Historic Northampton
Two Presentations on New Research
History of Slavery in Northampton, 1654 to 1783
A Zoom Presentation with Emma Winter Zeig & Shara Denson
of the Slavery Research Project at Historic Northampton

Thursday, January 12, 2023 at 7 pm
In the 129 years from the English settlement of Northampton in 1654 to the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts in 1783, fifty or more men, women, and children were enslaved in Northampton.  Their stories illuminate how enslavers in Northampton exerted power over the lives of the people they enslaved, but also the ways that enslaved people took back control over their lives, gaining their freedom, starting families, managing careers, and amassing property. 
 
For three years (2019-2021), the Slavery Research Project consisted of a team of staff, interns, and scholars who combed through every available record to identify those who were enslaved and to learn as much as possible about their lives and the lives of their children. Shara Denson will introduce the Project, and Emma Winter Zeig will highlight stories of people who this project shed new light on, describe the challenges of researching slavery, and introduce the web portal where the results of the study are available.

We acknowledge the unpaid labor of enslaved people in Northampton
and their role in building Northampton's economy and society.

You can access the research project here:


Register for the Zoom link.
Sliding scale admission $5 to $25.
Students: Free of charge.
From Nonotuck to Northampton:
Recovering Indigenous Histories
A Zoom Presentation by Margaret M. Bruchac
Associate Professor of Anthropology, Associate Faculty in Cultural Heritage, and Coordinator of Native American and Indigenous Studies at the University of Pennsylvania

Thursday, March 9, 2023 at 7 pm
Historic Northampton’s newly launched “Indigenous Native History” features the scholarship of Dr. Margaret M. Bruchac. The centerpiece is a resource-rich and extended essay titled “From Nonotuck to Northampton: Recovering Indigenous Histories,” which re-examines colonial era encounters between Nonotuck and settlers, offers Indigenous perspectives, and gives readers the tools to better understand the historical record. The website also includes a visual history, maps, links to relevant historical publications and documents, and more.
 
Join Dr. Bruchac for a presentation about her research, followed by a question and answer period.

You can access the research project here:


Register for the Zoom link.
Sliding scale admission $5 to $25.
Students: Free of charge.
Header Image: “Amos S[on] of Amos Negro”: Baptismal record for Amos Hull Jr., September 15, 1754, First Church of Christ records, Forbes Library. The Slavery Research Project found that Amos Hull Sr. was enslaved and later became free. He owned livestock and paid for goods at the local store by mowing and threshing grain. He had a wife and five children, one of whom (Agrippa Hull) served in the American Revolution.
Top Image: Area college students began researching primary source documents in person in February 2020 and then shifted to online research during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bottom Image: Margaret M. Bruchac with Native steatite cooking pot from an unidentified site in Quaboag territory in Brookfield, MA. This pot, one of many collected by Amherst College, is now housed in the Historic Northampton collection. Photo courtesy of Margaret M. Bruchac.
HISTORIC NORTHAMPTON
46 Bridge Street
Northampton, MA 01060