicating that he was born while his parents were enslaved by the Whites.

References

Dinah, daughter of Cuffy and Katherine Hill, died of consumption on August 13, 1773 at the age of 28.

It should be noted that there were two Dinahs enslaved by this branch of the White family. This Dinah was presumably solely enslaved by just the Whites themselves as she died before Anne White did. The other Dinah was enslaved by the family of White's daughter, Susannah (White) Craft. Susannah's sister, Elizabeth, was widowed at an early age and came to live with the Crafts. Elizabeth later wrote a poem in memory of this other Dinah who had worked in her childhood house and was subsequently owned by her brother, Caleb Craft.

References

Primus died of mortification on April 1, 1790 at the age of sixty. He was listed at his death as "formerly servant of Samuel White". This atypical description could possibly indicate that his freedom had been granted at some point, perhaps with the official abolition of slavery in Massachusetts in 1783. It is not unlikely that he remained with the family of the White's granddaughter, Susannah Craft, who had married John Heath and moved into the original Samuel White house.

References

Peter was one of three enslaved people from Brookline who fought at the Battle of Lexington. They all mustered with the Brookline Militia in the company of Captain Thomas White in the regiment of Colonel William Heath. Peter's status at that time is not clear. He was listed as "Esquire White’s Peter" but Samuel White was no longer living and his widow had recently died. Samuel White's son inherited his father's house but was essentially exiled out of the country for being a rabid Tory. Peter could have lived with the Heaths who later purchased the property or even possibly could have obtained his freedom and left for parts elsewhere.

References

The only information on Peter is a 1767 newspaper advertisement for his capture:

In 1743, Henry Sewall married Anne White, a daughter of Samuel White, a progenitor of multiple generations of enslavers. The Sewalls themselves appear to have been one of Brookline's biggest enslavers. A rough timeline of the Sewalls enslaving would be:

• 1743: marriage; living on his father's massive estate east of Harvard Street centered in today's Longwood area
• 1751: Henry's father dies and Henry inherits his house located in the southeast corner of today's Coolidge Corner
• 1755: Ann (White) Sewall dies at the age of thirty-two leaving four young children
• By 1762: Henry is living on the northwest corner of Walnut Street and Cypress Street.
• 1767: built a new house on his Coolidge Corner site that later became the site of the well-known house of Charles Stearns

References

Venus died January 9, 1763 at the age of twenty-eight and is buried in the Sewall-Wolcott tomb in the Walnut Street Cemetery.

References

Kate died at the age of eight on August 13, 1764. She is buried in the Sewall-Wolcott tomb in the Walnut Street Cemetery.

References

Felix also worked as a janitor for the First Parish Church with Henry Sewall submitting a bill to the town for his labors. Felix died November 25, 1765 and is buried in the Sewall-Wolcott tomb in the Walnut Street Cemetery.

References

Hagar died of consumption March 8, 1767 at the age of fifty. He is buried in the Sewall-Wolcott tomb in the Walnut Street Cemetery.

References

Charles died of consumption April 22, 1771 and is buried in the Sewall-Wolcott tomb in the Walnut Street Cemetery.

References

From the 1763 tax list for the year 1762: "for Capt. Sewall's Kent for the year 1762 11 pounds, 12 shillings, 9 pence, Lawfull money".

References

Seco died July 21, 1780 at the age of 55 and is buried in the Sewall-Wolcott tomb in the Walnut Street Cemetery. *The Wolcotts were married in 1776 when Seco would have been over fifty years old and an unlikely candidate for purchase. It is therefore more likely that he was previously owned by one of their antecedents, perhaps Henry Sewall, Hannah's father and a prolific enslaver. The Wolcotts later took over Henry Sewall's estate on the northwest corner of Walnut Street and Cypress Street.

References

Property of Benjamin White
photo courtesy Digital Commonwealth

In 1717, Edward White was given a deed to his father's "Black Servant". It seems unlikely that this description and the timeline would match any of the people known to have been enslaved by Edward White.

The people enslaved by Benjamin White and, later, by his son would have lived at two possible locations. Shown here is the barn of the original Benjamin White homestead, later known as the Bartlett Farm, on the east side of Washington Street close to today's Brighton line. It is believed that Benjamin lived here until the death of his father in 1691. He likely then moved to his other property in the Village. It is estimated that his son and primary heir, Edward, most likely lived first at this Washington Street location after his marriage in 1718 and that by 1765 he had moved to the family house on the north side of Walnut Street right in the Village.

References

In 1735, Edward White purchased "a negroe man Servant named Cuffe of about twenty Seven or twenty Eight years of Age for the Sum of Eightey pounds of money to me in hand well and truly paid by the said Edward White". It is possible that Cuffe is the same person later designated by White in his will to first serve his wife and then any of his sons to be chosen by Cuffe. Cuffe most likely would have primarily lived at the upper Washington Street homestead previously detailed.

Edward White was the son of Benjamin White, previously detailed, and the grandson of John White, the immigrant progenitor of a number of enslavers. Generations of the Benjamin White line owned two main properties: the homestead later known as the Bartlett Farm located on the east side of Washington Street close to today's Brighton line and a large area of land in the Village roughly extending from the Village Square to Cypress Street Edward's house was in the northeast corner roughly located by today's White Place. It is estimated that Edward lived first at the Washington Street location after his marriage in 1718 and that by 1765 he had moved to the family house right in the Village.

References

Quaco was a baby with unknown parents who died November 17, 1766 at six weeks of age.

References

In his will, White gave Caesar, described as his "mulatto servant", to whichever of White's sons Caesar chose with the proviso that he first "wait upon as long as she lived" White's wife. There is an unidentified "Caesar" listed in the Vital Records who lived 1712-1792. If that is the same Caesar then he would have lived past the death of Mrs. White and lived with one of the sons.

References

In his will, White gave Primus, whose sale was legally forbidden, to whichever of White's sons Primus chose. Primus died January 30, 1770 of lung fever at the age of forty-seven. This preceded the death of Mrs. White and he was listed at his death as a "servant of Mrs. White" so he would not have lived with one of the sons.

References

In his will he gave "his negro girl" to his three daughters. There is currently no additional information that correlates such a person with the daughters or their families. They are:

• Susanna White (1722-1794) (x. Stephen Brewer)
• Hannah White (1727-1800) (x. William Ackers)
• Ann White (1740-1777) (x. Col. James Wesson)

References

The only information on Ben are the reference in Harriet Wood's book - "'Ben Boston,’ another slave of a still more ancient Heath" - and his gravestone in the Walnut Street Cemetery.

References

Dinah, reportedly near death, was baptized along with her two daughters, Violet and Venus, on May 24, 1741.

In 1718, Reverend James Allen was ordained as the first minister of the town meeting house and remained until his death in 1747. His land was on Walnut Street across from today's First Parish Church.

References

Sisters Venus and Violet were baptized on May 24, 1741. No further documentation has been uncovered.

In 1718, Reverend James Allen was ordained as the first minister of the town meeting house and remained until his death in 1747. His land was on Walnut Street across from today's First Parish Church.

References

Sisters Venus and Violet were baptized on May 24, 1741. No further documentation has been uncovered.

In 1718, Reverend James Allen was ordained as the first minister of the town meeting house and remained until his death in 1747. His land was on Walnut Street across from today's First Parish Church.

References

House of Benjamin Gardner

Margaret was baptized on August 16, 1741, no other information is currently available. The Gardner house was located on the north side of Boylston Street across from the reservoir. It was built circa 1705 by Benjamin's father, Thomas J. Gardner, and was the home for multiple generations of Gardners. It is likely that Margaret lived here.

References

An unnamed young boy, "Negro at Deac. Gardner's", died June 25, 1780 at the age of one.

This "Deacon Gardner" is most likely Elisha Gardner, son of Benjamin Gardner, and he also lived in the same house on Boylston Street.

References

House of Isaac Gardner, Built 1770
photo courtesy Digital Commonwealth

Adam was a member of the Brookline Militia (Thomas White's company and William Heath's regiment) along with his enslaver, Isaac Gardner. On April 19, 1775, the militia marched to Cambridge through Harvard Square and up today's Massachusetts Ave. In a confrontation at Watson's Corner, just north of today's Porter Square, with the British troops who were retreating from Lexington, the badly-positioned militia suffered four casualties including Isaac Gardner. It is highly likely that Adam was part of this skirmish. He was a private and enlisted for twenty-three days. His name is on a commemorative plaque in town hall and he is buried in the Walnut Street Cemetery.

Isaac Gardner's house was located on the east side of today's Chestnut Hill Ave., roughly in the area of today's Buckminster Rd., and it is likely that Adam lived here.

References

On January 22, 1762, Tobiah Kuff, enslaved by William Williams, married Phillis Richmond, enslaved by Isaac Gardner. They had two surviving sons and one daughter. There is no evidence that William Williams was ever a resident of Brookline, he may have lived nearby in Roxbury. As the children are subsequently listed in the Gardner house in Brookline it can be speculated that Tobiah Kuff also moved there.

References

Phillis Richmond was baptized as a young adult on May 7, 1758. She married Tobiah Kuff, then enslaved by William Williams, on January 22, 1762. She died of consumption at the age of twenty-eight on August 2, 1770.

References

Jethro was the first child of Phillis (Richmond) Kuff and Tobiah Kuff. He was baptized October 9, 1762. It is believed that he later gained his freedom and followed the practice of assuming the first name of the father as the new surname. In Brookline on May 5, 1791, Jethro, now named Jethro Tobey, married Chloe Dole (aka Dones). It could also be speculated that he was granted his freedom with the death of his surviving enslaver, Mary (Sparhawk) Gardner, three years before his marriage. He died in Dorchester in 1838.

References

Silas was the son of Phillis (Richmond) Kuff and Tobiah Kuff. He was baptized August 26, 1764.

References

Katharine, daughter of Tobiah and Phillis Kuff, was baptized August 20/24, 1766. She is likely the "Negro at Esq. Gardner'" who died July 22, 1767. She is buried in the Walnut Street Cemetery with a gravestone impressively marked with a long epitaph: "Katherine Cuff Daug* of Tobiah & Phillis-Cuff; She died July 12th, 1767 Aged 11 mos. and 1 day.".

References

Jeremiah, son of Tobiah and Phillis Kuff was baptized July 24, 1768. It is speculated that the "Negro at Isaac Gardner's" who died June 2, 1769 at the age of one is Jeremiah.

References

Jenny, "servant of Isaac Winchester", died January 5, 1771 at the age of eighty. Based on their relative ages, it is speculated that she was previously enslaved by Isaac's father. The father, Captain John Winchester, listed "two negroes valued at 60£" as part of his estate when he died in 1751 and it is possible that Jenny and Exeter were these two people.

Isaac Winchester was the son of Sarah White who was the granddaughter of John White, the immigrant progenitor of multiple generations of Brookline enslavers. The Winchesters lived on upper Washington Street near the Brighton line. His wife, Mary Shed, was the daughter of James Shed, an enslaver also documented on this page.

References

Exeter, "negro of Isaac Winchester", died December 18, 1780 at the age of sixty-five. Based on their relative ages, it is speculated that he may have been previously enslaved by Isaac's father. The father, Captain John Winchester, listed "two negroes valued at 60£" as part of his estate when he died in 1751 and it is possible that Jenny and Exeter were these two people. There is this note on January 4, 1781 from the town meeting that suggests that Exeter may have been left to his own devices after the death of Isaac Winchester:

Isaac Winchester was the son of Sarah White who was the granddaughter of John White, the immigrant progenitor of multiple generations of Brookline enslavers. The Winchesters lived on upper Washington Street near the Brighton line. His wife, Mary Shed, was the daughter of James Shed, an enslaver also documented on this page.

References

The only known reference to Dido, "negro servant to Isaac Winchester", is from the 1749 baptism notice of her daughter, Phillis. There is no known connection but it should be noted Isaac's father, Captain John Winchester, had "two negroes valued at 60£" as part of his estate when he died in 1751.

Isaac Winchester was the son of Sarah White who was the granddaughter of John White, the immigrant progenitor of multiple generations of Brookline enslavers. The Winchesters lived on upper Washington Street near the Brighton line. His wife, Mary Shed, was the daughter of James Shed, an enslaver also documented on this page.

• First Parish Church Records
• Winchester Notes (pg. 20) by Fanny Winchester Hotchkiss

Phillis, daughter of Dido, was baptized August 13, 1749.

References

Jack died December 19, 1790 at the age of seventy. His advanced age begs questions about his history and whether he might have been previously enslaved by Joseph Winchester, Nathaniel's father.

There are some challenges identifying the correct Nathaniel Winchester as there were three contemporaneous candidates living in Brookline. There was a "Nathan Winchester" who was the son of Captain John Winchester and brother of Isaac Winchester, both enslavers. However, he permanently decamped to Nova Scotia in the early 1750s and was not in Brookline for the 1790 death of Jack. Candidate number two is a Nathaniel Winchester who was born in Brookline in 1721 but who has no other records available. That leaves the best match - the Nathaniel Winchester who was a farmer whose land was on the Roxbury border on today's Cottage Street. He married Sarah Davis in 1782.

References

Ebenezer Crafts House in Boston
photo courtesy Digital Commonwealth

Caleb Crafts House in Brookline
photo courtesy Digital Commonwealth

Dinah was purchased in 1739, when she was eleven years old, by Ebenezer Crafts of Boston. And this raises the possibility that she was separated from her birth parents as a result. Dinah spent the rest of her life with the Crafts and died of dropsy on April 20, 1803. Also detailed on this page is the purchase four years earlier that Crafts made of another young girl, this at the time of his marriage.

Dinah was initially enslaved in Boston at the house of Ebenezer Crafts on Tremont Street just outside Brookline Village, a house that remained in the family for several generations. Crafts also acquired the Obadiah Druce house located in Brookline on Newton Street roughly across from today's municipal golf course. It became the house of his son, Caleb, and eventually, the timeline is not clear, Dinah came to live and work at Caleb's house in Brookline. This change may not have happened until the father's death when Dinah would have been about sixty-three years old. Ebenezer's daughter, Elizabeth (Craft) White, who was raised by Dinah in Boston, wrote a poem at Dinah's death which seemed to betray some regret about her enslavement.

Ebenezer Crafts, who married Samuel White's daughter, Susannah, is yet another member on the extended White family whose members were prolific enslavers in Brookline.

References

Ackey died February 26, 1762.

Obadiah inherited the house of his uncle, Vincent Druce, located on Newton Street roughly across from today's municipal golf course (see prior entry for Ebenezer Crafts). It was subsequently purchased by Ebenezer Crafts, inhabited by son, Caleb Crafts, and was over two hundred years old when torn down circa 1902. Ackey may have lived there.

References

Davis House, Brookline Village
photo courtesy Digital Commonwealth

Sambo worked for the three generations of Ebenezer Davises who lived in this house. The enslaver of record, Deacon Ebenezer Davis, granted Sambo's freedom in a codicil to his will. Then freed by 1776, Sambo remained with the family until dying of dropsy on January 10, 1806 at the age of 68. One account claims that he lived to be over ninety. He is buried in tomb "Z" in the Walnut Street Cemetery.

Sambo worked in this house, located in today's Andem Place in the Village. It is reported that there was a separate house of "negro quarters" on the property where he would have lived.

References

Rose died July 18, 1763 at the age of forty-five. She would have worked in the same house in the Village as Sambo.

References

Jenny died September 8, 1772. She would have worked in the same house in the Village as Sambo, presumably for two generations of Ebenezer Davises.

References

Zabdiel Boylston House, Boylston Street
photo courtesy Historic New England

During the 1721-1722 small pox epidemic in Boston, Jack, then thirty-six, was in the very first group of those inoculated with small pox serum as part of Cotton Mather and Dr. Boylston's radical experiment in immunization. On June 26, 1721, Boylston inoculated his own six-year old son, Thomas; Jack; and Jack's two-year old son, Jackey. Dr. Boylston later inoculated more family members and his enslaved woman named Moll. There is the possibility that Moll was married to Jack.

Boylston, whose father was Brookline's first physician, was living in Boston at the time of the inoculations. In 1740, he purchased the family house that had been inherited by his older brother, Peter, and moved back to Brookline. The main parts of the house were added to the original 1660 structure in 1736 and it still stands today at 617 Boylston Street. It is not known if Jack also moved to Brookline.

References

During the 1721-1722 small pox epidemic in Boston, Jackey, then two, was in the very first group of those inoculated with small pox serum as part of Cotton Mather and Dr. Boylston's radical experiment in immunization. On June 26, 1721, Boylston inoculated his own six-year old son, Thomas; Jack; and Jack's two-year old son, Jackey. Dr. Boylston later inoculated more family members and his enslaved woman named Moll.

Boylston, whose father was Brookline's first physician, was living in Boston at the time of the inoculations. In 1740, he purchased the family house that had been inherited by his older brother, Peter, and moved back to Brookline. The main parts of the house were added to the original 1660 structure in 1736 and it still stands today at 617 Boylston Street. It is not known if Jackey also moved to Brookline.

References

During the 1721-1722 small pox epidemic in Boston, Moll, then thirty-seventy, was inoculated with small pox serum as part of Cotton Mather and Dr. Boylston's radical experiment in immunization. She was inoculated July 14, 1721, three weeks after Boylston first inoculated his own six-year old son, Thomas; the enslaved Jack; and Jack's son, Jackey. It is a possibility that Moll was married to Jack and was the mother of Jackey.

Boylston, whose father was Brookline's first physician, was living in Boston at the time of the inoculations. In 1740, he purchased the family house that had been inherited by his older brother, Peter, and moved back to Brookline. The main parts of the house were added to the original 1660 structure in 1736 and it still stands today at 617 Boylston Street. It is not known if Moll also moved to Brookline.

References

In contrast to those enslaved by Zabdiel Boylston in Boston prior to his move back to Brookline in 1740, Boston is clearly documented as being in Brookline and he would have lived at the Boylston Street house. It is not known with whom Boston fathered his daughter, Catherine. He died July 13, 1762 at the age of fifty and is buried in the Walnut Street Cemetery.

Boylston, whose father was Brookline's first physician, was living in Boston at the time of the inoculations. In 1740, he purchased the family house that had been inherited by his older brother, Peter, and moved back to Brookline. The main parts of the house were added to the original 1660 structure in 1736 and it still stands today at 617 Boylston Street.

References

The only known reference to her is that she was the daughter of Boston and was baptized May 7, 1758 in Brookline. It is interesting to note that three people were baptized in Brookline on that date: Catherine, Phillis who was enslaved by Isaac Gardner, and Hannah Wamsley, a native American who may also have been enslaved. Catherine would have lived at the Boylston Street house

Boylston, whose father was Brookline's first physician, was living in Boston at the time of the inoculations. In 1740, he purchased the family house that had been inherited by his older brother, Peter, and moved back to Brookline. The main parts of the house were added to the original 1660 structure in 1736 and it still stands today at 617 Boylston Street.

References

No information is avialble other than the fact that she died August 5, 1761 at the age of fifty. She would have lived at the Boylston Street house

Boylston, whose father was Brookline's first physician, was living in Boston at the time of the inoculations. In 1740, he purchased the family house that had been inherited by his older brother, Peter, and moved back to Brookline. The main parts of the house were added to the original 1660 structure in 1736 and it still stands today at 617 Boylston Street.

References

In 1713, he was whipped and exiled for the crime of fornication.

Peter Boylston was the older brother of Dr. Zabdiel Boylston, an enslaver, and Dudley Boylston whose son, Joshua, was an enslaver. He inherited the family house that still stands today at 617 Boylston Street across from the reservoir. Coffee would have lived there.

References

In his will from 1743 he writes "I give to Ann my beloved wife my negro to be at her dispose". No other information is available.

Peter Boylston was the older brother of Dr. Zabdiel Boylston, an enslaver, and Dudley Boylston whose son, Joshua, was an enslaver. He inherited the family house that still stands today at 617 Boylston Street across from the reservoir.

References

Prince was one of three enslaved men from Brookline who fought in the Revolutionary War. He later escaped in 1779 and there is no record of his subsequent capture. From the Continental Journal, 1779:

Joshua Boylston was the son of Dudley Boylston whose brothers, Dr. Zabdiel Boylston and Peter Boylston, were both enslavers in Brookline. In 1722, Dudley Boylston moved to a property that includes today's Olmsted house at 99 Fairsted Street Son, Joshua, inherited the house and land and that is where Prince would have lived.

References

In his will, Robert Sharp gave "my negro woman Jane" to his wife and the list of his assets after his death included a reference to "One negro Wench, £20.0.0.". It is reasonably probable that Jane is the same woman referenced as the "Old negro woman of Mrs. Sharp" who died April 7, 1768, two years before Susannah Sharp died.

A large area of land roughly spanning today's Marion Street and School Street was owned and farmed by six generations of the Sharps from 1650 to 1798.

References

Caesar died of dysentery August 4, 1775. There are conflicting records, he was either fifty or sixty when he died.

A large area of land roughly spanning today's Marion Street and School Street was owned and farmed by six generations of the Sharps from 1650 to 1798.

References

Aspinwall House
photo courtesy Digital Commonwealth

Titus died of consumption on April 2, 1771 at the age of 42. He would have lived at the "Old Aspinwall House".

The identity of "Mr. Aspinwall" is not clear. The lifespan of Titus arguably more closely fits the lifespan of Thomas Aspinwall Sr. (1698-1774), father of Lt. Col. Thomas Aspinwall (1734-1799).

References

The only known reference to Violet is from the 1752 marriage between Primus, enslaved by Rev. Samuel Dexter of Dedham, to Violet, "negro servant of Capt. Aspinwall".

The identity of "Captain Aspinwall" cannot yet be determined. The moniker "Captain" has been applied to Samuel Aspinwall (1662-1727), to Lt. Col. Thomas Aspinwall (1734-1799), and to two Aspinwalls who were sea captains.

References

Pamela died of pleurisy on February 19, 1796 at the age of 8. There are no accounts of her parents who may also have been enslaved by Dr. Aspinwall.

Dr. William Aspinwall grew up in the original Aspinwall house on Aspinwall Ave. and later lived on Winthrop Rd. at the top of Aspinwall Hill.

References

Rose was purchased by Thomas Nowell from Abigail Davis of Boston in 1693. Nowell died one year later at a very early age. The fate of Rose is unknown and complicated by the multiple marriages of Sarah (Williams) Nowell.

• Sarah Williams marries Brookline enslaver Robert Sharp Sr. (1665-1690)
• In 1690, Sharp apparently dies in the war between the English colonies in North America and New France (Canada)
• Sarah Williams immediately marries Thomas Nowell
• Nowell dies in 1694 soon after purchasing Rose
• Sarah immediately marries Solomon Phipps

References

The only listing for Maxius is that he was a "servant of Mr. Shedd" and was baptized in Brookline March 28, 1742. It seems possible that the intended name might have been "Maximus" but "Maxius" is used in more than one source.

James Shed, Sr. originally came from Billerica to Brookline as a fairly destitute young man and eventually prospered, living mainly in Roxbury after the first of many marriages in 1712. James Shed, Jr., his only son, married Mary Weld in Roxbury in 1740 and there is no evidence that he ever moved to Brookline. It is not known why Maxius was baptized in Brookline and it is not known which James Shed was his initial enslaver. James Shed Sr., then living in Boston, wrote in his will: "I also give unto my son my negro man Maxius to be to him, his heirs, and assignees, likewise give my boy Titus to my son until he arrives at the age of thirty years, and then and thenceforth to be free unless I shall otherwise order in my lifetime.

References

First Edward Devotion House
photo courtesy Digital Commonwealth

Second Edward Devotion House
photo courtesy Digital Commonwealth

Edward Devotion's first marriage apparently occurred when he was seventy-two. He had no children. In his last will and testament, he bequeathed to his wife "all my House hold Goods." Listed in the inventory of the estate at his death was "one Negrow valued at thirty pounds", the only known documentation of Devotion being an enslaver.

The enslaved person would have initially lived at two possible locations. The first was the house built in 1680, either by Edward's father or grandfather, the core of which still stands today as the headquarters of the Brookline Historical Society. Edward Devotion later moved to a house on the north side of Lower Washington Street just east of Pearl Street. The date of the move is unknown but it should be noted that he both married and sold the original house in 1740.

What became of the enslaved person remains unknown. One year after Devotion's death, his wife married a Philip Gatcomb. It is not unlikely that the enslaved person continued to be owned by Devotion's wife and her new husband. It should be noted that there were several enslavers from Brookline who were closely involved with Devotion's will and probate procedures. Devotion included a second primary bequest in his will, of twenty-five pounds, to his "beloved friend Mr. James Shedd" and named him a co-executor. Shed was notably also an enslaver in Brookline as were two of the three appraisers of his final inventory, Samuel White and Thomas Aspinwall, all enslavers outlined on this page.

References

Ebenezer Crafts House in Boston
photo courtesy Digital Commonwealth

Crafts married in 1735 and purchased Flora, then a young girl, around the same time. However, he was unhappy with some aspect of the sale and had it nullified.

Ebenezer Crafts, although also owning property in Brookline, was a resident of Boston and lived in a house on Tremont Street just outside Brookline Village.

References

Adam Tidd and Hulda Wallis were married in Brookline March 21, 1785. Their son, Adam, was baptized April 10, 1785.

Adam Tidd had originally been enslaved as a young boy in Lexington by Daniel Tidd. He later fought as Private Adam Tidd in the Revolutionary War and became free either via manumission or the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts in 1783. The Tidds had two sons and two daughters.

References

The only known reference to him is "Black at Dr. Aspinwall's" which is not the typical wording used for enslaved people. Also having a surname was not typical for someone enslaved. He died April 9, 1809 of consumption at the age of twenty-two.

References

Samuel Croft House
NW Corner Cypress Street and School Street.

Downer House
photo courtesy Digital Commonwealth

Susanna Backus was the daughter of an enslaved man named "Backus", who worked as a blacksmith in Dorchester, and his indigenous wife, Molly Hill, who lived in Brookline. It appears that Backus became freed at some point and it is evident that daughter Susanna was also free and followed the practice of adopting the enslaved name of the father as her new surname.

Susanna began working at a young age for the family of Captain Samuel Croft, Jr. She was still fairly young when the now-widowed Mrs. Croft died in 1821 with no living children. The farm was taken over by Samuel Craft, a son of Mrs. Croft's sister. The Croft house and farm were located in the Village northwest of the intersection of School St and Washington Street. In 1818, after the 1814 death or Mr. Croft, the young Dr. Charles Wild came to Brookline and boarded at the house with Mrs. Croft and she later left him two acres.

In 1824, after several years with the Crafts, Susanna went to work for the widowed Catherine (Wyman) Downer, wife of John Downer, a son of Dr. Eliphalet Downer whose house had been on Lower Washington Street in the Village. This change was perhaps related to the death in 1824 of Samuel Craft's wife. Susanna then worked and lived for the next thirty-nine years with the Downers, first with Mrs. Downer (1780-1846) and, after her death, with Mrs. Downer's daughter, Catherine (Downer) Hancock.

It is notable that Susanna Backus was prominent enough in Brookline to merit more than four full pages in Harriet Woods' book. She is buried in the Croft family tomb in the Walnut Street Cemetery.

References

Col. Joseph Belcher was an enslaver who lived in Newport R.I. and is not being viewed here as a citizen of Brookline. He, his family members, and three enslaved people fled to Brookline during the British occupation of Newport (1776-1779). On February 18, 1778 a warrant was issued by Brookline to have them leave Brookline. He died in September, 1878 and the family returned to Newport at the end of the war.

References